What does Isaiah 14:13 mean?
In Isaiah's taunt-song about the fallen king of Babylon, reality has made a harsh appearance to interrupt human arrogance. This disgraced leader has fallen, and fallen far (Isaiah 14:3–11). The prophet has mockingly called him the "Day Star, son of the Dawn." Now it becomes clear that lofty identity was a figment of the king's imagination (Isaiah 14:12).The authority and power of kings in this era was so absolute that some thought them to be gods. Some of these kings also believed this to be true about themselves. Babylon's admittedly powerful king had the audacity to tell himself he would reach the "heights of heaven." He declared he would even be above the stars of God. This arrogance is part of why some readers associate this passage with Satan's fall from heaven.
This king declared in his heart that he would "sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north." Isaiah appears to be using the mythology and religion of the Canaanite peoples to describe the king's ambition for godhood. They held that Baal and the other gods assembled on the real Mount Zaphon in the north. Mount Casius in Syria is likely this mountain in our modern map. In this song, Isaiah shows the king assuming that he will take his place among the gods when the time comes. In truth, the king's destination will be Sheol, along with the rest of the merely human dead.