The Meaning of Isaiah 14:15 Explained

Isaiah 14:15

KJV: Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

YLT: Only -- unto Sheol thou art brought down, Unto the sides of the pit.

Darby: none the less art thou brought down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.

ASV: Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Yet thou shalt be brought down  to hell,  to the sides  of the pit. 

What does Isaiah 14:15 Mean?

Study Notes

hell
Heb. "Sheol," Also; Is 14:9 .
Sheol is, in the O.T., the place to which the dead go.
(1) Often, therefore, it is spoken of as the equivalent of the grave, merely, where all human activities cease; the terminus toward which all human life moves (e.g. Genesis 42:38 grave Job 14:13 grave Psalms 88:3 grave
(2) To the man "under the sun," the natural man, who of necessity judges from appearances, sheol seems no more than the grave-- the end and total cessation, not only of the activities of life, but of life itself. Ecclesiastes 9:5 ; Ecclesiastes 9:10
(3) But Scripture reveals sheol as a place of sorrow 2 Samuel 22:6 ; Psalms 18:5 ; Psalms 116:3 ; in which the wicked are turned Psalms 9:17 and where they are fully conscious; Isaiah 14:9-17 ; Ezekiel 32:21 see, especially, Jonah 2:2 what the belly of the great fish was to Jonah that sheol is to those who are therein). The sheol of the O.T. and hades of the N.T. (See Scofield " Luke 16:23 ") are identical.

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 14

1  God's merciful restoration of Israel
3  Their triumphant exultation over Babel
24  God's purpose against Assyria
29  Philistia is threatened

What do the individual words in Isaiah 14:15 mean?

Yet to Sheol you shall be brought down the lowest depths of the Pit
אַ֧ךְ אֶל־ שְׁא֛וֹל תּוּרָ֖ד יַרְכְּתֵי־ בֽוֹר

אַ֧ךְ  Yet 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַךְ  
Sense: indeed, surely (emphatic).
שְׁא֛וֹל  Sheol 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: שְׁאֹול  
Sense: sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit.
תּוּרָ֖ד  you  shall  be  brought  down 
Parse: Verb, Hofal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
יַרְכְּתֵי־  the  lowest  depths 
Parse: Noun, fdc
Root: יְרֵכָה  
Sense: flank, side, extreme parts, recesses.
בֽוֹר  of  the  Pit 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֹּור 
Sense: pit, well, cistern.