Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 14:9
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.
9. Hell from beneath ] Rather, Sheol beneath. It is best to retain the Hebrew name of the under-world ( sh’l) as is sometimes done by the Revisers, though not in this passage. An almost exact equivalent would be the Greek Hades, For the dead, render the shades ( rph ’m) as in R.V. marg.
the chief ones ] lit. “the he-goats,” a figurative designation of kings (Jer 1:8; Zec 10:3).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
9 11. The second strophe forms an effective contrast to the first. He who had so long troubled the earth becomes a disturbing presence in the under-world; the earth is now at rest, Sheol is troubled.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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. He now transfers the scene to the mournful regions of the dead; follows the spirit of the departed king of Babylon – the man who once gloried in the magnificence of his kingdom and his court, and who was more distinguished for pride and arrogance than all other monarchs – down to the land of darkness, and describes his reception there. This portion of the ode is signally sublime, and is managed with great power and skill. It is unequalled, perhaps, by any writings for boldness, majesty, and, at the same time, for its severe sarcasm. The word hell here ( she‘ol) is rendered by the Vulgate, infernus; and by the Septuagint, ho Hades, Hades.
It properly means the grave, and then the dark regions of the lower world – the region of ghosts and shades a place where thick darkness reigns. The verb from which it is derived means, properly, to ask, to demand, to require, to seek; and this name ( she‘ol) is supposed to have been given to the grave, and to the regions of departed spirits, from the insatiable demand which they are constantly making of the living (see the note at Isa 5:14, where the word is explained). The word denotes, says Taylor (Heb. Con.), The underground parts of the earth, otherwise called the nether, or lower parts of the earth; the earth beneath in opposition to the earth above, where people and other animals live. In sheol are the foundations of the mountains Deu 32:22. In sheol men penetrate by digging into the earth Amo 9:2. Into sheol the roots of trees do strike down Eze 31:16.
Into sheol, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram went down alive Num 16:30, Num 16:33. In sheol the body is corrupted and consumed by worms Job 17:13-14; Psa 16:10; Psa 49:14. They that rest together in the dust are said to go down to the bars, or strong gates of sheol Job 17:16. In sheol there is no knowledge, nor can any praise God or give thanks there Psa 6:5; Ecc 9:10; Isa 38:10-11. Sheol and the pit, death and corruption, are synonymous Psa 16:10; Psa 89:48; Pro 1:12; Pro 7:27; Eze 31:16; Hos 13:14. A grave is one particular cavity purposely digged for the interment of a dead person; sheol is a collective name for all the graves. He that is in the grave is in sheol; but he that is in sheol may not be in a grave, but in any pit, or in the sea. In short, it is the region of the dead; which is figuratively considered as a city or large habitation with gates and bars in which there are many chambers Pro 7:27. Sheol is never full, but is always asking or craving more Pro 27:20; Heb 2:5. Here it means, not a place of punishment, but the region of the dead, where the ghosts of the departed are considered as residing together.
From beneath – From beneath the earth. Sheol was always represented as being in or under the ground, and the grave was the avenue or door that led to it (see the note at Isa 5:14.)
Is moved for thee – Is roused to meet thee; is surprised that a monarch once so proud and magnificent is descending to it. The image here is taken from the custom of the ancients in burying, especially of burying princes and kings. This was usually done in caves or sepulchres excavated from a rock (see the notes and illustrations on Isa 66:4). Mr. Stephens, in his Travels in Egypt, Arabia Petrea, and the Holy land, has given an account of the manner in which he passed a night in Petra, which may serve to illustrate this passage: We ascended the valley, and rising to the summit of the rocky rampart, of Petra, it was almost dark when we found ourselves opposite a range of tombs in the suburbs of the city. Here we dismounted; and selecting from among them one which, from its finish and dimensions, must have been the last abode of some wealthy Edomite, we prepared to pass the night within its walls.
In the front part of it was a large chamber, about twenty-five feet square, and ten feet high; and behind this was another of smaller dimensions, furnished with receptacles of the dead, not arranged after the manner of shelves along the wall, as in the catacombs I had seen in Italy and Egypt, but cut lengthwise in the rock, like ovens, so as to admit the insertion of the body with the feet foremost. My plans for the morrow being all arranged, the Bedouins stretched themselves out in the outer chamber, while I went within; and seeking out a tomb as far back as I could find, I crawled in feet first, and found myself very much in the condition of a man buried alive. I had just room enough to turn round; and the worthy old Edomite for whom the tomb was made, never slept in it more quietly than I did. (Vol. ii. pp. 82, 83, 86.) To understand the passage before us, we are to form the idea of an immense and gloomy cavern, all around which are niches or cells made to receive the bodies of the dead. In this vast vault monarchs repose in grandeur suitable to their former rank, each on his couch, in glory, with their arms beside them (see Isa 14:18). These mighty shades – these departed monarchs – are represented as rising from their couches to meet the descending king of Babylon, and receive him with insults on his fall. The Hebrew word for moved denotes more than our translation conveys. It means that they were agitated – they trembled – they advanced toward the descending monarch with trepidation. The idea of the shades of the mighty dead thus being troubled, and rising to meet the king of Babylon, is one that is exceedingly sublime.
It stireth up – Sheol stirreth up; that is, they are stirred up or excited. So the Septuagint renders it All the giants who rule the earth rise up to thee.
The dead – Hebrew, repa’ym. The Septuagint renders this, hoi gigantes giants. So the Vulgate and the Chaldee, The meaning of this word has been a subject of great difference of opinion among lexicographers. It is sometimes found as a gentile noun to denote the sons of Raphah, called Rephaim 2Sa 21:16, 2Sa 21:18, a Canaanite race of giants that lived beyond Jordan Gen 14:5; Gen 15:20, from whom Og the son of Bashan was descended Deu 3:11. It is sometimes used to denote all the giant tribes of Canaan Deu 2:11, Deu 2:20; and is particularly applied to people of extraordinary strength among the Philistines 2Sa 21:16, 2Sa 21:18. Vitringa supposes that the term was given to the spirits of the dead on account of the fact that they appeared to be larqer than life; that they in their form and stature resembled giants. But a more probable opinion is, that it is applied to the shades of the dead as being weak, feeble, or without power or sensation, from the word rapa’, weak, feeble, powerless. This interpretation is strongly confirmed by the place before us Isa 14:10, Art thou become weak as we? The word is rendered giants in the following places: Deu 2:11, Deu 2:20; Deu 3:13; Jos 21:4; Jos 15:8; Jos 17:15; Jos 18:16; 2Sa 21:16, 2Sa 21:18, 2Sa 21:20, 2Sa 21:22; 1Ch 20:5-6, 1Ch 20:8. It is rendered Rephaims, Gen 14:5; Gen 15:20; 2Sa 5:18, 2Sa 5:22; 2Sa 23:13. It is rendered the dead Job 26:5; Psa 88:10; Pro 2:18; Pro 9:18; Pro 21:16; Isa. 26:29; and once it is rendered deceased, Isa 26:14. It here means the departed spirits of the dead – the inhabitants of that dark and dismal region, conceived by the Hebrews to be situated beneath the ground, where dwell the departed dead before their final destiny is fixed – called sheol or hades. It is not the residence of the wicked only – the place of punishment – but the place where all the dead are supposed to be congregated before their final doom is pronounced.
(The author entertains unique views of the state of knowledge among the Hebrews regarding the future world – views which will be found fully canvassed in the preface to the volumes on Job. As to the alleged notion of all the dead dwelling in some dismal region before their final doom is pronounced, we have there taken pains to show that the righteous in ancient times entertained no such gloomy expectations. The opinions of the ancient Hebrews on this subject, must be taken from passages in which they expressly treat of it, and intimate plainly what their belief is, and not from passages confessedly full of poetical imagery. Nor are we to construe popular and poetical phraseology so strictly and literally as to form a theological creed out of it, in contradiction to the actual belief of those who daily used that phraseology. Because Englishmen speak of the dead indiscriminately as having gone to the grave, and to the land of spirits, must we, out of this, construct a Popish purgatory as the national belief?
Yet this would be just as reasonable in the case of the English, as in the case of the Jews. The reader will appreciate the following observations of Professor Alexander on the place: Two expressions have been faithfully transcribed by interpreters, from one another, in relation to this passage, with a very equivocal effect upon its exposition. The one is, that it is full of biting sarcasm – an unfortunate suggestion of Calvins, which puts the reader on the scent for irony, and even wit, instead of opening his mind to impressions of sublimity and tragic grandeur. The other, for which Calvin is in no degree responsible, is, that we have before us not a mere prosopopeia, or poetical creation of the highest order, but a chapter from the popular belief of the Jews, as to the locality, contents, and transactions of the unseen world. Thus Gesenius, in his Lexicon and Commentary, gives a minute topographical description of Sheol, as the Hebrews believed it to exist.
With equal truth, a diligent compiler might construct a map of hell, as conceived of by the English Puritans, from the descriptive portions of the Paradise Lost. The infidel interpreters of Germany regard the scriptural and Classical mythology precisely in the same light. But when Christian writers copy their expressions or ideas, they should take pains to explain whether the popular belief of which they speak was true or false, and, if false, how it could lie countenanced and sanctioned by inspired writers. This kind of exposition is, moreover, chargeable with a rhetorical incongruity, in landing the creative genius of the poet, and yet making all his grand creations commonplace articles of popular belief. The true view of the matter, as determined both by piety and taste, appears to be, that the passage now before ns comprehends two elements, and only two religious verities or certain facts, and poetical embellishments. The admission of a tertium quid, in the shape of superstitious fables, is as false in rhetoric as in theology.)
The chief ones of the earth. – Margin, Leaders, or great goats. The Hebrew word means properly great goats, or goats that are leaders of the flock. Perhaps there is intended to be a slight degree of sarcasm in applying this word to princes and monarchs. It is nowhere else applied to princes, though the word is often used or applied to rams, or to the chief goats of a flock.
From their thrones – In hades, or sheol. They are there represented as occupying an eminence similar to that which distinguished them on earth.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 14:9
Hell from beneath is moved for thee
The first five minutes after death
There is a very well-known story told of a man who had served his king and country in many a distant land, and in many a strange experience, coming back home, and talking to his friends of the wonderful sights which he had seen, and the wonderful experiences which he had gone through.
And when they remarked to him on the sort of wonders he had experienced and known, he checked them with saying, There is something more wonderful than anything I have yet known, which I still have to experience, and when they asked him what it was, he said, It is the first five minutes after death. The first five minutes after death! It was upon what happens in the first five minutes after death that the prophet was exercising himself here in this particular prophecy. (Davey Biggs, D. D.)
Life beyond the grave
1. The prophet believed that for those who pass through the gate of death there would be recognition in the strange life beyond the grave. He believed that those who were inhabiting that world before other individuals entered into it would know them, would be there ready to greet them, greet them as in this ease with horror, with dismay, with, as it were, congratulations that what had been tyrannical in the world of life before death had now, as it were, found its level, the opportunity of tyranny gone.
The prophet pictures the expectation that there was in the hearts of those who had known what it was to be cruelly oppressed in this world when their oppressor came to join them. He shows that the attitude of those who were within the grave in the unseen world was one of expectation.
2. There is memory there, memory not only of our past selves, but about other people; memory, too, of those living on the earth. (Davey Biggs, D. D.)
Recognition beyond the grave
We know that what was only conjecture in the mind of the prophet when he painted hell stirring up the dead to meet Belshazzar, King of Babylon, has become certainty through the revelation given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. I do not know how anybody can read through the parable of the rich man and Lazarus and not feel that, whatever the intention was with which the parable was spoken, incidentally our Lord does teach us that in the life beyond the grave the personality which we have known here in this life continues. As personality shows itself in self-consciousness, so our Lord shows that the rich man and Lazarus are conscious of their own existence. There is mutual recognition too. The rich man has not any doubt whatever who it is in whose bosom Lazarus was reposing; and I suppose at the very least fifteen centuries parted them. In the same mysterious way Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration knew that it was Moses and Elijah who were talking with the Messiah. There is a wonderful power of recognition of even those whom we have never met. We shall know, and our Lord Jesus Christ wishes us to know that we shall know, the great people in the past to whom we owe such great debts. (Davey Biggs, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. 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, ( 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!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Hell; or, the grave, as the same word is rendered, Isa 14:11, and in innumerable other places; to which he elegantly ascribeth sense and speech, as poets and orators frequently do.
The chief ones, Heb. the he-goats; which lead and govern the flock. From their thrones; from their several graves, which he seems to call their thrones by way of irony or derision, the only thrones now left to them. Thrones both paved and covered with worms, as is noted, Isa 14:11, instead of their former thrones made of ivory or silver, and adorned with gold and precious stones.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. movedput into agitation.
for theethat is, “atthee”; towards thee; explained by “to meet thee at thycoming” [MAURER].
chief onesliterally,”goats”; so rams, leaders of the flock; princes (Zec10:3). The idea of wickedness on a gigantic scaleis included (Eze 34:17; Mat 25:32;Mat 25:33). MAGEEderives “Rephaim” (English Version, “the dead”)from a Hebrew root, “to resolve into first elements”;so “the deceased” (Isa26:14) “ghosts” (Pr21:16). These being magnified by the imagination of the livinginto gigantic stature, gave their name to giants in general(Gen 6:4; Gen 14:5;Eze 32:18; Eze 32:21).”Rephaim,” translated in the Septuagint, “giants”(compare see on Job 26:5, 6).Thence, as the giant Rephaim of Canaan were notorious even in thatguilty land, enormous wickedness became connected with theterm. So the Rephaim came to be the wicked spirits in Gehenna,the lower of the two portions into which Sheol is divided.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Hell from beneath is moved for thee,…. Or the “grave”, or the place and state of the dead, and particularly of the damned, meaning those that are in such a place and state; and the sense is, that not only the inhabitants of the earth, and the trees upon it, express their joy at the fall of the king of Babylon, but those that are under the earth, in the grave, or in hell, are affected with it, and moved on account of it, not with fear and dread, as they were in his and their life time, as Kimchi suggests; but they are represented as in motion, and that as attended with a great noise, because of the multitude of them, upon hearing of his death, and his entrance into the regions of the dead:
to meet [thee] at thy coming: as kings used to be met when they, and as he used to be when he, entered into any city that was taken, to salute him, and congratulate him upon his entrance into the dark regions of death, the grave, and hell; a biting sarcasm:
it stirreth up the dead for thee; the dead that are in it, in hell or the grave; not to oppose him, but to welcome him into their parts, as being now one of them, and to be joined to their company; hell or the grave is said to rouse them, as if they were asleep, and took no notice of the death of so great a monarch, who was just making his public entry among them. The word “Rephaim”, here used, is sometimes rendered “giants”, as in De 2:11 and Jarchi interprets it of the Anakim; and so the Targum,
“it raiseth up unto thee mighty men;”
for not the common people among the dead, but the princes and great ones of the earth, whom the Babylonian monarch had subdued and slain, and to whom he was well known, are intended, as appears by what follows:
[even] all the chief ones of the earth; or the “great goats”; the leaders and commanders of the people, who, as goats go before and lead the flock, so they the people. The Targum calls them
“all the rich in substance;”
who were persons of wealth, power, and authority, when on earth:
it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations; to offer in a jeering manner their thrones to him, who had been obliged, in their life time and his, to surrender to him their crowns, and thrones, and kingdoms; but by their thrones here are meant their sepulchres, built, as many of them were, in great pomp and splendour; for kings at death have no other thrones but their graves. Aben Ezra says, it was the custom of the Babylonians to set thrones in the sepulchres of their kings.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But whilst it has become so quiet on earth, there is the most violent agitation in the regions below. “The kingdom of the dead below is all in uproar on account of thee, to meet thy coming; it stirreth up the shades for thee, all the he-goats of the earth; it raiseth up from their throne-seats all the kings of the nations.” The notion of Hades, notwithstanding the mythological character which it had assumed, was based upon the double truth, that what a man has been, and the manner in which he has lived on this side the grave, are not obliterated on the other side, but are then really brought to light, and that there is an immaterial self-formation of the soul, in which all that a man has become under certain divinely appointed circumstances, by his own self-determination, is, as it were, reflected in a mirror, and that in a permanent form. This psychical image, to which the dead body bears the same relation as the shattered mould to a cast, is the shade-like corporeality of the inhabitants of Hades, in which they appear essentially though spiritually just as they were on this side the grave. This is the deep root of what the prophet has here expressed in a poetical form; for it is really a m ashal that he has interwoven with his prophecy here. All Hades is overwhelmed with excitement and wonder, now that the king of Babel, that invincible ruler of the world, who, if not unexpected altogether, was not expected so soon, as actually approaching. From onwards, Sheol, although a feminine, might be the subject; in which case the verb would simply have reverted from the feminine to the radical masculine form. But it is better to regard the subject as neuter; a nescio quid , a nameless power. The shades are suddenly seized with astonishment, more especially the former leaders (leading goats or bell-wethers) of the herds of nations, so that, from sheer amazement, they spring up from their seats.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
9. Hell from beneath is moved for thee. (217) As he had formerly attributed gladness to the trees, so now, by a similar figure, he attributes speech to the dead (218) He arouses them, as it were, from their graves, to mock at the pride of this tyrant. The whole passage is ironical, and full of keen sarcasm. At the approach of kings, the people tremble, and come forth to meet and receive them with pompous display. The Prophet makes a fictitious representation, that when this tyrant shall die and go down to the grave, the dead will go forth to meet and honor him, but with such honor as he deserves. As if he had said, “Not only the living, but also the dead will rejoice at his death. The dead also will treat him respectfully according to his deserts.”
(217) Bogus footnote
(218) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE GRAVE AND ITS MYSTERIES
Isa. 14:9-12. Hell from beneath is moved for thee, &c.
I. There is an invisible world (H. E. I., 21732175). II. Its inhabitants stand in a mysterious relation to this. III. Are conscious of passing events. IV. Despise all earthly distinctions. V. Await the coming of their fellows. VI. Receive them according to their moral character.J. Lyth, D.D.: Homiletical Treasury, part i. p. 20.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(9) Hell from beneath is moved for thee . . .Hell, or Sheol, is, as elsewhere, the shadow-world, the region of the dead. Into that world the king of Babylon descends. The dead and the Rephaim are there, the giant-spectres, now faint and feeble (Deu. 2:11; Deu. 3:11), of departed forms of greatness. The verb (it stirreth up), which is masculine, while the noun is feminine, seems to personify Sheol, as Hades is personified in Rev. 20:14. The chief ones are, literally, the he-goats, or bell-wethers of the flock (Isa. 34:6; Zec. 10:3), of which Hades is the shepherd (Psa. 49:14). Even in Sheol the kings of the earth retain their former majesty, and sit on thrones apart from the vulgar dead. In Eze. 32:17-32 we have a reproduction of the same imagery, and the kings appear, each with his weapons of war. The whole passage finds a striking parallel in the Assyrian legend of the Descent of Ishtar (Records of the Past, i. p. 144), where Hades is described.
The abode of darkness and famine.
* * * * * *
Night is not seenin darkness they dwell.
Ghosts, like birds, flutter their wings there.
On the door and gate-posts the dust lies undisturbed.
* * * * * * *
To be the ruler of a palace shall be thy rank;
A throne of state shall be thy seat.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. While it is all quiet on the earth, it is all excitement in the regions below. The bold personification goes on, but in the world invisible, and a good reading of this verse is as follows:
Hell from beneath Or, The kingdom of the dead below, is all in an uproar on account of thee, to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the shades for thee, all the he-goats of the earth; it raiseth up from their throne-seats all the kings of the nations.”
Hell On this word see notes on Isa 5:14. There is something awfully grand and fearful in the sheol, the underworld of the Hebrews, the hades of the New Testament, and the “hell” of the English Old Testament: an immense subterranean kingdom, (Isa 14:9; Jer 5:14; Job 26:6,) thickly dark, (Job 10:21-22,) deeply gullied, (Proverbs 9:19,) closed with strong gates, (Isa 38:10,) and a place whence there is no escape, (Job 7:9-10; Luk 16:26😉 all which passages, too, describe the popular conceptions of the Hebrews and Jews poetically embellished, as well as express what to the Hebrews contained an indisputable doctrine, namely, that of life after death.
Stirreth up the dead The “dead” Hebrew, , rephaim rendered, in Isa 26:14, “deceased;” in Deu 2:11; Deu 3:11, giants; ( so the Septuagint and Vulgate;) either from being long time dead, or because shades or spectres may be conceived as actually larger than living men.
Chief ones of the earth Literally, he-goats; bellwethers, leaders. Isa 3:6; Zec 10:3.
Their thrones The personification retains for the shadowy souls of the great, their relative positions, even in the underworld.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 14:9 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.
Ver. 9. Hell from beneath is moved for thee. ] Infernus ab inferendo; shaal, from its unsatiableness, and continual craving. Here is an ironic and poetic representation of the King of Babylon’s coming into hell, and his entertainment there; the dead kings rising from their places for reverence to receive him.
Even all the chief ones of the earth.
“ Nunc postquam manes defunctus Valla petivit,
Non audet Pluto verba Latina loqui.
Iupiter hunc caeli dignatus honore fuisset,
Censarem linguae sed timer ipse sum. ”
– Trithem.
From their thrones, ] i.e., From their “sepulchres,” saith Piscator.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Hell = the grave. Hebrew Sheol. App-85.
dead = Rephaim. See App-23and App-25. Compare Isa 26:14, Isa 26:19.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
hell
Heb. “Sheol,” Also; 15 (See Scofield “Hab 2:5”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Hell: or, The grave
from: Pro 15:24
is moved: Eze 32:21-32
chief ones: Heb. leaders, or, great goats, Jer 50:8
Reciprocal: Num 16:33 – into the 2Ch 18:9 – sat either Job 26:6 – Hell Psa 16:10 – my Psa 63:9 – go Psa 88:5 – Free Isa 5:14 – hell Isa 30:33 – for the king Isa 37:38 – his god Jer 50:46 – General Eze 26:16 – all the princes Eze 28:17 – I will lay Eze 31:17 – went Eze 32:19 – go Jon 2:2 – hell Luk 16:23 – in hell
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
14:9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to {f} 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.
(f) As though they feared, lest you should trouble the dead, as you did the living and here he derides the proud tyranny of the wicked, who know not that all creatures wish their destruction, that they may rejoice.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The second strophe relates the joy in Sheol that would result when this king died. Other dead rulers there would rejoice because this great monarch now shared the humiliating fate of them all. Rather than honoring him, these dead leaders would mock him because in death he was not superior to them. Instead of an honorable bier he would get maggots for a bed and worms for a bedspread. What a final resting place for a king!