Isaiah 14:20
in Isaiah 14You will not join them in burial, since you have destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of the wicked will never again be mentioned.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever.
KJV
Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
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This verse in Isaiah 14
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 20) For you have destroyed your land, you have killed your people. According to the Septuagint interpreters who said, 'Because you have destroyed my land and killed my people,' there is no doubt about what they mean. Indeed, Nebuchadnezzar killed and destroyed the land of Judah and its people. According to the Hebrew text, it is difficult to understand how he lost his own land and killed his own people, unless perhaps it should be understood in this sense: you completely destroyed those whom God had given you to correct.
This site's exposition
not join them in burial
on Isaiah 14:20-23
"The offspring of the wicked will never again be mentioned" closes the reason for the king's denied burial. The slaughter prepared for his sons carries "the iniquities of their forefathers" onto them. Babylon swept "with the broom of destruction" returns to the desolation of the chapter before.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, they reproach him with the damage he inflicted on his own kingdom: you have destroyed your land, for the Chaldeans would have held the kingdom longer had it not been for the sins of Nabuchodonosor; for the people are punished for the fault of …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
To be denied decent burial is a disgrace, which, if it be inflicted for righteousness' sake (as Ps. lxxix. 2 ), may, as other similar reproaches, be rejoiced in ( Matt. v. 12 ); it is the lot of the two witnesses, Rev. xi.
Thou shall not be joined with them in burial,....
But tyrants sacrifice their interests to their lusts and passions; and God will reckon with them for their barbarous usage of those who are under their power, whom they think they may use as they please. (2.) Great pride and haughtiness. Notice is here taken of his pomp, the extravagancy of his retinue,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Because thou hast destroyed thy land, etc. “Because thou hast destroyed thy country; thou hast slain thy people” - Xenophon gives an instance of this king’s wanton cruelty in killing the son of Gobrias, on no other provocation than that, in hunting, he struck a boar and a lion which the king had missed. Cyrop. 4:309.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
not . . . joined with them--whereas the princes slain with thee shall be buried, thou shalt not. thou . . . destroyed . . . land--Belshazzar (or Naboned) oppressed his land with wars and tyranny, so that he was much hated [XENOPHON, Cyropædia 4.6, 3;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-brackets
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial - That is, even with those who are slain with the sword in battle, and to whom is granted the privilege of a decent burial. Hast destroyed thy land - Hast been a cruel, harsh, and oppressive prince. The seed of evil-doers - The posterity of the wicked. Shall never be renowned - Hebrew, ‘Shall never be called,’ or ‘named’ (לא־יקרא lo'-yı̂qārē'); that is, shall never be distinguished, celebrated, or honored. This is a general proposition; but the prophet here possibly designs to apply it to the king of which he is speaking, as having been descended from ancestors that were wicked; or more probably it is a new circumstance, more fully explained in the following verse, that his posterity should be cut off from the honor of succeeding him on the throne, and that they, as well as he, should be loaded with disgrace. The design is to affirm the fact that the Babylonian dynasty would end with him; and that his posterity would be reduced from the honors which they had hoped to have inherited. At the same time, the general proposition is applicable not only to the posterity of the king of Babylon, but to all. It is a great truth pertaining to the divine administration, that the descendants of wicked people shall be dishonored. So it is with the posterity of a traitor, a pirate, a drunkard, a man of profligacy. They are involved in disgrace, poverty, and calamity, as the result of the sin of their ancestor.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵחַ֤ד | techad | you will be united | H3161 → | |
| אִתָּם֙ | ʾitam | with them | H854 → | 929 times |
| בִּקְבוּרָ֔ה | bikvurah | in burial | H6900 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אַרְצְךָ֥ | ʾartzekha | land your | H776 → | 2504 times |
| שִׁחַ֖תָּ | shichata | you have ruined | H7843 → | 146 times |
| עַמְּךָ֣ | ʾamekha | people your | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הָרָ֑גְתָּ | harageta | you have slain | H2026 → | 167 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִקָּרֵ֥א | yikare' | it will be named | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לְעוֹלָ֖ם | leolam | for ever | H5769 → | 438 times |
| זֶ֥רַע | zera' | [the] offspring of | H2233 → | 229 times |
| מְרֵעִֽים׃ | mereim | evil-doers | H7489 → | 107 times |
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תֵחַ֤דyou will be united
techadH3161 →
אִתָּם֙with them
ʾitamH854 →929 times
בִּקְבוּרָ֔הin burial
bikvurahH6900 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אַרְצְךָ֥land your
ʾartzekhaH776 →2504 times
שִׁחַ֖תָּyou have ruined
shichataH7843 →146 times
עַמְּךָ֣people your
ʾamekhaH5971 →1873 times
הָרָ֑גְתָּyou have slain
haragetaH2026 →167 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִקָּרֵ֥אit will be named
yikare'H7121 →733 times
לְעוֹלָ֖םfor ever
leolamH5769 →438 times
זֶ֥רַע[the] offspring of
zera'H2233 →229 times
מְרֵעִֽים׃evil-doers
mereimH7489 →107 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 37:28For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
it leads to
- Psalms 21:10
You will wipe their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from the sons of men.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 2:22
but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted.
- Psalms 11:7
For the LORD is righteous; He loves justice. The upright will see His face.
- Isaiah 59:21
“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your…
- Job 27:14
Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; and his offspring will never have enough food.
- Psalms 21:10
Through
Psalms 21:10You will wipe their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from the sons of men.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:28
For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 37:28
Through
Psalms 109:13May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:7
The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
- Proverbs 10:7
Through
Job 18:19He has no offspring or posterity among his people, no survivor where he once lived.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 22:30
This is what the LORD says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or…
- Jeremiah 22:30
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.