The previous verses described the peace and quiet and joyful singing on earth. In stark contrast, Sheol is described in Isaiah 14:9–10. There is an agitated expectation as the shadows of the underworld await the fallen Babylonian king’s descent into hell. Sheol is the miserable final destination of the unrighteous. Here the deceased leaders are standing up to taunt the new arrival. He is now just as powerless as they are.
9 Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.