Isaiah 14 · Verse 19

Isaiah 14:19

But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
Isaiah 14:19, King James Version

Isaiah 14:19 in other translations

BSBBut you are cast out of your grave like a rejected branch, covered by those slain with the sword, and dumped into a rocky pit like a carcass trampled underfoot.
WEBBut you are cast away from your tomb like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain who are thrust through with the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit; like a dead body trodden under foot.
ASVBut thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a dead body trodden under foot.
YLTAnd--thou hast been cast out of thy grave, As an abominable branch, raiment of the slain, Thrust through ones of the sword, Going down unto the sons of the pit, As a carcase trodden down.
DARBYbut thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, covered with the slain — those thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit: like a carcase trodden under foot.
BBEBut you, like a birth before its time, are stretched out with no resting-place in the earth; clothed with the bodies of the dead who have been put to the sword, who go down to the lowest parts of the underworld; a dead body, crushed under foot.
WebsterBut thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.

What does Isaiah 14:19 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
19. cast out of--not that he had lain in the grave and was then cast out of it, but "cast out without a grave," such as might have been expected by thee ("thy"). branch--a useless sucker starting up from the root of a tree, and cut away by the husbandman. raiment of those ... slain--covered with gore, and regarded with abhorrence as unclean by the Jews. Rather, "clothed (that is, covered) with the slain"; as in Job 7:5, "My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust" [Maurer]. thrust through--that is, "the slain who have been thrust through," &c. stones of ... pit--whose bodies are buried in sepulchres excavated amidst stones, whereas the king of Babylon is an unburied "carcass trodden under foot."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 19 Like an abominable branch "Like the tree abominated" - That is, as an object of abomination and detestation; such as the tree is on which a malefactor has been hanged. "It is written," saith St. Paul, Gal 3:13, "Cursed is every man that hangeth on a tree," from Deu 21:23. The Jews therefore held also as accursed and polluted the tree itself on which a malefactor had been executed, or on which he had been hanged after having been put to death by stoning. "Non suspendunt super arbore, quae radicibus solo adhaereat; sed super ligno eradicato, ut ne sit excisio molesta: nam lignum, super quo fuit aliquis suspensus, cum suspendioso sepelitur; ne maneat illi malum nomen, et dicant homines, Istud est lignum, in quo suspensus est ille, ὁ δεινα . Sic lapis, quo aliquis fuit lapidatus; et gladius, quo fuit occisus is qui est occisus; et sudarium sive mantile, quo fuit aliquis strangulates; omnia haec cum iis, qui perierunt, sepeliuntur." Maimonides, apud Casaub. in Baron. Exercitat. 16. An. 34, Numbers 134. "Cum itaque homo suspensu maximae esset abominationi - Judaei quoque prae caeteris abominabantur lignum quo fuerat suspensus, ita ut illud quoque terra tegerent, tanquam rem abominabilem. Unde interpres Chaldaeus haec verba transtulit כחט טמור kechat temir, sicut virgultum absconditum, sive sepultum." Kalinski, Vaticinta Observationibus Illustrata, p. 342. "The Jews never hang any malefactor upon a tree that is growing in the earth, but upon a post fixed in the ground, that it might never be said, 'That is the tree on which such a one was hanged;' for custom required that the tree should be buried with the malefactor. In like manner the stone by which a criminal was stoned to death, or the sword by which he was beheaded, or the napkin or handkerchief by which he was strangled, should be buried with him in the same grave." "For as the hanged man was considered the greatest abomination, so the very post or wood on which he was hanged was deemed a most abominable thing, and therefore buried under the earth." Agreeably to which Theodoret, Hist. Ecc 1:17, Ecc 1:18, in his account of the finding of the cross by Helena, says, "That the three crosses were buried in the earth near the place of our Lord's sepulcher." And this circumstance seems to confirm the relation of the discovery of the cross of Christ. The crosses were found where the custom required they should be buried. The raiment of those that are slain "Clothed with the slain" - Thirty-five MSS., (ten ancient), and three editions, have the word fully written, לבוש lebush. It is not a noun, but the participle passive; thrown out among the common slain and covered with the dead bodies. So Ecc 1:11, the earth-worm is said to be his bedcovering. This reading is confirmed by two ancient MSS. in my own collection.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 14:1-23

The destruction of Babylon, and the death of its proud monarch. (Is. 14:1-23) Assurance of the destruction of Assyria. (Is. 14:24-27) The destruction of the Philistines. (Is. 14:28-32) Verses 1-23 The whole plan of Divine Providence is arranged with a view to the good of the people of God. A settlement in the land of promise is of God's mercy. Let the church receive those whom God receives. God's people, wherever…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 14:1-23 →

Isaiah 14:19 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאַתָּ֞הve.'a.Tahand youH859
הָשְׁלַ֤כְתָּha.she.Lakh.tayou have been thrown outH7993
מִֽקִּבְרְךָ֙mi.kiv.re.Chafrom tomb yourH6913
כְּנֵ֣צֶרke.Ne.tzerlike a branchH5342
נִתְעָ֔בnit.'AvabhorredH8581
לְב֥וּשׁle.Vush[the] clothing ofH3830
הֲרֻגִ֖יםha.ru.Gim[those who] were slainH2026
מְטֹ֣עֲנֵיme.To.'a.nei[who were] pierced ofH2944
חָ֑רֶבCha.rev[the] swordH2719
יוֹרְדֵ֥יyor.Dei[who] go downH3381
אֶל\־'el-toH413
אַבְנֵי\־'av.nei-[the] stones ofH68
ב֖וֹרVor[the] pitH953
כְּפֶ֥גֶרke.Fe.gerlike a corpseH6297
מוּבָֽס\׃mu.Vastrodden downH947

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 14:19

  • Jeremiah 41:9

    Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.

  • Jeremiah 41:7

    And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.

  • 2 Kings 9:34-36

    And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king’s daughter. And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:

  • Jeremiah 22:19

    He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

  • 1 Kings 21:19

    And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

  • Ezekiel 32:23

    Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.

  • Isaiah 22:16-18

    What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house.

  • 2 Kings 9:25

    Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the Lord laid this burden upon him;

  • 1 Kings 21:24

    Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.

  • Jeremiah 16:6

    Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:

  • Jeremiah 8:1-2

    At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
thou.The prophet having briefly set forth, in the beginning of this chapter, the deliverance of Judah from captivity, in consequence of the destruction of Babylon, then introduces this triumphant song, the beauties of which are excellently illustrated by Bp. Lowth.
1Ki 21:19,24; 2Ki 9:25,34-36; Jer 8:1,2; 16:6; 22:19
go.
Jer 41:7,9; Eze 32:23

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 14:18

    All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

  • Isaiah 14:19

    But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

  • Isaiah 14:20

    Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.

Read all of Isaiah 14

Isaiah 14:19 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Mas tú echado eres de tu sepulcro como tronco abominable, como vestido de muertos pasados á cuchillo, que descendieron al fondo de la sepultura; como cuerpo muerto hollado.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		mais toi, tu as été jeté hors de ton sépulcre comme une branche qui fait horreur, recouvert de tués, percés par l’épée, descendus jusqu’aux pierres d’une fosse,… comme un cadavre foulé aux pieds.
German
Elberfelder 1871		du aber bist hingeworfen fern von deiner Grabstätte, wie ein verabscheuter Schößling, bedeckt mit Erschlagenen, vom Schwerte Durchbohrten, die zu den Steinen der Grube hinabgefahren sind, wie ein zertretenes Aas.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		tu autem projectus es de sepulchro tuo, quasi stirps inutilis pollutus, et obvolutus cum his qui interfecti sunt gladio, et descenderunt ad fundamenta laci, quasi cadaver putridum.