Isaiah 14:11

“Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, &c.] Or “hell”; all the state and majesty in which he appeared, when sitting on the throne of his kingdom, with a glittering crown on his head, a sceptre in his hand, clad in the richest apparel, and attended by his princes and nobles with the utmost reverence and submission; all this, with much more, followed him to the regions of the dead, and there it left him; (see <194917>Psalm 49:17): [and] the noise of thy viols; or musical instruments, even all of them, one being put for all; such as were used at festivals, and at times of joy and rejoicing, of which the Babylonians had many, and very probably were used at the feast by Belshazzar, when the city…”

“"Pomp" and music, the accompaniment of Babylon's former feastings (Isa 5:12; Isa 24:8), give place to the corruption and the stillness of the grave (Eze 32:27). worm--that is bred in putridity. worms--properly those from which the crimson dye is obtained. Appropriate here; instead of the crimson coverlet, over thee shall be "worms." Instead of the gorgeous couch, "under thee" shall be the maggot. The language is so framed as to apply to the Babylonian king primarily, and at the same time to shadow forth through him, the great final enemy, the man of sin, Antichrist, of Daniel, St. Paul, and St. John; he alone shall fulfil exhaustively all the lineaments here given.”

“Thy pomp - Thy magnificence (see the note at Isaiah 5:14). The noise of thy viols - Instruments of music were often used in their feasts; and the meaning here is, that instead of being surrounded with splendor, and the instruments of music, the monarch was now brought down to the corruption and stillness of the grave. The instrument referred to by the word ‘viol’ (נבל nēbel, plur. נבלים nebalı̂ym, Greek νάβλα nabla, Latin nablium), was a stringed instrument usually with twelve strings, and played by the pecten or by the hand (see the notes and illustrations on Isaiah 5:12). Additional force is given by all these expressions if they are read, as Lowth reads them, as questions asked in…”

“Thy pomp - All thy glory is buried with thee. Viols - All thy musical instruments, which were much used in Babylon, and were doubtless used in Belshazzar's solemn feasts, Dan 5:1, at which time the city was taken; to which possibly the prophet here alludes. The worm - Instead of those stately carpets upon which thou didst frequently tread. Isaiah 14:12”

“14:11 Babylon’s might and power and the sound of the harp were ended, and its magnificence was destroyed (see also Rev 18:22). • Maggots and worms symbolized death and decomposition (Isa 66:24).”

“pomp: Isa 21:4, Isa 21:5, Isa 22:2; Job 21:11-15; Eze 26:13, Eze 32:19, Eze 32:20; Dan 5:1-4, Dan 5:25-30; Amo 6:3-7; Rev 18:11-19 the worm: Isa 66:24; Job 17:13, Job 17:14, Job 24:19, Job 24:20; Mar 9:43-48 Isaiah 14:12”

“"Thy pomp is cast down to the region of the dead, the noise of thy harps: maggots are spread under thee, and they that cover thee are worms." From the book of Daniel we learn the character of the Babylonian music; it abounded in instruments, some of which were foreign. Maggots and worms (a bitter sarcasm) now take the place of the costly artistic Babylonian rugs, which once formed the pillow and counterpane of the distinguished corpse. יצּע might be a third pers. hophal (Ges. 71); but here, between perfects, it is a third pers. pual, like yullad in Isa 9:5. Rimmâh, which is preceded by the verb in a masculine and to a certain extent an indifferent form (Ges. 147, a), is a collective name…”