Isaiah 14:11

11. If so, the triumphal elegiac song begun at Isaiah 14:4 is here resumed; strong ethical sentiment, not thoughts of propriety as to condition or place, being dominant with the restored Jews, the chief actors in this scene.

Thy pomp Thy pride.

Down to the grave To the underworld. Isaiah 14:9.

Thy viols The same word is in Isaiah 5:12, where see note. They are now a poor accompaniment to downcast pomp.

The worm The idea is, as Kay puts it, “Beneath thee is spread the maggot for thy couch, and for coverlet is spread the worm,” not the vermilion derived from it. Lamentations 4:5. The original word for “worm” denotes the worm which gnaws grapes and other plants; (Deuteronomy 28:39; Jonah 4:7;) also corpses, (Isaiah 66:24; Isaiah 14:11;) and is, according to Furst, the coccus worm, from which the scarlet or vermilion colour is produced. When used for the latter, as in several places in Leviticus, the adjunct word, שׁני , ( shani,) the light-giving, is used with it. But both functions of this insect may be supposed to be here employed in poetic association in contrast.