Isaiah 14:20

20 thou shalt not have fellowship, neither with them in sepulchre, for thou hast lost thy land, thou hast slain the people; the seed of the worst men shall not be called without end. (thou shalt not have fellowship with them in the tomb, or in the grave, for thou hast destroyed thy land, and thou hast killed thy own people; the children, or the descendants, of these evil people shall never be seen again.)

Isaiah 14:20 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 14:20

Thou shall not be joined with them in burial
The kings before mentioned; not that the sense is that he should not be interred in the same place they were, or lie in the same stately monuments they did, for that was never designed by him or others; but that he should not be buried in like manner, be embalmed as they, or have odours burned for him, or lie in such state and pomp, or have a "pyramid" or "mausoleum", or any rich monument, erected over him; unless this can be understood of his ancestors, the kings that were before him; and the sense be, that he should not have a burial with the kings of Babylon, or be inferred where they were, but, as before said, should be cast out, or be kept from the place of sepulture. The Targum is,

``thou shall not be as one of them in the grave;''
shall not be like them, or equal to them, in the glory and pomp of a funeral, not having the same funeral rites; obsequies, and ornaments they have had. So the whore of Rome shall have no funeral, but the kings of the earth will eat her flesh, and burn her with fire ( Revelation 17:16 ) , because thou hast destroyed thy land;
not only other lands and nations, but also his own, and the inhabitants of it, by his tyrannical government, by levies and exactions, by mulcts and fines, on various pretences: or, "hast corrupted, thy land" F7; which phrase is used of mystical Babylon, ( Revelation 19:2 ) see also ( Revelation 11:18 ) whose land or earth is the whole Romish jurisdiction, corrupted by her idolatries, and wasted and destroyed by the various methods used to drain away the substance thereof: [and] slain thy people;
put them to death at pleasure, without any just cause, for trifling matters; which is often done by arbitrary princes. Jarchi and Kimchi apply this to Nebuchadnezzar's slaying the wise men of Babylon, because they could not tell him his dream, and the interpretation of it. It is true of antichrist slaying such, that would not worship his image, and receive his mark, ( Revelation 13:10 Revelation 13:15 ) . The seed of evildoers shall never be renowned;
or, "not for ever"; though they may have a name, and be very famous for a while, yet not always; in process of time their honour is laid in the dust; or, "shall not be called for ever" F8; their name and their memory shall not always last; their name shall be cut off, and their memory shall rot; they shall have none to keep up their name, and they shall not be spoken of with respect; such a seed of evildoers were Belshazzar and his family, who descended from Nebuchadnezzar and Evilmerodach, and were at once extinct, as follows:
FOOTNOTES:

F7 (txv Kura) "terram tuam corrupisti", Montanus, Cocceius, Junius, Tremellius, Piscator.
F8 (Mlwel arqy al) "non nominabitur in seculum", Forerius; "vocabitur", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster.

Isaiah 14:20 In-Context

18 All the kings of heathen men, all slept in glory, a man in his house. (All the kings of the heathen, they all slept in glory, each man in his own house, or in his own tomb.)
19 But thou art cast out of thy sepulchre, as an unprofitable stock, as defouled with rot; and wrapped with them that be slain with sword, and went down to the foundament of the pit. As a rotten carrion (Like a rotten corpse),
20 thou shalt not have fellowship, neither with them in sepulchre, for thou hast lost thy land, thou hast slain the people; the seed of the worst men shall not be called without end. (thou shalt not have fellowship with them in the tomb, or in the grave, for thou hast destroyed thy land, and thou hast killed thy own people; the children, or the descendants, of these evil people shall never be seen again.)
21 Make ye ready his sons to slaying, for the wickedness of their fathers; they shall not rise, neither they shall inherit the land, neither they shall fill the face of the roundness (of the earth) of cities. (Prepare ye his sons for killing, for the wickedness of their forefathers; they shall not rise up and inherit the land, nor shall they fill the face of the roundness of the earth with their cities.)
22 And I shall rise [up] on them, saith the Lord of hosts, and I shall lose the name of Babylon, and the remnants, and generation, and seed, saith the Lord. (For I shall rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and I shall destroy the name of Babylon, and its remnants, and its children, and its descendants, saith the Lord.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.