“Sheol beneath is stirred up.
They want to meet you
When you come.
They rouse the shades
To greet you.
All who were leaders of the earth
Greet you.
All who were kings of the nations
Rise from their thrones.
All of them will speak.
They will say to you.
‘You too have become
As weak as we!
You have become
Like us!’
Your pomp
Is brought down to Sheol.
The sound of your harps
Is brought down to Sheol.
Maggots are the bed beneath you.
Worms are your covering.”
This haughty king now descends after his death into the shadowy underworld of Sheol. Everyone there wanted to meet this king. All the former leaders and kings of the world were there to greet this newly deceased Babylonian king. They got up from their thrones and greeted him. Then they reminded him that he had become like them, weak. All his self important pomps were gone in Sheol. There was no harp playing in Sheol. In fact, he would sleep on a bed of maggots with worms as his covering, not a pretty picture.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 