What does Isaiah 14:9 mean?
Isaiah's description of the aftermath of the death of the king of Babylon moves from celebrations on earth to his reception in the place of the dead, This place is referred to as Sheol.This poetic imagery isn't meant to be a precise, analytical, theologically nuanced representation of the afterlife. Instead, Isaiah pictures the place of the dead as it may have been imagined to his audience at the time of writing. The dead were thought to occupy a similar level of status in Sheol as they did during their lives on earth. He is picturing the dead kings of the nations as occupying thrones, as they did in life. Isaiah will turn that idea on its head.
This place of the dead is stirred up at the news that the evil king of Babylon will be arriving there. Sheol rouses the spirits of the dead leaders of the world to greet the fallen king. They are pictured as rising from their thrones as he enters. As if these leaders still had places of honor and authority.