Isaiah 14:19-20
Context14:19 But you have been thrown out of your grave
like a shoot that is thrown away. 1
You lie among 2 the slain,
among those who have been slashed by the sword,
among those headed for 3 the stones of the pit, 4
as if you were a mangled corpse. 5
14:20 You will not be buried with them, 6
because you destroyed your land
and killed your people.
The offspring of the wicked
will never be mentioned again.
1 tn Heb “like a shoot that is abhorred.” The simile seems a bit odd; apparently it refers to a small shoot that is trimmed from a plant and tossed away. Some prefer to emend נֵצֶר (netser, “shoot”); some propose נֵפֶל (nefel, “miscarriage”). In this case one might paraphrase: “like a horrible-looking fetus that is delivered when a woman miscarries.”
2 tn Heb “are clothed with.”
3 tn Heb “those going down to.”
4 tn בּוֹר (bor) literally means “cistern”; cisterns were constructed from stones. On the metaphorical use of “cistern” for the underworld, see the note at v. 15.
5 tn Heb “like a trampled corpse.” Some take this line with what follows.
6 tn Heb “you will not be united with them in burial” (so NASB).