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Isaiah 14:9

in Isaiah 14

Sheol beneath is eager to meet you upon your arrival. It stirs the spirits of the dead to greet you—all the rulers of the earth. It makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

KJV

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

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This verse in Isaiah 14

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 420.

(Verse 9) The underworld also, disturbed and turned towards bitterness, at the approach of the true Nebuchadnezzar, is the place of punishments and tortures, in which the rich one clothed in purple appears: to whom the Lord descended, in order to release the prisoners from the prison. We can speak of the opposing inferno and the angel who is placed in charge of the punishments of the underworld, who raised all the giants: for which some call them Raphaims, others call them Titans.

This site's exposition

Sheol beneath is eager to meet

on Isaiah 14:9-11

Sheol is personified, stirring the dead and raising kings from their thrones to greet the fallen tyrant with mockery. Their words, "You too have become weak, as we are," turn welcome into insult. Maggots for a bed and worms for a blanket replace the pomp and harps of his court.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 9.) The underworld beneath you is stirred up, it raises the giants to meet your arrival: all the rulers of the earth have risen from their thrones: all the rulers of the nations will respond and say to you. These things are to be read emphatically and in a dramatic manner; not that they have actually happened, but that they could have happened: unless, of course, we believe that the souls of the kings whom you have killed have appeared, taunting the Babylonian king. For it is a comfort in misfortune, when enemies see them endure the same things.

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 1274.

proposed

Hell below. Here the insult of the dead against Nabuchodonosor is set out, and first, that of the princes and the powerful, second, of the others: they that shall see you (Isa 14:16). Concerning the first, he does two things. First, he sets out the …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Hell from beneath is moved for thee,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

It is what thou thyself didst not expect it would ever come to when thou wast in every thing too hard for us. Thou that didst rank thyself among the immortal gods, art thou come to take thy fate among us poor mortal men? Where is thy pomp now, and where thy mirth?

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

MAGEE derives "Rephaim" (English Version, "the dead") from a Hebrew root, "to resolve into first elements"; so "the deceased" (Isa 26:14) "ghosts" (Pr 21:16). These being magnified by the imagination of the living into gigantic stature, gave their name to giants in general (Ge 6:4; "Rephaim," translated in the Septuagint, "giants" (compare see on Job 26:5, 6).

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee - That is, Nebuchadnezzar. “It (hell) hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the earth; - the ghosts (rephaim) of all the mighty ones, or goats, (עתודי attudey), of the earth - all the oppressors of mankind.” What a most terrible idea is here! Tyrannical kings who have oppressed and spoiled mankind, are here represented as enthroned in hell; and as taking a Satanic pleasure in seeing others of the same description enter those abodes of misery!
Hell from beneath - The scene is now changed. The prophet had represented the people of all the subject nations as rejoicing that the king of Babylon had fallen, and had introduced even the trees of the forest as breaking forth into joy at this event.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

Have you too become weak like us We are amazed how the misfortune has fallen upon you, that you too have become weak, to be like us, to die.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Isaiah 14:10:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • שְׁא֗וֹלSheol

    sheolH7585 →66 times

  • מִתַּ֛חַת<from> beneath

    mitachatH8478 →505 times

  • רָגְזָ֥הit is excited

    ragezahH7264 →41 times

  • לְךָ֖to you

    lekha

  • לִקְרַ֣אתto meet

    likratH7122 →139 times

  • בּוֹאֶ֑ךָcoming you

    boekhaH935 →2568 times

  • עוֹרֵ֨רit has roused

    orerH5782 →80 times

  • לְךָ֤to <the> you

    lekha

  • רְפָאִים֙shades

    refaimH7496 →8 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • עַתּ֣וּדֵי[the] leaders of

    ʾatudeiH6260 →29 times

  • אָ֔רֶץ[the] earth

    ʾaretzH776 →2504 times

  • הֵקִים֙it has made rise

    hekimH6965 →628 times

  • מִכִּסְאוֹתָ֔םfrom thrones their

    mikisotamH3678 →135 times

  • כֹּ֖לall

    kolH3605 →5413 times

  • מַלְכֵ֥י[the] kings of

    malkheiH4428 →2525 times

  • גוֹיִֽם׃[the] nations

    goyimH1471 →561 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

13 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Psalms 16:10For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.9 worksEzekiel 32:21–32Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol about Egypt and her allies: ‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.’5 worksIsaiah 5:14Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion’s nobles and masses, her revelers and carousers!4 worksLuke 16:23In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.3 worksPsalms 63:9But those who seek my life to destroy it will go into the depths of the earth.3 worksJob 26:6Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.3 works
The other 7 cross-references, with their words ▾
Isaiah 37:38One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.3 worksJeremiah 50:8Flee from the midst of Babylon; depart from the land of the Chaldeans; be like the he-goats that lead the flock.2 worksJonah 2:2saying: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice.2 worksEzekiel 31:17They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.2 works2 Chronicles 18:9Dressed in royal attire, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.2 worksNumbers 16:33They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.2 worksProverbs 15:24The path of life leads upward for the wise, that he may avoid going down to Sheol.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Proverbs 15:24

    The path of life leads upward for the wise, that he may avoid going down to Sheol.

    it leads to

    • Colossians 3:1–2

      Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

    • Psalms 16:11

      You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

    • Matthew 7:14

      But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

    • Jeremiah 21:8

      Furthermore, you are to tell this people that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.

    • Philippians 3:20

      But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

  • Through

    Jeremiah 50:8

    Flee from the midst of Babylon; depart from the land of the Chaldeans; be like the he-goats that lead the flock.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 51:6

      Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.

    • Isaiah 48:20

      Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare it with a shout of joy, proclaim it, let it go out to the ends of the earth, saying, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob!”

    • Revelation 18:4

      Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.

Where this verse is studied

About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Isaiah: the study guide →Read Isaiah 14 →
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); 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); Joseph Addison Alexander, Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.

Read on in Isaiah 14 →