Chapter 14 of Isaiah is a direct continuation of the previous chapter. In Chapter 13, we saw the downfall of Babylon as a nation, whereas in our chapter, the prophet turns to the downfall of Nebuchadnezzar himself, the ruler of Babylon. The chapter opens with consolation for Israel, continues with the great parable directed at the king of Babylon, and descends with him all the way to Sheol.
כִּי יְרַחֵם יְהֹוָה אֶת־יַעֲקֹב וּבָחַר עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וְהִנִּיחָם עַל־אַדְמָתָם וְנִלְוָה הַגֵּר עֲלֵיהֶם וְנִסְפְּחוּ עַל־בֵּית יַעֲקֹב׃ - For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will again choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the stranger shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
The Malbim explains: The redemption of Israel depends on one of two factors. Either it comes through the mercy of Hashem when we are undeserving, or through our good deeds when we are deserving. If we are worthy at the time of redemption, we do not require mercy, for redemption comes by virtue of merit: just as the Holy One, Blessed is He, chose us to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, so will He choose us once more because we are worthy and distinguished. But if we are not worthy, the concept of choice does not apply, since choosing implies selecting the finest portion. In that case, Hashem will not choose us, but rather will have mercy upon us, ensuring that we do not perish among the nations.
This accounts for the precise nuance of the two names. The name "Jacob" denotes Israel at their lower spiritual standing, from the root of akev (heel), while the name "Israel" denotes their elevated stature, implying sovereignty and nobility. Therefore, "For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob" - if we are on that lower level, we are not worthy of being chosen, but we are still eligible for mercy. "And will again choose Israel" - if we repent and attain a lofty level, He will choose us on account of our distinction. In either case, "and set them in their own land" - Hashem will grant us rest from all the enemies and tormentors around us. To accomplish this, He must first bring an end to the Chaldean kingdom, the empire of Babylon.
"And the stranger shall be joined with them" - because they will witness our tranquility and peace, converts will come to join us and become part of the people of Israel. "And they shall cleave to the house of Jacob" - they will be secondary to the house of Jacob. The Malbim explains that both terms, "joined" (nilvah) and "attached" (nispechu), denote something subordinate to the principal entity. This is the difference between something that merely connects to another as an equal, and something that is joined or attached, which acknowledges that the other is primary while it is merely secondary.
What, then, is the difference between nilvah (joined) and nispechu (attached)? An attachment (nispe'ach) also inflicts damage upon the primary entity to which it clings, as in the statement of Chazal, "Converts are as burdensome to Israel as a scab (sapachat)." This can be compared to a vine climbing upon a tree: one vine merely climbs and joins it without causing any harm, while another clings to it, blocking the air and sunlight and preventing the tree from developing properly. That is the definition of a sapachat: a subordinate attachment that harms the host.
וּלְקָחוּם עַמִּים וֶהֱבִיאוּם אֶל־מְקוֹמָם וְהִתְנַחֲלוּם בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל אַדְמַת יְהֹוָה לַעֲבָדִים וְלִשְׁפָחוֹת וְהָיוּ שֹׁבִים לְשֹׁבֵיהֶם וְרָדוּ בְּנֹגְשֵׂיהֶם׃ - And peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids; and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
Initially, while complete peace has not yet arrived, Israel will accept converts. Later on, however, when the nations themselves take Israel and bring them to their place, those gentiles will no longer be accepted as converts; rather, "and they shall possess them" - as an inherited possession, in the status of servants and handmaids. The reason for this is well known: converts were not accepted in the days of David and Solomon because things were good for Israel. When our situation is favorable, any prospective convert is suspected of seeking worldly benefits. But when we are in exile and someone joins and says, "I want to be part of you," that is proof that his intentions are pure and genuine; he is a true convert who wishes to attach himself to the inheritance of Hashem. Therefore, in that hour of triumph, they will merely be given an estate to serve, but we will not accept them as full converts.
"And they shall take captive their captors, and rule over their oppressors" - then Israel will exact retribution from the nations measure for measure. Those who captured us and abused us, we will take captive; and whoever acted with added malice and afflicted us with backbreaking labor, "and rule over their oppressors" - those who oppressed us until now, we will rule over them.
At first glance, there is a major difficulty here. The prophecy describes the downfall of Babylon and the redemption of Israel that follows in its wake. But Babylon's downfall already occurred; Babylon fell to Media, to Cyrus. If so, the continuation should also have been fulfilled: "For Hashem will have compassion on Jacob, and will again choose Israel, and settle them on their own land" - yet this did not happen. A person might argue: Here is a prophecy that was not fulfilled!
The Malbim answers: Let your mind be set at ease by what we explained in chapter 11. The future redemption has a designated timeframe, which extends from Hezekiah until the coming of the Redeemer. Already in the days of Hezekiah we were worthy, as Chazal taught that the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to make Hezekiah the Messiah. And the era of the Second Temple was a time of testing for Israel: had they vindicated their actions and conducted themselves with fear of Heaven, at the end of four hundred and twenty years Mashiach ben David would have come and redeemed them with an eternal redemption. For the Second Temple did not equal the First Temple in its power and glory, nor was that redemption complete: with Ezra and Nehemiah, only about fifty thousand people ascended, while the majority of the nation remained in exile. But because we were not worthy, and due to baseless hatred and everything that transpired during the Second Temple, we were exiled into the dispersion in which we remain to this day.
It turns out, then, that the potential for redemption has remained open from the days of Hezekiah until today - "Today, if you will hearken to His voice." The prophecy that "Hashem will have compassion on Jacob" still stands awaiting fulfillment. We have many prophecies that have not yet been realized because their designated time has not yet arrived, but we do not have even a single prophecy that was meant to be fulfilled at a specific historical moment and failed to come to pass. All the prophecies that were meant to be fulfilled have already happened, and whatever has not yet been fulfilled belongs to the time of the future redemption. And this is what was said to Daniel, "it speaks of the end, and does not lie," and "yet the vision is for an appointed time" - all of those prophecies were stated regarding the time ripe for redemption, for which we still yearn and wait.
The Malbim notes a linguistic distinction here. Both the nogesh (taskmaster) and the rodeh (ruler) pressure another party to pay taxes or perform labor, but the term rediyah (ruling or subjugating) is generally associated with governance: a government rules over the people beneath it, like Pharaoh, and as was said of Solomon that he ruled from Tiphsah to Gaza. That is, one sovereign ruling over another government to collect taxes or compel them to labor for its needs.
וְהָיָה בְּיוֹם הָנִיחַ יְהֹוָה לְךָ מֵעׇצְבְּךָ וּמִרׇגְזֶךָ וּמִן־הָעֲבֹדָה הַקָּשָׁה אֲשֶׁר עֻבַּד־בָּךְ׃ - And it shall come to pass on the day Hashem gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your agitation, and from the hard labor which was imposed upon you.
This refers to the period after the fall of Babylon, and "the hard labor" represents all that we suffered under the Babylonian Empire. The Malbim explains: sorrow and agitation are emotional, psychological states. A person is grieved in his soul, not in his body, and agitated in his soul, not in his body. Sadness (otzev) is over something lacking, something that was lost to me. Agitation (rogez) is over something that impinges upon me, angering me and causing me restlessness. Therefore, rogez also denotes shaking or trembling, as in "Who shakes (margiz) the earth out of its place." When something irritates a person, an inner restlessness is created; he feels as though something within him is constantly being jolted. This is the definition of rogez: an inner instability resulting from emotional turbulence that leaves him no peace.
Labor, by contrast, creates restlessness in the body. It is possible for the soul to be at rest while the body is jolted by labor, and the reverse is also possible: the body may be at rest while the soul churns restlessly within. Therefore, Scripture states that on that day Hashem will grant rest to the body from the turmoil of labor, and to the soul from two afflictions: from sorrow, the grief over the good that was lacking to it, and from agitation, over the torment and provocation inflicted upon Israel. From all three things together - a state of absolute tranquility from every perspective.
וְנָשָׂאתָ הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה עַל־מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וְאָמָרְתָּ אֵיךְ שָׁבַת נֹגֵשׂ שָׁבְתָה מַדְהֵבָה׃ - And you shall take up this parable against the king of Babylon and say: How the oppressor has ceased, how the golden empire has ceased!
Madhevah refers to the kingdom of gold. As we recall, when Nevuchadnezzar dreamed his dream and Daniel came to interpret it for him, he told him, "Reisha di dahava" - the head of gold, this is your kingdom. And what did Nevuchadnezzar do afterward? He erected an image in the plain of Dura, made entirely of gold. Why? Because in the dream, the further down one goes along the statue, the lower the value of the material: the head is gold, beneath it silver and copper, the legs iron, and the feet clay. Nevuchadnezzar wanted to perform an action that would perpetuate his reign: a massive, formidable statue made entirely of gold, so that people would not say that the golden head falls and other kingdoms will follow to conquer it. He commanded everyone to bow down to it, based on their belief that an action below affects the supernal realms. One can study this entire episode in depth in the lessons on Sefer Daniel.
Thus we find that gold symbolizes Nevuchadnezzar and the kingdom of Babylon. "How has the oppressor ceased" - what happened that the oppressor, who collected taxes with great force, suddenly ceased? "How has the golden empire ceased" - the kingdom of gold has ceased. Chazal offer an additional explanation: madhevah is the kingdom that says, "Measure and bring" (medod vehavei). Measure, weigh, and bring, and weigh and bring again. They were constantly collecting taxes with immense force and great tyranny.
שָׁבַר יְהֹוָה מַטֵּה רְשָׁעִים שֵׁבֶט מֹשְׁלִים׃ - Hashem has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers.
To the wonderment of "How has the oppressor ceased," the answer arrives: this is not a coincidence, not the mere seesaw of one king rising and another falling, but "Hashem has broken" - through full Divine Providence from Him, blessed be He. Both the scepter (shevet) and the staff (mateh) express rulership, but a blow from a staff hurts far more than a blow from a rod or scepter. Therefore, the shevet represents the ruler himself, while the mateh, whose blow is severe, represents the taskmasters and officers - those who carry out the ruler's authority and ensure the people submit to his rule. These he calls the "staff of the wicked," for they are the wicked ones who strike in order to keep the scepter in the hand of the rulers.
מַכֶּה עַמִּים בְּעֶבְרָה מַכַּת בִּלְתִּי סָרָה רֹדֶה בָאַף גּוֹיִם מֻרְדָּף בְּלִי חָשָׂךְ׃ - Who struck peoples in fury with an unrelenting blow, who ruled nations in anger, pursued without restraint.
Here the tyrannical rule of Nevuchadnezzar is described. We have already explained the difference between ka'as (anger) and evrah (wrath or fury): anger is directed toward someone who deserves anger, whereas evrah is anger directed at someone without any cause. One person angered me, and I am furious at everyone; one person from a nation wronged me, and I destroy the entire nation. This is "who struck peoples in fury": he has no cause to be angry with them, yet he strikes them all because of one individual. Therefore, it is "an unrelenting blow" (makat bilti sarah) - even though no deviation (sarah), sin, or iniquity was found in the people, he strikes them. And this is why it was previously called the "staff of the wicked," for it is wickedness to act in this manner.
And corresponding to "the scepter of the rulers," he says: "who ruled nations in anger" - with that very scepter he subjugated nations in anger and rage. And even if it was "pursued without restraint," where the pursued nation did not hold itself back from him or hide from him, but was ready to fulfill his will, saying: "Whatever you demand I will do," even then he subjugated it in anger as though it had cast off his yoke. After all, when one comes to subjugate someone and that person immediately submits, there is no place to treat him cruelly; only if he attempted to rebel could one argue there was cause. But with Nevuchadnezzar, this was not the case; even when there was no reason whatsoever to be angry, he subjugated them in great fury, which demonstrates the depth of his wickedness.
נָחָה שָׁקְטָה כׇּל־הָאָרֶץ פָּצְחוּ רִנָּה׃ - The entire earth is at rest and is quiet; they burst into song.
The reign of Nevuchadnezzar lasted three generations: Nevuchadnezzar, and after him Belshazzar, and after him Evil-merodach. These three reigns were promised to him in reward for the three steps he ran to correct the letter, placing the Name of the God of Israel first, followed by Chizkiyahu, and then Jerusalem. Already upon Nevuchadnezzar's death, the harsh oppression and wickedness that characterized his rule began to wane, and when his grandson fell as well, that entire empire came to an end. Then the whole earth rested and forgot everything it had suffered under that tyrannical, wicked king who had subjugated it, to the point that from the immense serenity, they all broke out into song. And further on, we will see the words of the Gemara that throughout all the days of Nevuchadnezzar, a smile was never seen on anyone's face, so great was the anguish and harsh oppression that bore down on all the people.
Notice the progression in the verse. In the Holy Tongue, menuchah (rest) signifies serenity, while sheket (tranquility) is deeper than rest, as it is written, "I was not quiet, nor did I have rest." When something ceases to be shaken, it first rests, and then it becomes quiet. "The sea rested from its raging" - it rested, yet waves remain; quiet is absolute tranquility. Therefore, first the earth "rested" (nachah), then it became "quiet" (shaktah), and in the third stage, it turned from grief and distress into joy: "they broke forth into song" (patzchu rinah) - they began to sing after the passing of Nevuchadnezzar.
גַּם־בְּרוֹשִׁים שָׂמְחוּ לְךָ אַרְזֵי לְבָנוֹן מֵאָז שָׁכַבְתָּ לֹא־יַעֲלֶה הַכֹּרֵת עָלֵינוּ׃ - Even the cypresses rejoiced over you, and the cedars of Lebanon: "Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us."
The Malbim explains this according to its plain meaning, referring literally to cypresses and cedars. A king who would go out conquering kingdoms would chop down forests to construct siege ramps and siege towers, engines to mount against the wall to conquer the country. Now that you have ceased terrorizing kingdoms and conquering lands, more trees remain alive and free from destruction. Therefore, "Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us" - cedars will no longer be felled for the needs of war.
Radak explains on a deeper level: the cypresses and cedars of Lebanon symbolize kings and princes. Even these kings, who did not personally labor for the conqueror - since it was the conquered populace that performed the forced labor, while the rulers merely ensured taxes were paid - rejoiced at Nevuchadnezzar's destruction. Why? "No woodcutter comes up against us," for they had lived under constant threat: if you do not comply, he will march against you again. Like Tzidkiyahu, who was subjugated under the kingdom of Babylon, and when he rebelled, they came upon him to cut him down and destroy him. Therefore, even the exalted leaders, the cedars of Lebanon and the cypresses, rejoiced at his downfall.
All this was above, upon the face of the earth: joy, serenity, and quiet. Yet in their stead, agitation and wrath erupted elsewhere - down where Nevuchadnezzar was now headed.
שְׁאוֹל מִתַּחַת רָגְזָה לְךָ לִקְרַאת בּוֹאֶךָ עוֹרֵר לְךָ רְפָאִים כׇּל־עַתּוּדֵי אָרֶץ הֵקִים מִכִּסְאוֹתָם כֹּל מַלְכֵי גוֹיִם׃ - Sheol from below was agitated over you to meet your arrival; it aroused the shades for you, all the chieftains of the earth; it raised from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
Sheol trembled with dread upon hearing that you were coming there. And as we will see in the Gemara later, the dwellers of Dumah - the inhabitants of Gehennom - began to fear Nevuchadnezzar's arrival, terrified that he was coming to rule over them as well. Gehennom was like Paradise compared to Nevuchadnezzar, and when he arrived, they were gripped by panic: they thought he was coming there to annihilate nations and destroy realms. In utter terror, Sheol began rousing the shades (rephaim), the giants, all the chieftains (atudim) of the earth. And who are they? The Malbim explains that allegorically they are the rulers, kings who had been sleeping their eternal sleep, who were now being awakened, as it were: "Gentlemen, prepare yourselves, there is going to be war - Nevuchadnezzar is coming!" "It raised from their thrones all the kings of the nations" - all the kings of the nations residing in Sheol rise up and abandon their thrones in fear of his arrival. Yet all of this was only prior to your arrival; once you actually arrive and they see you, their terror will cease.
כֻּלָּם יַעֲנוּ וְיֹאמְרוּ אֵלֶיךָ גַּם־אַתָּה חֻלֵּיתָ כָמוֹנוּ אֵלֵינוּ נִמְשָׁלְתָּ׃ - They will all answer and say to you: "Have you, too, been stricken weak as we are? Have you become likened to us?"
They assumed you were coming there to govern and exercise dominion, but when they see that this is not so, they will say: "Have you, too, been stricken weak as we are?" - sickness and mortality have overtaken you just like any creature of flesh and blood. "Have you become likened to us?" - you have been reduced to mere mortal standing, as in the verse, "He is likened to the beasts that perish." They thought you were some sort of god possessing supernatural powers - after all, he sought to make himself into a god, as we will see further on - yet here it turns out you are being brought in as an ordinary prisoner. If so, we can rest easy; there is nothing to fear.
הוּרַד שְׁאוֹל גְּאוֹנֶךָ הֶמְיַת נְבָלֶיךָ תַּחְתֶּיךָ יֻצַּע רִמָּה וּמְכַסֶּיךָ תּוֹלֵעָה׃ - Your pride is brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps; maggots are spread beneath you, and worms are your covering.
"Your pride" refers to the immense arrogance you possessed. And what is "the music of your harps" (hemyat nevalecha)? The Malbim explains: When other kings descend to Sheol, their reign is still remembered, and people continue to sing songs of praise and acclaim in their kingdoms, plucking upon the harp to recount their glory and majesty. Consider how many songs and anthems are composed each year for departed leaders, particularly among Arab nations and in the personality cults of Stalin and Lenin, where hymns of praise were sung in their honor long after their deaths. But with you, it is not so: even the harps have fallen silent, and your deeds will no longer be recalled. Hemyah denotes sound and commotion, yet all the strumming of the harps will no longer be heard; it will be completely silenced. You left behind no lasting memory; there is no one who will miss you or remember you favorably. Instead, "maggots are spread beneath you, and worms are your covering."
Rashi offers an additional explanation: Nevalecha derives from the word nevalah (villainy or degradation), as in "for he has done an outrage in Israel" (nevalah asah b'Yisrael). This refers to the wicked and vile men among your legions. Your pride was cast down to Sheol, and the corrupt men of your armies were brought low and descended together with you.
What is the difference between rimah (maggots) and tole'ah (worms)? The Malbim explains: Larvae while still contained inside something, such as within a fruit before emerging, are called rimah; once they begin swarming and crawling out of their place, they are called tola'im (worms). This aligns with the verse, "and it bred worms and rotted" (vayarom tola'im vayiv'ash), where the worms crawl upward and emerge. Similarly, "man's hope is maggots (rimah), and the son of man a worm (tole'ah)": mortal man is like rimah, which is merely the starting phase, and the offspring born from him is like a tole'ah, which branches out and emerges from the rimah. The rimah is the bed and foundation from which the worms develop; therefore, "maggots are spread beneath you" - serving as the mattress below, "and worms are your covering" - cloaking you from above. We find a parallel in contemporary usage: when webbing or larvae are seen inside stored spices, they are referred to as rimah, but once they begin crawling and swarming about, they are considered tola'im.
אֵיךְ נָפַלְתָּ מִשָּׁמַיִם הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר נִגְדַּעְתָּ לָאָרֶץ חוֹלֵשׁ עַל־גּוֹיִם׃ - How have you fallen from heaven, luminous morning star! You have been cut down to the earth, you who cast lots over nations!
The Malbim notes that ancient peoples attributed the success of kings to the stars, saying that a king's star in heaven was ascendant and shining brightly upon him. Based on this, the prophet compares Nevuchadnetzar's star to the light of dawn. Once the dawn begins to break, it never reverses course; it only ascends and strengthens. Heilel comes from the root of hilah (halo or radiance), the brilliance of the morning light. Hence the wonder: How could the shining star of dawn fall from heaven? How, at the very peak of its triumph, did such a sudden fall occur?
"You have been cut down to the earth, you who weakened the nations" - the Malbim explains that his light was scattered across the earth among many territories and different nations. Never again did an absolute empire arise that ruled the entire world like the dominion of Nevuchadnetzar; rather, his empire was fractured into many smaller and weaker kingdoms. This is what was prophesied in Daniel: "And when he stands up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled." There would no longer be a single supreme rule over all; rather, Daniel envisioned four beasts and four heads, symbolizing that the one great empire would break apart into four smaller realms.
וְאַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ בִלְבָבְךָ הַשָּׁמַיִם אֶעֱלֶה מִמַּעַל לְכוֹכְבֵי־אֵל אָרִים כִּסְאִי וְאֵשֵׁב בְּהַר־מוֹעֵד בְּיַרְכְּתֵי צָפוֹן׃ אֶעֱלֶה עַל־בָּמֳתֵי עָב אֶדַּמֶּה לְעֶלְיוֹן׃ - And you said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will raise my throne, and I will sit upon the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
To understand these verses, one must appreciate the worldview prevalent at that time, reflected also in Greek and Roman mythologies. Ancient pagans believed that the gods were divided into three tiers: lower, middle, and upper. At the highest level were the heavenly bodies, ruling through divine force; in the middle were the gods dwelling in the air; and below were the demigods dwelling on earth atop high mountains, which served as their seats of power - hierarchy above hierarchy. Above all reigned the God of gods: the nations acknowledged Hashem, but they believed that He was utterly uninvolved with our world, that there was no direct access to Him, and that He concerned Himself solely with grand cosmic matters.
Since they attributed divinity to their kings, like Pharaoh who said, "My Nile is my own, and I made it for myself," they would designate for the king a prominent star in the heavens possessing great dominion, with which the king was linked and by which he was influenced. As for the king himself, they would place him among the demigods dwelling upon the mountains, and in their folly they claimed that from there he could ascend to the intermediate gods in the air, and from there ascend further to become a star in the heavens. In the words of the Malbim: "As is well known from the mythology in our hands, a remnant of the teachings of vanity and delusions spawned by ancient times." All those tales recounting how one king fought another, loved a certain woman, took his wife, grew angry with him and went to war against him and killed his son - entire mythologies of vanities and absurdities told to the nations, which the masses believed wholeheartedly.
According to this: "I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will raise my throne" - corresponding to his star in the heavens, he boasted that he would ascend there and elevate his throne above all the stars of God, ruling there with great dominion. "And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north" - he boasted that he would dwell permanently on the mountain of assembly, the dwelling place of the demigods, a place where they live a life of bliss and have no contact with mortal men. "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High" - and from there, from among the demigods in the mountains, he would ascend to the intermediate gods in the air, and from there ascend to become a star in the heavens.
אַךְ אֶל־שְׁאוֹל תּוּרָד אֶל־יַרְכְּתֵי־בוֹר׃ - Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.
The prophet tells him: It is all an illusion. You imagine that you will ascend from lowliness all the way to heaven, and not merely to the intermediate heavens but to the stars of God, and that your kingdom will spread across the entire world. Know that in both respects, the exact opposite will occur. Corresponding to the ascent to heaven: "Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol." And corresponding to expanding to the ends of the earth: not only will you not rule over all like the heavenly stars, but your domain will be extremely restricted: "to the recesses of the pit" - the furthest you will reach is the very bottom of the pit, and not a single cubit beyond it.
רֹאֶיךָ אֵלֶיךָ יַשְׁגִּיחוּ אֵלֶיךָ יִתְבּוֹנָנוּ הֲזֶה הָאִישׁ מַרְגִּיז הָאָרֶץ מַרְעִישׁ מַמְלָכוֹת׃ - Those who see you will gaze at you, they will contemplate you: "Is this the man who shook the earth, who made kingdoms tremble?"
Even those who were accustomed to seeing you will now gaze at you and scrutinize you. The Malbim explains the distinction between the terms: lehaziz (to peek) is a fleeting glance; lehashgiach (to gaze) is an intensified look, a more observant view; while lehitbonen (to contemplate) is genuine, deep scrutiny and examining something thoroughly. First "they will gaze at you," and then they will arrive at "they will contemplate you," saying to themselves: Wait, is that him? Is this the Nevuchadnezzar I once saw? So small? "Is this the man who shook the earth, who made kingdoms tremble?" - is this the man who agitated the entire earth with his conquests, and through the upheaval and tremors he caused across the land made kingdoms shake?
שָׂם תֵּבֵל כַּמִּדְבָּר וְעָרָיו הָרָס אֲסִירָיו לֹא־פָתַח בָּיְתָה׃ - Who made the world like a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not release his prisoners to their homes?
He turned the inhabited world into a desolate wilderness. Notice the precise phrasing: "its cities" refers to his own cities as well. In his wrath, he would destroy even his own cities if they failed to follow his orders to the letter. "Who did not release his prisoners to their homes" - often, a prisoner's shackles are removed while inside the prison so he can walk about freely within the building, but he did not remove the irons from their hands and feet even inside the prison house. And look: the one of whom everyone was so terrified, who was so utterly cruel - is this the man who made kingdoms tremble?
כׇּל־מַלְכֵי גוֹיִם כֻּלָּם שָׁכְבוּ בְכָבוֹד אִישׁ בְּבֵיתוֹ׃ - All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie in honor, each in his tomb.
All the kings of the nations enjoyed two types of honor upon their passing. The first was in the quality of the burial: they were laid to rest in their tombs with great honor in royal fashion, an appropriately dignified burial. The second was in the place of burial: "each in his house," in their own home territory, in the royal tombs they had prepared for themselves during their lifetimes.
וְאַתָּה הׇשְׁלַכְתָּ מִקִּבְרְךָ כְּנֵצֶר נִתְעָב לְבֻשׁ הֲרֻגִים מְטֹעֲנֵי חָרֶב יוֹרְדֵי אֶל־אַבְנֵי־בוֹר כְּפֶגֶר מוּבָס׃ - But you were cast out of your grave like an abhorred shoot, clothed with the slain who are thrust through by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a trampled corpse.