Isaiah 14:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

NIV: But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

NASB: Nevertheless you will be brought down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.

CSB: But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the Pit.

NLT: Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.

KJV: Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

NKJV: Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.

The greatest sin of the king of Babylon, from the Lord's perspective, was his enormous pride and arrogance. He imagined himself to be self-made in his power over Babylon and the world. Babylon's king believed his rise in power would continue until he sat among the gods like the Most High (Isaiah 14:13–14). He never understood the reality that all human power is given and taken by the Lord God of Israel. He was nothing more than a puppet.

Death is the ultimate cure for arrogance. It is the final leveler of all humanity. The king who imagined himself a god, was instead brought down to Sheol (Isaiah 14:9). This was the place thought to be the destination for all the dead by the peoples of the ancient Near East. Isaiah is not attempting to offer an analytical, precise theology of the afterlife in this poem. He is using poetry and song to mock the would-be god by describing his final resting place in the pit of Sheol. The king's end destination was no different from those he considered lesser than himself. In fact, the king was not even given a prime spot in Sheol. He languishes in the "far reaches" of the pit. He has been brought lower than the low.

Chapter 14:3–23 contains a mocking, sarcastic dirge for the fallen king of Babylon. The song imitates the respects otherwise paid to honor a fallen king. Instead, this song describes celebration of both people and trees at his death. The fallen kings in Sheol rise to mock the man for his weakness. The king is sarcastically referred to as the "Day Star"—leading to speculation that this is also a description of Satan's fall from heaven. The fallen one had ambition to become like the Most High among the gods, but instead was cut down to nothing in his death.

After the oracle against Babylon in the previous chapter, Isaiah briefly describes what will follow for Judah. In compassion, the Lord will choose His people once more. He will return them to their homeland. They will sing a mocking taunt-song against the fallen king of Babylon. Isaiah pronounces oracles from the Lord against Assyria and Philistia. The Lord will break the Assyrians in His land. With heavy symbolism, Isaiah seems to prophecy that the Assyrians will defeat the Philistines with a siege four years before it happens. God's people will find refuge in Zion.

Chapter 14 follows the oracle about the destruction of Babylon with a brief encouragement to the people of Judah. The Lord will restore them to the land. They will taunt the fallen Babylonian king, using phrases many also associate with the fall of Satan. Isaiah pronounces oracles from the Lord against Assyria and Philistia. He declares that He will break the Assyrians in His land, freeing His people from their oppression. Philistia will fall at the Lord's hand to a famine inflicted on them by a power from the north. Next, Isaiah's prophecy will turn to Moab.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).