What does Isaiah 14:11 mean?
In a poetic and imaginary scene, fallen kings of the world have risen from their thrones in the land of the dead to greet the arrival of the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:3–8). This once powerful ruler has been defeated and killed by the Lord God of Israel. If this were a normal funeral dirge, they would rise to honor him and welcome him into their midst (Isaiah 14:9–10).This, though, is a taunting song. It is a mockery of a normal funeral dirge. Isaiah shows that this king will not be honored even in the afterlife by those who have died before him. Instead of rising to pay him respect, the departed kings rise to point out that he is now as pathetic as they are. He may have been responsible for sending some of them to the grave, but he is now with them.
They observe that his pomp and the "sound of his harps" are brought down to Sheol. In other words, all the royal finery and symbols of power have been stripped away. The once-feared king of Babylon is no longer important or significant. There is no reason to fear this man, for he is just that, a powerless husk of the former ruler. He is merely another dead soul whose body will feed worms and bacteria.
Isaiah is not giving a theological diagram of the afterlife here. Instead, he uses the common cultural understanding of Sheol to illustrate just how powerless the king of Babylon truly is. His reign of terror is utterly complete. Now his body will rot in the ground in the way of every other person who has gone before him. He is neither powerful nor unique: simply a man whose time is done.
