Isaiah 14:18

THE MESSAGE

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!

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
All the kings of the nationslie in splendor, each in his own tomb.

Hebrew Names Version
All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house.

King James Version
All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

English Standard Version
All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;

New American Standard Bible
"All the kings of the nations lie in glory, Each in his own tomb.

New Century Version
Every king of the earth has been buried with honor, each in his own grave.

Amplified Bible
"All the kings of the nations, all of them lie [dead] in glorious array, Each one in his own sepulcher.

World English Bible
All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house.

Geneva Bible (1587)
All the Kings of the nations, euen they all sleepe in glorie, euery one in his owne house.

Legacy Standard Bible
All the kings of the nations lie in glory,Each in his own place.

Berean Standard Bible
All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb.

Contemporary English Version
When kings die, they are buried in glorious tombs.

Complete Jewish Bible
"All other kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory, each in his tomb.

Darby Translation
—All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house;

Easy-to-Read Version
The kings of other nations lie buried with honor, each king with his own grave.

George Lamsa Translation
All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

Good News Translation
All the kings of the earth lie in their magnificent tombs,

Lexham English Bible
All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory, each one in his house.

Literal Translation
All kings of nations, all of them lie in glory, each man in his house.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
How happeneth it, that the kynges of all people lie, euery one at home in his owne palace, with worshipe,

American Standard Version
All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house.

Bible in Basic English
All the kings of the earth are at rest in glory, every man in his house,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house.

King James Version (1611)
All the kings of the nations, euen all of them lie in glory, euery one in his owne house.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The kynges of the nations lye euery one in his owne house with worship.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
All the kings of the nations lie in honour, every man in his house.

English Revised Version
All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Alle the kyngis of hethene men, alle slepten in glorie, a man in his hous.

Update Bible Version
All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house.

Webster's Bible Translation
All the kings of the nations, [even] all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

New English Translation
As for all the kings of the nations, all of them lie down in splendor, each in his own tomb.

New King James Version
"All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house;

New Living Translation
"The kings of the nations lie in stately glory, each in his own tomb,

New Life Bible
"All the kings of the nations lie in greatness, each in his own grave.

New Revised Standard
All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
All the kings of the nations - they all, are lying in state Each one in his crypt;

Douay-Rheims Bible
All the kings of the nations have all of them slept in glory, every one in his own house.

Revised Standard Version
All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;

Young's Literal Translation
All kings of nations -- all of them, Have lain down in honour, each in his house,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"All the kings of the nations lie in glory, Each in his own tomb.

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

all of: Isaiah 22:16, 2 Chronicles 24:16, 2 Chronicles 24:25, Ecclesiastes 6:3, Ezekiel 32:18-32

house: Job 30:23, Ecclesiastes 12:5

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 25:1 - in his house 1 Kings 13:22 - carcase 2 Kings 9:35 - but they found 2 Kings 9:37 - the carcase Isaiah 57:2 - rest Ezekiel 32:27 - shall not Luke 16:22 - and was buried

Cross-References

Genesis 14:10
The Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into the tar pits, but the rest escaped into the mountains. The four kings captured all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, all their food and equipment, and went on their way. They captured Lot, Abram's nephew who was living in Sodom at the time, taking everything he owned with them.

Genesis 14:22
But Abram told the king of Sodom, "I swear to God , The High God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, this solemn oath, that I'll take nothing from you, not so much as a thread or a shoestring. I'm not going to have you go around saying, ‘I made Abram rich.' Nothing for me other than what the young men ate and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; they're to get their share of the plunder."

Ruth 3:10
He said, " God bless you, my dear daughter! What a splendid expression of love! And when you could have had your pick of any of the young men around. And now, my dear daughter, don't you worry about a thing; I'll do all you could want or ask. Everybody in town knows what a courageous woman you are—a real prize! You're right, I am a close relative to you, but there is one even closer than I am. So stay the rest of the night. In the morning, if he wants to exercise his customary rights and responsibilities as the closest covenant redeemer, he'll have his chance; but if he isn't interested, as God lives, I'll do it. Now go back to sleep until morning."

Psalms 7:17
I'm thanking God, who makes things right. I'm singing the fame of heaven-high God .

Micah 6:6
How can I stand up before God and show proper respect to the high God? Should I bring an armload of offerings topped off with yearling calves? Would God be impressed with thousands of rams, with buckets and barrels of olive oil? Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child, my precious baby, to cancel my sin?

Acts 7:48
"Yet that doesn't mean that Most High God lives in a building made by carpenters and masons. The prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote, "Heaven is my throne room; I rest my feet on earth. So what kind of house will you build me?" says God. "Where I can get away and relax? It's already built, and I built it."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

All the kings of the nations,.... Of other nations, besides those he governed, and even of those whom he had subdued, at least their ancestors, the greatest part of them however; for the word "all" does not always signify every individual, though by the repetition of it, it here bids fair for such a sense, there being but very few, or scarce any exceptions to this observation; for, on some account or another, both good and bad kings are interred in great state:

[even] all of them lie in glory; in rich tombs and stately monuments, erected for the honour of them; and where they "sleep", as the word signifies, with their fathers, their ancestors, and are at rest, in the state of the dead, where they will continue to the resurrection:

everyone in his own house; or grave, see Job 30:23 the same with his long home, Ecclesiastes 12:5 or the house of his world: in reference to which, the Targum paraphrases it by the same phrase here; and though their graves were not in their dwelling houses or palaces, yet often near them, and in their own country, and were what had been erected, or caused to be erected by them, in their lifetime.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

All the kings of the nations - That is, this is the common way in which the kings are buried.

Lie in glory - They lie in a magnificent mausoleum; they are surrounded with splendor even in their tombs. It is well known that vast sums of money were expended to rear magnificent mausoleums as the burial place of kings. With this design, probably, the pyramids of Egypt were reared; and the temple of Bel in Babylon, we are told, was employed for this purpose. Josephus says that vast quantities of money were buried in the sepulchre of David. The kings of Israel were buried in a royal burying place on Mount Zion 2 Chronicles 21:20; 2 Chronicles 35:24; Nehemiah 3:16. For a description of the sepulchre of David, and of sepulchres in general, “see” Calmet’s “Dict.” Art. “Sepulchre” (compare Ezekiel 32:0.)

Every one in his own house - In a sepulchre constructed for himself. It was usual for kings to have a splendid tomb constructed for themselves.