Isaiah 14:15

THE MESSAGE

But you didn't make it, did you? Instead of climbing up, you came down— Down with the underground dead, down to the abyss of the Pit. People will stare and muse: "Can this be the one Who terrorized earth and its kingdoms, turned earth to a moonscape, Wasted its cities, shut up his prisoners to a living death?"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But you will be brought down to Sheolinto the deepest regions of the Pit.

Hebrew Names Version
Yet you shall be brought down to She'ol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

King James Version
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

English Standard Version
But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

New American Standard Bible
"Nevertheless you will be brought down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.

New Century Version
But you were brought down to the grave, to the deep places where the dead are.

Amplified Bible
"But [in fact] you will be brought down to Sheol, To the remote recesses of the pit (the region of the dead).

World English Bible
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But thou shalt bee brought downe to the graue, to the sides of the pit.

Legacy Standard Bible
Nevertheless you will be brought down to Sheol,To the recesses of the pit.

Berean Standard Bible
But you will be brought down to Sheol to the far reaches of the Pit.

Contemporary English Version
But now you are deep in the world of the dead.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Instead you are brought down to Sh'ol, to the uttermost depths of the pit.

Darby Translation
none the less art thou brought down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.

Easy-to-Read Version
But that did not happen. You were brought down to the deep pit—Sheol, the place of death.

George Lamsa Translation
From henceforth you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the bottom of the pit.

Good News Translation
But instead, you have been brought down to the deepest part of the world of the dead.

Lexham English Bible
But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit.

Literal Translation
Yet you shall go down to Sheol, to the sides of the Pit.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yet darre I laye, yt thou shalt be brought downe to the depe of hell.

American Standard Version
Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

Bible in Basic English
But you will come down to the underworld, even to its inmost parts.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Yet thou shalt be brought down to the nether-world, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

King James Version (1611)
Yet thou shalt be brought downe to hel, to the sides of the pit.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Yet thou shalt be brought downe to the deepe of hell, to the sides of the lake.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But now thou shalt go down to hell, even to the foundations of the earth.

English Revised Version
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Netheles thou schalt be drawun doun to helle, in to the depthe of the lake.

Update Bible Version
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

Webster's Bible Translation
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

New English Translation
But you were brought down to Sheol, to the remote slopes of the Pit.

New King James Version
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.

New Living Translation
Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.

New Life Bible
But you will be brought down to the place of the dead, to the bottom of the grave.

New Revised Standard
But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Howbeit, to Hades, shalt thou be brought down, - To the Recesses of the Pit!

Douay-Rheims Bible
But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, into the depth of the pit.

Revised Standard Version
But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit.

Young's Literal Translation
Only -- unto Sheol thou art brought down, Unto the sides of the pit.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.

Contextual Overview

⁵Now You Are Nothing But not so with Jacob. God will have compassion on Jacob. Once again he'll choose Israel. He'll establish them in their own country. Outsiders will be attracted and throw their lot in with Jacob. The nations among whom they lived will actually escort them back home, and then Israel will pay them back by making slaves of them, men and women alike, possessing them as slaves in God 's country, capturing those who had captured them, ruling over those who had abused them. When God has given you time to recover from the abuse and trouble and harsh servitude that you had to endure, you can amuse yourselves by taking up this satire, a taunt against the king of Babylon: Can you believe it? The tyrant is gone! The tyranny is over! God has broken the rule of the wicked, the power of the bully-rulers That crushed many people. A relentless rain of cruel outrage Established a violent rule of anger rife with torture and persecution. And now it's over, the whole earth quietly at rest. Burst into song! Make the rafters ring! Ponderosa pine trees are happy, giant Lebanon cedars are relieved, saying, "Since you've been cut down, there's no one around to cut us down." And the underworld dead are all excited, preparing to welcome you when you come. Getting ready to greet you are the ghostly dead, all the famous names of earth. All the buried kings of the nations will stand up on their thrones With well-prepared speeches, royal invitations to death: "Now you are as nothing as we are! Make yourselves at home with us dead folks!" This is where your pomp and fine music led you, Babylon, to your underworld private chambers, A king-size mattress of maggots for repose and a quilt of crawling worms for warmth. What a comedown this, O Babylon! Daystar! Son of Dawn! Flat on your face in the underworld mud, you, famous for flattening nations! You said to yourself, "I'll climb to heaven. I'll set my throne over the stars of God. I'll run the assembly of angels that meets on sacred Mount Zaphon. I'll climb to the top of the clouds. I'll take over as King of the Universe!" But you didn't make it, did you? Instead of climbing up, you came down— Down with the underground dead, down to the abyss of the Pit. People will stare and muse: "Can this be the one Who terrorized earth and its kingdoms, turned earth to a moonscape, Wasted its cities, shut up his prisoners to a living death?" Other kings get a decent burial, honored with eulogies and placed in a tomb. But you're dumped in a ditch unburied, like a stray dog or cat, Covered with rotting bodies, murdered and indigent corpses. Your dead body desecrated, mutilated— no state funeral for you! You've left your land in ruins, left a legacy of massacre. The progeny of your evil life will never be named. Oblivion! Get a place ready to slaughter the sons of the wicked and wipe out their father's line. Unthinkable that they should own a square foot of land or desecrate the face of the world with their cities! "I will confront them"—Decree of God -of-the-Angel-Armies—"and strip Babylon of name and survivors, children and grandchildren." God 's Decree. "I'll make it a worthless swamp and give it as a prize to the hedgehog. And then I'll bulldoze it out of existence." Decree of God -of-the-Angel-Armies. God -of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: "Exactly as I planned, it will happen. Following my blueprints, it will take shape. I will shatter the Assyrian who trespasses my land and stomp him into the dirt on my mountains. I will ban his taking and making of slaves and lift the weight of oppression from all shoulders." This is the plan, planned for the whole earth, And this is the hand that will do it, reaching into every nation. God -of-the-Angel-Armies has planned it. Who could ever cancel such plans? His is the hand that's reached out. Who could brush it aside? In the year King Ahaz died, this Message came: Hold it, Philistines! It's too soon to celebrate the defeat of your cruel oppressor. From the death throes of that snake a worse snake will come, and from that, one even worse. The poor won't have to worry. The needy will escape the terror. But you Philistines will be plunged into famine, and those who don't starve, God will kill. Wail and howl, proud city! Fall prostrate in fear, Philistia! On the northern horizon, smoke from burned cities, the wake of a brutal, disciplined destroyer. What does one say to outsiders who ask questions? Tell them, " God has established Zion. Those in need and in trouble find refuge in her." ⁶Now You Are Nothing But not so with Jacob. God will have compassion on Jacob. Once again he'll choose Israel. He'll establish them in their own country. Outsiders will be attracted and throw their lot in with Jacob. The nations among whom they lived will actually escort them back home, and then Israel will pay them back by making slaves of them, men and women alike, possessing them as slaves in God 's country, capturing those who had captured them, ruling over those who had abused them. When God has given you time to recover from the abuse and trouble and harsh servitude that you had to endure, you can amuse yourselves by taking up this satire, a taunt against the king of Babylon: Can you believe it? The tyrant is gone! The tyranny is over! God has broken the rule of the wicked, the power of the bully-rulers That crushed many people. A relentless rain of cruel outrage Established a violent rule of anger rife with torture and persecution. ⁷And now it's over, the whole earth quietly at rest. Burst into song! Make the rafters ring! Ponderosa pine trees are happy, giant Lebanon cedars are relieved, saying, "Since you've been cut down, there's no one around to cut us down." And the underworld dead are all excited, preparing to welcome you when you come. Getting ready to greet you are the ghostly dead, all the famous names of earth. All the buried kings of the nations will stand up on their thrones With well-prepared speeches, royal invitations to death: "Now you are as nothing as we are! Make yourselves at home with us dead folks!" ¹¹ This is where your pomp and fine music led you, Babylon, to your underworld private chambers, A king-size mattress of maggots for repose and a quilt of crawling worms for warmth. ¹² What a comedown this, O Babylon! Daystar! Son of Dawn! Flat on your face in the underworld mud, you, famous for flattening nations! ¹³You said to yourself, "I'll climb to heaven. I'll set my throne over the stars of God. I'll run the assembly of angels that meets on sacred Mount Zaphon. I'll climb to the top of the clouds. I'll take over as King of the Universe!" ¹⁵But you didn't make it, did you? Instead of climbing up, you came down— Down with the underground dead, down to the abyss of the Pit. People will stare and muse: "Can this be the one Who terrorized earth and its kingdoms, turned earth to a moonscape, Wasted its cities, shut up his prisoners to a living death?" ¹⁸Other kings get a decent burial, honored with eulogies and placed in a tomb. But you're dumped in a ditch unburied, like a stray dog or cat, Covered with rotting bodies, murdered and indigent corpses. Your dead body desecrated, mutilated— no state funeral for you! You've left your land in ruins, left a legacy of massacre. The progeny of your evil life will never be named. Oblivion! ²¹ Get a place ready to slaughter the sons of the wicked and wipe out their father's line. Unthinkable that they should own a square foot of land or desecrate the face of the world with their cities! ²²"I will confront them"—Decree of God -of-the-Angel-Armies—"and strip Babylon of name and survivors, children and grandchildren." God 's Decree. "I'll make it a worthless swamp and give it as a prize to the hedgehog. And then I'll bulldoze it out of existence." Decree of God -of-the-Angel-Armies.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thou: Isaiah 14:3-11, Ezekiel 28:8, Ezekiel 28:9, Matthew 11:23, Acts 12:22, Acts 12:23, Revelation 19:20

to the: Ezekiel 32:23

Reciprocal: Numbers 16:33 - into the Psalms 63:9 - go Ezekiel 31:16 - When I Ezekiel 32:18 - unto the Luke 10:15 - thrust Luke 16:23 - in hell

Cross-References

Genesis 14:3
This second group of kings, the attacked, came together at the Valley of Siddim, that is, the Salt Sea. They had been under the thumb of Kedorlaomer for twelve years. In the thirteenth year, they revolted.

1 Kings 15:18
Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of The Temple of God and the royal palace, gave it to his servants, and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, with this message: "Let's make a treaty like the one between our fathers. I'm showing my good faith with this gift of silver and gold. Break your deal with Baasha king of Israel so he'll quit fighting against me."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell,.... Into a very low and miserable condition; see Matthew 11:23 instead of ascending to heaven: or "to the grave"; though, inasmuch as afterwards a burial is denied him, the word may be taken for the infernal pit, and so is, as much as can be, opposed to heaven; and this will be true of antichrist, when the beast and false prophet will be cast alive into the lake of fire, Revelation 19:20:

to the sides of the pit; instead of being on the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north; another word for hell, the pit of corruption, and the bottomless pit. The Targum is,

"to the ends of the lake of the house of perdition;''

the place of everlasting destruction.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell - Hebrew, ‘To sheol’ (compare Isaiah 14:9).

To the sides of the pit - The word ‘pit,’ here, is evidently synonymous with “hell” or “hades,” represented as a deep, dark region under ground. The dead were often buried in caves, and the descent was often dark and dreary, to the vaults where they reposed. Hence, it is always represented as going down; or, as the “inferior” regions. The ‘sides of the pit’ here stand opposed to the ‘sides of the north.’ He had sought to “ascend” to the one; he should be “brought down” to the other. The reference here is, doubtless, to the land of shades; to the dark and dismal regions where the departed dead are supposed to dwell - to “sheol.” So the parallelism proves. But the image or figure is taken from the custom of burying, where, in a deep natural cavern, or a sepulchre excavated from a rock, the dead were ranged around the “sides” of the cavern in niches or recesses excavated for that purpose (see the note at Isaiah 14:9).