Isaiah 14:11
11 Thy pomp [ga'own] is brought
down [yarad] to the grave [sha'owl], and the noise [hemyah] of
thy viols [nebel]: the worm [rimmah] is spread [yatsa`] under
thee, and the worms [towla`] cover [makacceh] thee. KJV-Interlinear
11 'Your pomp and the music of
your harps Have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed
beneath you, And worms are your covering.' NASB
Pomp, ‘gaown,’ means arrogance,
majesty, pride, swelling, excellency, and all of this refers to the cavalier,
carefree, ego driven attitude of those who exclude God from their life.
Noise of the viols,
‘nebel,’ is a general reference to a musical instrument, and refers to the life
of plenty, of prosperity, of social activities, and it also refers to the
carefree life which ignores responsibility to the truth of life, focusing one’s
attention on self.
Sheol is a reference to
the grave and death in the ground.
The reference to worms
here, likewise refers to death and the deterioration and corruption of the body
from the activity of innumerable numbers of maggots.
There is a correlation
between death and the ground, and life without God. Both result in corruption
and the decaying results of a maggot infested dead body.
Life without God is
nothing more than the filler of the walking dead. Death without God carries a
more vivid view of the realities of that corruption that is there in life but
cannot be seen until death.
And of course this
refers to the celebrated people in history who are unbelievers, as well as the
celebrated people of history who are believers in Christ but have long sense
forgotten their Christian obligations and responsibilities. And naturally this
refers to everyone else that is not celebrated and exists in far more numbers
in the masses of people than do the elite of the world.
Life without God, has
only one result, which is an everlasting final party with maggots instead of
the beautiful people of life.
Life with God has a far
better result, which is an everlasting never-ending party in the midst of God’s
glory and presence, and the eternity of heaven.
One wonders, which of
these would be better? Hummm!
