Those who see you will stare at you. They will ponder you, saying, “Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms,
Parallel Translations
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Those who see you will stare at you. They will ponder you, saying, “Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms,
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They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
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They that saw thee do narrowly look upon thee, they gaze earnestly at thee: 'Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Isaiah 14:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 50:23 How the hammer of the whole earth is cut apart and broken! How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations!
- Psalms 58:10-11 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
- Jeremiah 51:20-23 “You are my battle ax and weapons of war. With you I will break the nations into pieces. With you I will destroy kingdoms. With you I will break in pieces the horse and his rider. With you I will break in pieces the chariot and him who rides therein. With you I will break in pieces man and woman. With you I will break in pieces the old man and the youth. With you I will break in pieces the young man and the virgin. With you I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock. With you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke. With you I will break in pieces governors and deputies.
- Psalms 52:7 “Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.”
- Psalms 64:9 All mankind shall be afraid. They shall declare the work of God, and shall wisely ponder what he has done.
- Isaiah 14:4-5 that you will take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the oppressor has ceased! The golden city has ceased!” Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain In marveling at thee.
In marveling at thee.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look…
Isa 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, [and] consider thee, [saying, Is] this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Ver. 16. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee.] Shall look wishingly upon thee, as scarce believing their own eyes, for the strangeness of the thing.
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Is this the man that made the earth to tremble?] The earth to quake, and men’s hearts to ache? yea, sure, this is very he. At one end of the library at Dublin was a globe, at the other a skeleton, to show, saith mine author, that though a man be lord of all the world, yet he must die, nullusque fiet, qui omnia esse affectabat.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Shall narrowly look upon thee; as hardly believing their…
Shall narrowly look upon thee; as hardly believing their own eyes, because this change seemed impossible to them.
The earth; all the nations of the earth.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain They that see thee,.... These are the words of…
They that see thee,.... These are the words of the dead, speaking of the living, who when they should see the carcass of the king of Babylon lying on the ground,
shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee; whether it is he or not, not knowing at first sight who he was, the alteration being so great; he that was but just now on his throne of glory, with all the ensigns of majesty about him, and on him, now cast to the earth, deprived of life, besmeared with blood, and so disfigured as scarcely to be known; these phrases are used to express the great change made in him, and in his state and condition:
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saying; scarce believing what they saw, and as wondering at the sudden and strange alteration, and yet in an insulting manner:
Is this the man that made the earth to tremble: the inhabitants of it, when they heard of his coming against them, with his numerous and conquering army, dreading that he would do to them as he had done to others, destroy their cities, rob them of their substance, put them to the sword, or carry them captive, or make them tributary:
that did shake kingdoms; depose their kings, and set up others; alter their constitution, change their form of government, and added their kingdoms to his own.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain They that see thee - That is, after thou…
They that see thee - That is, after thou art dead. The scene here changes, and the prophet introduces those who would contemplate the body of the king of Babylon after he should be slain - the passers-by arrested with astonishment, that one so proud and haughty was at last slain, and cast out among the common dead Isa 14:19.
Shall narrowly look upon thee - To be certain that they were not deceived. This denotes great astonishment, as if they could scarcely credit the testimony of their senses. It also expresses insult and contempt. They ask whether it is possible that one who so recently shook the kingdoms of the earth should now lie east out as unworthy of a burial.
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That made the earth to tremble - That agitated the world by his ambition.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Turn. From their respective holes in the monument.
Turn. From their respective holes in the monument.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain THE PASSERS-BY CONTEMPLATE WITH ASTONISHMENT THE BODY OF THE…
THE PASSERS-BY CONTEMPLATE WITH ASTONISHMENT THE BODY OF THE KING OF BABYLON CAST OUT, INSTEAD OF LYING IN A SPLENDID MAUSOLEUM, AND CAN HARDLY BELIEVE THEIR SENSES THAT IT IS HE. (Isa 14:16-20)
narrowly look--to be certain they are not mistaken.
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consider--"meditate upon" [HORSLEY].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16, 17. The scene is now changed from sheol…
16, 17. The scene is now changed from sheol to earth; from a shadowy personage to an unburied corpse.
Look upon… consider thee — Intently examine thee as some strange sight.
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Is this the man — Hardly a jibe, as some think, but a serious reflection on man’s feebleness.
Made the earth to tremble — By his former power and tyranny. But now how fallen!
Made the world as a wilderness — The world which would otherwise have been fruitful and habitable.
Opened not the house — Set not his captives free to go homeward.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. made the earth to tremble] Better perhaps, troubled…
16. made the earth to tremble] Better perhaps, troubled the earth.
16–19. The fourth strophe. The scene here is no longer in Hades, but on the battle-field, where the dead body of the king lies unburied, exposed to the derision of men.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) They that see thee . . .—The context…
(16) They that see thee . . .—The context shows that the picture before the prophet’s eye is no longer the shadow-world of Hades, but the field of battle, Men look at the corpse of the mighty conqueror as it lies dishonoured, bloody, and unburied.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain They that see thee. Dr. Kay well observes that…
They that see thee. Dr. Kay well observes that "here the scene of the parable is changed back to earth. The corpse of the mighty conqueror is lying unburied." Shall narrowly look upon thee. Like the inhabitants of hell (ver. 10), those of earth also shall scarcely believe their eyes. They shall look close to see if it is indeed the great king that is slain.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.