Limitless Word
With one voice they all cry out, ‘Now you are as weak as we are!
Isaiah 14:10 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB They all will answer and ask you, “Have you also become as weak as we are? Have you become like us?”
  • KJV All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
  • BSB They will all respond to you, saying, “You too have become weak, as we are; you have become like us!”
  • NKJV They all shall speak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us?
  • NASB “They will all respond and say to you, ‘Even you have become weak as we, You have become like us.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The dead kings mock the fallen tyrant, asking if he too has become as weak as they are. His vaunted power is exposed as no different from theirs in the end.

Overview

The shades in Sheol greet the Babylonian king with bitter astonishment that he shares their weakness. All the pretension of his earthly glory is leveled by death. This anticipates the great reversal Scripture proclaims, where the proud are brought low and only those found in Christ have hope beyond the grave.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Ps 49:6–14Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches —
  • Ezek 32:21The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the middle of Sheol with those who help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
  • Eccl 2:16For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no memory for ever, since in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. Indeed, the wise man must die just like the fool!
  • Ps 49:20A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish.
  • Ps 82:6–7I said, “You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High.
  • Luke 16:20–23A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, full of sores,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 14:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 14:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.