◄ Isaiah 14:11 ►
Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket.
Study Bible
Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol
This phrase addresses the fall of a once-proud figure, often interpreted as the king of Babylon. "Pomp" refers to the grandeur and pride associated with earthly power and majesty. Sheol, in ancient Hebrew understanding, is the realm of the dead, a shadowy place where all go after death, regardless of status. This descent signifies the ultimate humiliation and leveling of all human pride before God. The imagery of being brought down to Sheol echoes the theme of divine judgment found throughout the Bible, such as in Ezekiel 32:18-32, where the downfall of the proud is a common motif.

along with the music of your harps
Harps symbolize joy, celebration, and the cultural achievements of a nation. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, music was often associated with royal courts and religious ceremonies. The cessation of music signifies the end of joy and the silencing of a once-vibrant culture. This imagery is reminiscent of the lament over Tyre in Ezekiel 26:13, where the sound of harps is silenced as a sign of judgment. The loss of music underscores the totality of the fall from glory.

Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket
This vivid imagery emphasizes the decay and corruption that accompany death. In the ancient world, maggots and worms were natural agents of decomposition, symbolizing the ultimate fate of all flesh. This phrase starkly contrasts with the opulence and luxury previously enjoyed by the proud figure. It serves as a reminder of the transitory nature of earthly power and the inevitability of death. The imagery is paralleled in Job 21:26, where both the wicked and the righteous lie down in the dust, covered by worms, highlighting the universal nature of death and decay.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Isaiah
The prophet who authored the book, delivering messages from God to the people of Judah and surrounding nations.

2. Babylon
The empire symbolized by the king in this passage, representing pride and opposition to God.

3. Sheol
The Hebrew term for the realm of the dead, often depicted as a place of darkness and decay.

4. King of Babylon
The immediate subject of the prophecy, representing human arrogance and the eventual downfall of those who oppose God.

5. Maggots and Worms
Symbolic of decay and the ultimate humiliation and destruction of earthly pride and power.
Teaching Points
The Folly of Pride
Pride leads to downfall. The king of Babylon's fate serves as a warning against self-exaltation and arrogance.

The Reality of Judgment
God's judgment is inevitable for those who oppose Him. Earthly power and splendor cannot prevent divine justice.

The Transience of Earthly Glory
Earthly achievements and status are temporary. True security and honor come from a relationship with God.

The Humility of Christ
In contrast to the king of Babylon, Jesus exemplifies humility. Believers are called to follow His example.

Eternal Perspective
Focus on eternal values rather than temporary earthly gains. Our ultimate hope and security lie in God's promises.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of Sheol in Isaiah 14:11 challenge our understanding of life and death from a biblical perspective?

2. In what ways can pride manifest in our lives today, and how can we guard against it using biblical principles?

3. How does the downfall of the king of Babylon serve as a warning for modern leaders and individuals in positions of power?

4. What are some practical ways we can cultivate humility in our daily lives, following the example of Christ?

5. How can the themes of judgment and redemption in Isaiah 14:11 encourage us to live with an eternal perspective?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Ezekiel 28
Similar themes of pride and downfall are seen in the lament over the king of Tyre, drawing parallels to the fate of the king of Babylon.

Revelation 18
The fall of Babylon the Great in Revelation echoes the themes of judgment and destruction for those who exalt themselves against God.

Proverbs 16:18
The principle that pride precedes destruction is a recurring biblical theme, reinforcing the message of Isaiah 14:11.

Philippians 2:10-11
Contrasts the fate of the proud with the exaltation of Christ, to whom every knee will bow.

James 4:6
Emphasizes that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, aligning with the humbling of the king of Babylon.
Sermons
Song of Redeemed IsraelE. Johnson Isaiah 14:1-23
An Image of the SoulF. Delitzsch.Isaiah 14:4-23
An Ode of TriumphProf . E. R. Driver, D. D.Isaiah 14:4-23
Deliverance from an Evil DominionR. Macculloch.Isaiah 14:4-23
Destruction of the King of BabylonIsaiah 14:4-23
HellProf. S. R. Driver, D. D.Isaiah 14:4-23
HellW. Day, M. A.Isaiah 14:4-23
Impious Expectations DisappointedProf. J. Skinner, D. D.Isaiah 14:4-23
LuciferProf. J. Skinner, D. D.Isaiah 14:4-23
PrideR. Macculloch.Isaiah 14:4-23
Sin and its HumiliationsW. Clarkson Isaiah 14:4-23
The BitternJ. Duns, D. D., F. R. S. E.Isaiah 14:4-23
The Bosom of DestructionIsaiah 14:4-23
The Church's Exultation Over Her FoesF. B. Meyer, B. A.Isaiah 14:4-23
The Golden CityR. Macculloch.Isaiah 14:4-23
The Proverb Against the King of BabylonSir E. Strachey, Bart.Isaiah 14:4-23
Song of Redeemed Israel: the Scene in HadesE. Johnson Isaiah 14:9-23
People
Ahaz, Isaiah, Jacob, Lucifer, Saraph
Places
Babylon, Lebanon, Philistia, Zion
Topics
Along, Bed, Beneath, Body, Cover, Covered, Covering, Excellency, Grave, Harps, Instruments, Lyres, Maggot, Maggots, Music, Nether-world, Noise, Pomp, Pride, Psalteries, Psaltery, Sheol, Spread, Stringed, Underworld, Viols, Worm, Worms, Yea
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 14:11

     5332   harp
     9040   grave, the

Isaiah 14:3-23

     4215   Babylon

Isaiah 14:9-11

     9110   after-life

Isaiah 14:11-15

     8805   pride, results

Library
The victory of Life (Preached at the Chapel Royal. )
ISAIAH xxxviii. 18, 19. The grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee. I may seem to have taken a strange text on which to speak,--a mournful, a seemingly hopeless text. Why I have chosen it, I trust that you will see presently; certainly not that I may make you hopeless about death. Meanwhile, let us consider it; for it is in the Bible, and, like all words in the Bible, was written …
Charles Kingsley—The Water of Life and Other Sermons

The Life and Death of Mr. Badman,
Presented to the World in a Familiar Dialogue Between Mr. Wiseman and Mr. Attentive. By John Bunyan ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The life of Badman is a very interesting description, a true and lively portraiture, of the demoralized classes of the trading community in the reign of King Charles II; a subject which naturally led the author to use expressions familiar among such persons, but which are now either obsolete or considered as vulgar. In fact it is the only work proceeding from the prolific …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The First Trumpet.
The first trumpet of the seventh seal begins from the final disturbance and overthrow of the Roman idolarchy at the close of the sixth seal; and as it was to bring the first plague on the empire, now beginning to fall, it lays waste the third part of the earth, with a horrible storm of hail mingled with fire and blood; that is, it depopulates the territory and people of the Roman world, (viz. the basis and ground of its universal polity) with a terrible and bloody irruption of the northern nations, …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

The Evil of Sin visible in the Fall of Angels and Men.
1 When the great Builder arch'd the skies, And form'd all nature with a word, The joyful cherubs tun'd his praise, And every bending throne ador'd. 2 High in the midst of all the throng, Satan, a tall archangel, sat, Amongst the morning stars he sung [1] Till sin destroy'd his heavenly state. 3 ['Twas sin that hurl'd him from his throne, Grov'ling in fire the rebel lies: "How art thou sunk in darkness down, "Son of the morning, from the skies!" [2] 4 And thus our two first parents stood Till sin …
Isaac Watts—Hymns and Spiritual Songs

Epistle xviii. To John, Bishop.
To John, Bishop. Gregory to John, Bishop of Constantinople [1586] . At the time when your Fraternity was advanced to Sacerdotal dignity, you remember what peace and concord of the churches you found. But, with what daring or with what swelling of pride I know not, you have attempted to seize upon a new name, whereby the hearts of all your brethren might have come to take offence. I wonder exceedingly at this, since I remember how thou wouldest fain have fled from the episcopal office rather than …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Epistle xxi. To Constantina Augusta .
To Constantina Augusta [1593] . Gregory to Constantina, &c. Almighty God, who holds in His right hand the heart of your Piety, both protects us through you and prepares for you rewards of eternal remuneration for temporal deeds. For I have learnt from the letters of the deacon Sabinianus my responsalis with what justice your Serenity is interested in the cause of the blessed Prince of the apostles Peter against certain persons who are proudly humble and feignedly kind. And I trust in the bounty …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

That the Ruler Should Be, through Humility, a Companion of Good Livers, But, through the Zeal of Righteousness, Rigid against the vices of Evildoers.
The ruler should be, through humility, a companion of good livers, and, through the zeal of righteousness, rigid against the vices of evil-doers; so that in nothing he prefer himself to the good, and yet, when the fault of the bad requires it, he be at once conscious of the power of his priority; to the end that, while among his subordinates who live well he waives his rank and accounts them as his equals, he may not fear to execute the laws of rectitude towards the perverse. For, as I remember to …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Doctrine of Satan.
I. HIS EXISTENCE AND PERSONALITY. 1. EXISTENCE. 2. PERSONALITY. II. HIS PLACE AND POWER. 1. A MIGHTY ANGEL. 2. PRINCE OF POWER OF THE AIR. 3. GOD OF THIS WORLD. 4. HEAD OF KINGDOM OF DARKNESS. 5. SOVEREIGN OVER DEATH. III. HIS CHARACTER. 1. ADVERSARY. 2. DIABOLOS. 3. WICKED ONE. 4. TEMPTER. IV. OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS SATAN. 1. LIMITED POWER OF SATAN. 2. RESIST HIM. V. HIS DESTINY. 1. A CONQUERED ENEMY. 2. UNDER ETERNAL CURSE. VI. DEMONS. THE DOCTRINE OF SATAN. Throughout the Scriptures Satan is set …
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible

The Disciple, -- Master, Some People Say that the Comfort and Joy that Believers Experience...
The Disciple,--Master, some people say that the comfort and joy that believers experience are simply the outcome of their own thoughts and ideas. Is this true? The Master,--1. That comfort and abiding peace which believers have within themselves is due to My presence in their hearts, and to the life-giving influence of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. As for those who say that this spiritual joy is the result only of the thoughts of the heart, they are like a foolish man who was blind from his birth, …
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet

The Power of God
The next attribute is God's power. Job 9:19. If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong.' In this chapter is a magnificent description of God's power. Lo, he is strong.' The Hebrew word for strong signifies a conquering, prevailing strength. He is strong.' The superlative degree is intended here; viz., He is most strong. He is called El-shaddai, God almighty. Gen 17:7. His almightiness lies in this, that he can do whatever is feasible. Divines distinguish between authority and power. God has both. …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Sargon of Assyria (722-705 B. C. )
SARGON AS A WARRIOR AND AS A BUILDER. The origin of Sargon II.: the revolt of Babylon, Merodach-baladan and Elam--The kingdom of Elam from the time of the first Babylonian empire; the conquest's of Shutruh-nalkunta I.; the princes of Malamir--The first encounter of Assyria and Elam, the battle of Durilu (721 B.C.)--Revolt of Syria, Iaubidi of Hamath and Hannon of Gaza--Bocchoris and the XXIVth Egyptian dynasty; the first encounter of Assyria with Egypt, the battle of Raphia (720 B.C.). Urartu …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 7

Use to be Made of the Doctrine of Providence.
Sections. 1. Summary of the doctrine of Divine Providence. 1. It embraces the future and the past. 2. It works by means, without means, and against means. 3. Mankind, and particularly the Church, the object of special care. 4. The mode of administration usually secret, but always just. This last point more fully considered. 2. The profane denial that the world is governed by the secret counsel of God, refuted by passages of Scripture. Salutary counsel. 3. This doctrine, as to the secret counsel of …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Holy War,
MADE BY SHADDAI UPON DIABOLUS, FOR THE REGAINING OF THE METROPOLIS OF THE WORLD; OR, THE LOSING AND TAKING AGAIN OF THE TOWN OF MANSOUL. THE AUTHOR OF 'THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.' 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms in the Poultry; and Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Bunyan's account of the Holy War is indeed an extraordinary book, manifesting a degree of genius, research, and spiritual …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Opposition to Messiah in Vain
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision. T he extent and efficacy [effects] of the depravity of mankind cannot be fully estimated by the conduct of heathens destitute of divine revelation. We may say of the Gospel, in one sense, what the Apostle says of the Law, It entered that sin might abound (Romans 5:20) . It afforded occasion for displaying the alienation of the heart of man from the blessed God, in the strongest light. The sensuality, oppression and …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Isaiah 14:11 NIV
Isaiah 14:11 NLT
Isaiah 14:11 ESV
Isaiah 14:11 NASB
Isaiah 14:11 KJV

Isaiah 14:11 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Isaiah 14:10
Top of Page
Top of Page