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Ezekiel Chapter
Thirty-two
Ezekiel 32
Chapter Contents
The fall of Egypt. (1-16) It is like that of other
nations. (17-32)
Commentary on Ezekiel 32:1-16
(Read Ezekiel 32:1-16)
It becomes us to weep and tremble for those who will not
weep and tremble for themselves. Great oppressors are, in God's account, no
better than beasts of prey. Those who admire the pomp of this world, will
wonder at the ruin of that pomp; which to those who know the vanity of all
things here below, is no surprise. When others are ruined by sin, we have to
fear, knowing ourselves guilty. The instruments of the desolation are
formidable. And the instances of the desolation are frightful. The waters of
Egypt shall run like oil, which signifies there should be universal sadness and
heaviness upon the whole nation. God can soon empty those of this world's goods
who have the greatest fulness of them. By enlarging the matters of our joy, we
increase the occasions of our sorrow. How weak and helpless, as to God, are the
most powerful of mankind! The destruction of Egypt was a type of the
destruction of the enemies of Christ.
Commentary on Ezekiel 32:17-32
(Read Ezekiel 32:17-32)
Divers nations are mentioned as gone down to the grave
before Egypt, who are ready to give her a scornful reception; these nations had
been lately ruined and wasted. But though Judah and Jerusalem were about this
time ruined and laid waste, yet they are not mentioned here. Though they
suffered the same affliction, and by the same hand, yet the kind design for
which they were afflicted, and the mercy God reserved for them, altered its
nature. It was not to them a going down to the pit, as it was to the heathen.
Pharaoh shall see, and be comforted; but the comfort wicked ones have after death,
is poor comfort, not real, but only in fancy. The view this prophecy gives of
ruined states shows something of this present world, and the empire of death in
it. Come and see the calamitous state of human life. As if men did not die fast
enough, they are ingenious at finding out ways to destroy one another. Also of
the other world; though the destruction of nations as such, seems chiefly
intended, here is plain allusion to the everlasting ruin of impenitent sinners.
How are men deceived by Satan! What are the objects they pursue through scenes
of bloodshed, and their many sins? Surely man disquiets himself in vain,
whether he pursues wealth, fame, power, or pleasure. The hour cometh, when all
that are in their graves shall hear the voice of Christ, and shall come forth;
those that have done good to the resurrection of life, and those that have done
evil to the resurrection of damnation.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Ezekiel》
Ezekiel 32
Verse 1
[1] And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth
month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me,
saying,
Twelfth year — Of the captivity of Jeconiah.
Verse 2
[2] Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of
Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou
art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and
troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
Like a young lion — Spoiling all thou
canst.
Crocodile — The crocodiles lay in the rivers,
though sometimes they went down the river to the sea.
With thy rivers — Raisedst mighty armies, and didst
lead them out against thy neighbours.
The waters — The people, and kings near thee.
Thy feet — With thy soldiers.
Fouledst — Didst spoil all the conveniences of thy neighbours.
Verse 3
[3] Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my
net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my
net.
With a company — In the countries, where these
creatures were hunted, they went in mighty companies.
Verse 4
[4] Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee
forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain
upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
Leave thee — This was literally fulfilled in
the deserts of Lybia, where the slain of Hophra's army, were left to be
devoured by fowls and beasts.
Verse 5
[5] And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill
the valleys with thy height.
With thy height — With the carcasses of thy
princes.
Verse 6
[6] I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou
swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
Even to the mountains — Blood shall be poured
forth, as if it were to rise to the very mountains.
Full of thee — O thy blood, and of thy carcasses
cast into them.
Verse 7
[7] And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and
make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon
shall not give her light.
Put thee out — As a torch is extinguished.
Cover the sun — Probably some unusual darkness
was seen in the heavens, and on the earth, about that time.
Verse 9
[9] I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall
bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not
known.
Thy destruction — The fame of it.
Not known — Such as were strangers to Egypt,
shall be troubled with apprehension of what mischief may come upon the world
from so mighty a conqueror.
Verse 10
[10] Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their
kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before
them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in
the day of thy fall.
Shall tremble — Be greatly afraid, lest
Nebuchadnezzar, who is God's sword, should smite them.
Every man — Every one of the kings, whose
kingdoms are near to Egypt.
Verse 13
[13] I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside
the great waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the
hoofs of beasts trouble them.
All the beasts — The sheep, and oxen devoured, or
driven away: the horses taken up to mount the horsemen, whose own horses were
tired, or spoiled.
Great waters — The pasture lying along the river
side.
Trouble them — There shall be so few men left in
Egypt, that they shall not as formerly, disturb the waters by digging,
swimming, or rowing on them.
Nor the hoofs — So few horses or cows, that they
shall not at watering-times, or in the heat of the day, foul the waters.
Verse 14
[14] Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their
rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.
Like oil — A figurative expression, signifying, there shall be
such an universal sadness and heaviness upon the whole nation, that the very
rivers which used to flow briskly, shall grow deep, and slow, and heavy.
Verse 15
[15] When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the
country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all
them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.
Of that — Men and women, cattle, wealth, and peace.
Verse 16
[16] This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her:
the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even
for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
This is the lamentation — This mournful
account, which the prophet has given of Egypt.
Verse 18
[18] Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast
them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether
parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
Wail — Prepare the funeral ceremonies at the burial of Egypt.
The daughters — And celebrate the funerals of
other cities and kingdoms that lie buried in their own ruins.
The nether parts of the earth — A well known
description of the state of the dead.
The pit — The Egyptians affected to be buried in the Pyramids,
and their kings, and great ones, would be laid by themselves; but Ezekiel
provides them their grave among common people, being buried just where they
fall.
Verse 19
[19] Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid
with the uncircumcised.
Whom — Art thou better than others that thou shouldest not
die, and be laid in the dust, as well as they.
Go — Go down like others.
With the uncircumcised — Among profane and
loathed carcasses, such the uncircumcised were in the opinion of the
circumcised, as were the Egyptians.
Verse 20
[20] They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by
the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.
They — The Egyptians.
She — The whole Egyptian kingdom.
Draw — And throw them together into the pit.
Verse 21
[21] The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of
the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie
uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
Him — The king of Egypt.
The grave — Where they lie without strength,
as dead mortals, tho' while they lived, they bore themselves, as gods.
That help — His helpers, dead before him,
shall speak to him.
Gone down — To the grave.
They lie — Neglected, and forgotten.
Verse 22
[22] Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are
about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
Ashur — The famous, warlike, king of Assyria.
Is there — In the state of the dead, in the land of darkness and
oblivion.
Her company — Princes, soldiers, subjects, and
confederates.
Are about him — They are about him, who were
slain with him.
Verse 23
[23] Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her
company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which
caused terror in the land of the living.
Whose graves — Here is supposed a spacious
vault, in the midst whereof the king of Ashur lies, and round the vault, his
familiar captains and commanders.
Her company — The common subjects of the
Assyrian empire, all buried undistinguished about her.
Her grave — The ruins of an empire are its grave.
In the land — While they were in the land of
the living.
Verse 24
[24] There is Elam and all her multitude round about her
grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down
uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in
the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down
to the pit.
Elam — The Persians, and their famous kings, who lived in
former days.
Their shame — God, and man poured contempt upon
them, and turned their glory into shame.
Verse 25
[25] They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with
all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised,
slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living,
yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in
the midst of them that be slain.
A bed — The Persians had their coffins, in which with balms
and spices, the dead were kept, in the midst of places provided for them; in
such is the king of Elam here placed with his slaughtered captains about him.
All the honour he can now pretend to, is to be buried in the chief sepulchre.
Verse 26
[26] There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her
graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
Her multitude — With the Cappadocians and
Albanians, the Scythians may be included, many of whom were next neighbors to
them.
Verse 27
[27] And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen
of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war:
and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall
be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of
the living.
They — The leaders of these Scythians were not buried with a
pomp like that of Ashur, or Elan, but surprised by Halyattes and Cyaxares, were
cut off with all their multitude, and tumbled into pits with the rabble.
With their weapons — A ceremony observed
in pompous funerals of great captains, to have their weapons, and their armour
carried before the hearse.
Laid their swords — In their graves, as
if they could sleep the sweeter there, when they laid their heads on such a
pillow: These barbarous Scythians were not so buried.
Their iniquity — The exemplary punishment of their
iniquity shall be seen upon their bones unburied.
Verse 28
[28] Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the
uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.
Thou — Chief of Mesech, and Tubal.
Shalt be broken — Shalt be killed with the rest of
thy wicked followers.
Shalt lie — Without regard, hurled into the
pit with common soldiers.
Verse 29
[29] There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which
with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie
with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.
With the uncircumcised — The Edomites retained
circumcision, being of the seed of Abraham. But that shall stand them in no stead:
they shall lie with the uncircumcised.
Verse 30
[30] There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all
the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are
ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by
the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.
Of the north — Tyrians, Assyrians, and Syrians,
who lay northward from Judea, now swallowed up by the Babylonian.
Of their might — When it appeared too weak to
resist the enemy.
Uncircumcised — Scorned, and cast out as profane
and loathsome.
Verse 31
[31] Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all
his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord
GOD.
Comforted — Poor comfort! Yet all that he
will find!
Verse 32
[32] For I have caused my terror in the land of the living:
and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain
with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
My terror — These tyrants were a terror to
the world by their cruelty; and God hath made them a terror by his just
punishments; and so, saith God, will I do with Pharaoh. Come and see the
calamitous state of human life! See what a dying world this is! The strong die,
the mighty die; Pharaoh and all his multitude! But here is likewise an allusion
to the final and everlasting death of impenitent sinners. Those that are
uncircumcised in heart, are slain by the sword of Divine Justice. Their
iniquity is upon them, and they bear their shame for ever.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Ezekiel》
32 Chapter 32
Verses 1-32
Gone down to hell with their weapons of war.
Teaching from ancient tombs
I. The utter
helplessness of mortality.
1. What might is there that call withstand death! From armies,
thrones, castles, courts, and empires, death hath plucked his prey.
2. The universality of death’s empire.
3. What a picture is here drawn of all enmity against God! Rebellion
against God is madness (Psalms 2:1-12).
4. What a contrast the grave of the Saviour presents to these!
Victorious death in that bright Easter morn was subdued and crushed. Ours is
the triumph also. Though mortality be helpless, and must bow to the dust, yet
humanity is triumphant, and shall rise again.
II. The fond
tenacity of memory. Memory surrounds the living with relics of the dead and
mementoes of the past. Even the dead are surrounded with tokens of their
circumstances, character, and career. Above the grave stands the grey
tombstone, with the simple inscription, “To the memory.” What memories are you
preparing for your deathbed and the grave? Our moral actions, mental emotions,
and impressions we cannot bury in everlasting oblivion. Our character is our
true epitaph cut deeply into our tomb. (R. S. Latimer.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》
32 Chapter 32
INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 32
This
chapter contains two more prophecies concerning the destruction of Egypt. The
date of the first is given, Ezekiel 22:1, in which the king of Egypt is
compared to a large fish taken in a net, and brought to land, and left on it,
to be the prey of the fowls of the air and beasts of the field, Ezekiel 32:2, and the ruin of that kingdom
is further amplified by the casting of it on the mountains and valleys; by the
land flowing with its blood; by the darkness of the heavens; by the vexation in
the hearts of many people; and by the amazement of kings and nations, Ezekiel 32:5, the means and instruments of
all which will be the king of Babylon and his army, Ezekiel 32:11, the devastation made by him,
which would be such as would cause lamentation in other nations, is described, Ezekiel 32:13, then follows the other
prophecy, whose date is given, Ezekiel 32:17, the prophet is bid to lament
the fall of Egypt, which is represented under the funeral of a corpse, Ezekiel 32:18, saluted by those gone down
to the grave before, or were become desolate; which are mentioned, to assure
Egypt of its destruction, Ezekiel 32:21 as the Assyrian empire, and
all its provinces, Ezekiel 32:22, the Persians and Medes, with
all their dominions, Ezekiel 32:24, the posterity of Meshech and
Tubal, or the Scythians, those warlike people, Ezekiel 32:26, the Edomites, the princes of
the north, and all the Zidonians, Ezekiel 32:29 which would be a comfort,
though a poor one to the king of Egypt and his subjects, to have such company
with them, Ezekiel 32:31.
Verse 1
And it came to pass in the twelfth year,.... Of
Jeconiah's captivity, above a year and a half after the taking of Jerusalem;
the Syriac version reads in the eleventh year:
in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month; the month
Adar, which answers to part of our February, and part of March; the Septuagint
version reads it the tenth month: according to Bishop UsherF20Annales
Vet. Test. A. M. 3417. , this was on the twenty second of March, on the fourth
day of the week (Wednesday), 3417 A.M.or 587 years before Christ:
that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying; as follows:
Verse 2
Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt,....
Pharaohhophra, or Apries; say a funeral dirge for him; this is ordered, not out
of honour and respect to him, or in compassion for his misery and ruin, but to
assure him of it:
and say unto him, thou art like a young lion of the nations; for strength
and fierceness, for cruelty and tyranny, which he exercised, not in one nation
only, but in many; a lively emblem of the beast of Rome, spiritually called
Egypt and Sodom, compared to a leopard, bear, and lion, Revelation 11:8,
and thou art as a whale in the seas; or rather "like a
crocodile"F21כתנים "similis es
crocodile", Noldius, Ebr. Concord. Part. p. 375. , which was common in the
rivers of Egypt, but not the whale; which also has not scales, nor does it go
upon land, nor is it taken in a net; all which is said of this creature here, and
in Ezekiel 29:3 and to the crocodile there is
an allusion in the name of Pharaoh, in the Arabic language, as Noldius from
Camius observesF23Ibid. No. 1306. ; see Ezekiel 29:3,
and thou camest forth with thy rivers; or, "by
thy rivers"F24בנהרותיך "per
flumina tua", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Polanus. ; as the
crocodile in the river Nile, by the arms of it, or canals made out of it,
sometimes went out from thence to other parts: or, "out of thy
rivers"F25"Ex fluminibus tuis", Starckius. upon the
land, as the crocodile does; so the king of Egypt went forth with his armies
out of his own land, into other countries, to disturb them, as follows: or
rather, "camest forth in thy rivers"F26"In fluviis
tuis", V. L. Piscator; "in fluminibus tuis", Cocceius. ; as the
crocodile puts forth its head out of the water for respiration:
and thou troublest the waters with thy feet, and foulest their
rivers; just as the feet of men or beasts, in shallow waters, raise up
the mud or clay at the bottom, and so foul them; this best agrees with the
crocodile, which has feet; Grotius thinks, for this reason, the sea horse is
intended; the meaning is, that Pharaoh with his soldiers entered other nations,
made war upon them, and disturbed their peace and tranquillity. The Targum is,
"thou
hast been strong among the people, as a whale in the seas, thou hast fought
with thine army; and thou hast moved the people with thine auxiliaries, and
thou hast wasted their provinces.'
Verse 3
Thus saith the Lord God,.... The Lord God
Almighty, who is able to manage this fierce and turbulent creature, this mighty
monarch and disturber of the nations:
I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of
many people; meaning the Chaldean army, which the Lord would instigate, and
by his providence bring against the king of Egypt, and surround him as fishes
in a net, and take him and his people; see Ezekiel 12:13,
and they shall bring thee up in my net; out of his
rivers, out of his fortresses, out of his own land, and carry him captive, or
destroy him.
Verse 4
Then will I leave thee upon the land,.... Like a
fish that is drawn out of the waters with a net or hook, and laid on dry land,
and left gasping and expiring, where it cannot long live:
I will cast thee forth on the open field; the same in
different words, signifying that his army should fall in battle by the sword of
the Cyreneans, or Chaldeans, or both, and be left on the surface of the earth
unburied:
and will cause all the fowls of the heavens to remain upon thee,
and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee; which may be
understood either literally of the fowls of the air, that should light upon the
slain carcasses, and rest on them till they had satisfied themselves with their
flesh; and of the beasts of the field that should gather about them from all
parts, and fill themselves with them; see Revelation 19:17 or figuratively of the
soldiers of the enemy's army, that should plunder them, and enrich themselves
with the spoil.
Verse 5
And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains,.... The
remainder of it, left by the birds and beasts of prey, and who might carry it
thither; or it intends such of the Egyptians who should flee to the mountains
for safety, but should fall by the hands of the enemy there. So the Targum,
"and
I will give the flesh of thy slain upon the mountains.'
And fill the valleys with thy height; his huge
army, and with which he prided and lifted up himself, and thought himself safe
in; which should fall in such great numbers as to cover the plains and valleys
where the battle was fought. Jarchi observes, that the word for
"height" has with some the signification of "worms"; and so
the Syriac version renders it, "and the valleys shall be filled with thy
worms"; bred in the carcasses of the slain: and so the Vulgate Latin
version, "with corrupt matter"; such as issues out of putrefied
wounds. The Targum very rightly paraphrases it,
"the
valleys shall be filled with the carcasses of thine army.'
Verse 6
And I will also water with thy blood the land wherewith thou
swimmest,.... Where he resided, over which he ruled; alluding to his being
compared to a fish, a whale, or a crocodile; and which land abounded with all
good things, and he with them; instead of being watered with the waters of the
Nile, by which it became fruitful, it should now be flooded with the blood of
his army:
even to the mountains; an hyperbolical
expression, signifying the vast quantity of blood that should be shed; see the
like in Revelation 14:20,
and the rivers shall be full of them; of the
carcasses of his army, and of the blood of them; they should lie about
everywhere, on mountains and valleys, on the land and in the rivers; and which
should now be turned into blood, as the rivers of Egypt of old were; and which
figure is used to express the destruction of the antichristian states; see Exodus 7:20.
Verse 7
And when I shall put thee out,.... As a candle is put
out, or some great light or blazing torch is extinguished; such was the king of
Egypt in his splendour and glory; but now should be like a lamp put out in
obscure darkness, and all his brightness and glory removed from him, Job 18:5,
I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; with the
smoke that should arise at the extinguishing of this lamp; or they should be
covered with mourning, or clad in black, at the destruction of this monarch and
his monarchy:
I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her
light; all which figures are sometimes made use of to denote the
dissolution of kingdoms and states: the "heaven" being an emblem of a
kingdom itself; the "sun" of an emperor or king, or kingly power; the
"moon" of the queen, or of the priesthood; the "stars" of
nobles, princes, counsellors, and such like eminent persons, useful in
government; who being destroyed or removed, the light and glory, the prosperity
and happiness of a kingdom, are gone; see Isaiah 13:10. The Targum is,
"tribulation
shall cover thee when I shall extinguish the splendour of the glory of thy
kingdom from heaven; and the people of thine army shall be lessened, who are
many as the stars; a king with his army shall cover thee as a cloud that
ascends and covers the sun, and as the moon, whose light does not shine in the
day.'
Verse 8
All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee,.... Or,
"all the lights of the light"F1כל
מאורי אור "omnia
luminaria lucis", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius. ; the rest of the
luminaries of heaven; the other five planets, as Kimchi, besides the sun and
moon:
and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God; as there must
needs be, the sun, moon, and stars, and all the lights of heaven, being
darkened above: there seems to be an allusion to the thick darkness that was
formerly over the land of Egypt; and this is a figure and representation of
that darkness that shall be in the kingdom of the beast, or spiritual Egypt,
yet to come; see Exodus 10:21. The Targum is,
"tribulation
as darkness shall cover thy land.'
Verse 9
I will also vex the hearts of many people,.... With
anger and grief, with fear and dread, with consternation and amazement:
when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations; or, "thy
breach"F2שברך "fractionem
tuam", Piscator, Cocceius, Starckius. ; the news of it, the tidings of their
destruction; which by one means or another should come to their ears, and fill
them with concern and great anxiety of mind, so rich and powerful a kingdom
being subdued, and the king of Babylon made so great thereby, and fearing they
fall a prey unto him also. The Targum renders it,
"when
I shall bring the broken of thy war;'
that
is, the soldiers that should be wounded in battle, their limbs broke, and they
taken captive, and brought among the nations, dismal spectacles to look at; and
which should be brought
into countries, which thou hast not known; at a distance
from Egypt, and which had no commerce nor communication with them, nor were
their friends and allies; yet as their destruction would reach their ears, so
it would affect their hearts, and fill them with vexation and grief; not so
much on account of Egypt, as the growing power of Nebuchadnezzar, and the
danger they were in of falling into his hands.
Verse 10
Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee,.... That so
potent a state, and such a flourishing kingdom, should at once be so easily
subdued and conquered: and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee;
because of her destruction, lest their turn should be next; so the kings of the
earth will be afraid when God's judgments are executed on mystical Egypt; see Revelation 18:9,
when I shall brandish my sword before them; the sword of
the king of Babylon after mentioned, called the Lord's, because it was by his
appointment and permission, and came by the direction of his providence, and
was succeeded by his power: this glittering sword being brandished over Egypt,
in the sight of the nations round about, was terrible to them; dreading that it
would not be put up until it was sheathed in them, or they felt the effects of
it:, or, "when I shall cause it to fly before them"F3בעופפו "cum volare fecero", Munster, Tigurine
version. Abendaus mentions such a sense of the word. ; in their sight, and upon
the borders of their countries; expressive of the swiftness of its motion, the
sudden destruction it brought on Egypt, and its nearness to them. The Targum
is,
"when
I shall bring upon thee those that kill with the sword.'
And they shall tremble at every moment; from moment
to moment, or continually; they shall never be free from fear:
every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall; not kings for
their subjects, or subjects for their kings, but every man for himself;
expecting every moment that the sword which flew and ravaged through Egypt, and
now hovered over them, would be instantly plunged in them.
Verse 11
For thus saith the Lord God, the sword of the king of Babylon
shall come upon thee. Upon Pharaoh and his kingdom; having a commission and a direction
from the Lord, and which would be the instrument of the destruction before
threatened. The Targum is,
"those
that slay with the sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon or against
thee;'
his
army, sword in hand.
Verse 12
By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall,.... Pharaoh's
numerous subjects; or his army, as the Targum; the vast number of soldiers in
it, whose carcasses should fall in battle by the sword of the Chaldeans, the
mighty men of Nebuchadnezzar's army:
the terrible of the nations all of them; which army
consisted of men of several nations, and those the most terrible, fierce, and
cruel, by whose swords this slaughter should be made:
and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt; cut off the
king, the princes of the blood, the nobility and gentry, the prime of the
nation; plunder the king's palace of all the wealth and riches in it, the treasury
of the kingdom; destroy the metropolis of it; demolish its cities and fortified
places, and take away all its strength and glory:
and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed: all the
people of the land, high and low, rich and poor; the destruction shall be
general, all ranks and degrees of men shall share in it.
Verse 13
I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great
waters,.... Which used to graze beside the river Nile, and the canal, of
it, in the plains and meadows, valley, and hills, which these ran by; meaning
both horses, which Egypt abounded with, and would be good booty for the
Chaldeans, and oxen and sheep, which they would kill for present use, or drive
away for future service:
neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs
of beasts trouble them; there should so few remain of men and beasts, that the waters of
the rivers would not be disturbed, either by men passing over them, and doing
any business upon them, or by beasts drinking at them.
Verse 14
Then will l make their waters deep,.... Either the water, of
Egypt literally, the waters of the Nile: no canals being cut from it, to carry
the water to the several parts of the land, the land being depopulated, and no
business done: or, figuratively, other nations, compared to waters for their
numbers, who before had been disturbed by the Egyptians; but now they being
destroyed, these would be at ease, like troubled waters, which subside, and:
become deep and clear, when there is none to trouble them:
and cause their, rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord God; very slowly,
as if, they were mourning the unhappy condition of the land; or smoothly,
clearly, undisturbed, as before. The Targum is,
"there
will I cause the people to rest, and I will lead their kings quietly, saith the
Lord God.'
Verse 15
When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate,.... The
cities being demolished, the inhabitants destroyed with the sword, or carried
captive:
and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full; men and
cattle, corn and other fruits of the earth, wealth and riches, pomp and
grandeur:
when I shall smite all them that dwell therein; with the
sword of the Chaldeans:
then shall they know that I am the Lord for God is
known in the perfections of his nature, omnipotence, omniscience, holiness,
justice, &c. by the judgments he executes; for this is not to be understood
of a spiritual knowledge of him, but of a terrible conviction of the truth of
his being and attributes, by the awful dispensations of his providence.
Verse 16
This is the lamentation with which they shall lament her,.... The
Egyptians themselves, or rather they that are after mentioned. The Targum is,
"the
prophet said, a lamentation is this prophecy, and it shall be for a
lamentation;'
he
was bid at the beginning of it to take up a lamentation, and now at the end of
it he pronounces it to be one, and that it should be sung as such:
the daughters of the nations shall lament for her; either
literally understood, it being the business and custom of women to say or sing
the funeral dirge, or the lamentation at the interment of the deceased; or
figuratively, the inhabitants of other nations. So Ben Melech and the Targum,
"the
villages of the people shall lament her';
that
is, the inhabitants of them, who were in alliance with Egypt, and under its
protection:
they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her
multitude; for the desolation of the land, and for the vast numbers of
people that should be slain with the sword, or carried captive:
saith the Lord God; which is added for the confirmation of it;
for what he has spoken shall be done.
Verse 17
It came to pass also the twelfth year,.... Another
prophecy of the like kind was delivered out the same year as before:
in the fifteenth day of the month; of the twelfth month,
the month Adar, which is not here expressed, because mentioned before, Ezekiel 32:1, it was about a fortnight
after the other prophecy. The Septuagint and Arabic versions read it,
"it
came to pass in the twelfth year, the first month, the fifteenth day of the
month;'
according
to which this prophecy was before the other, which is not to be supposed.
Verse 18
Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt,.... Sing a
funeral song or dirge, or compose one, to be sung by the mourning women, on
account of the vast numbers of the inhabitants of Egypt that shall be slain;
for the prophet himself would not mourn, but rejoice, on this occasion; but
this is said to show the certainty of the destruction, and the lamentation that
would be made on that account:
and cast them down, even her and the daughters of the famous
nations; Egypt, and all those countries, and the inhabitants of them,
that were in alliance and friendship with her; that is, declare by prophecy
that they shall be cast down and destroyed, or be brought down from the height
of grandeur and prosperity in which they now were:
unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down to the
pit; not unto stately sepulchres built on high, such as were made for
the kings of Egypt; but unto common pits or graves, dug in the lower parts of
the earth, where the meaner and common sort of people were buried; there should
be no distinction between them and others, they should have one common burial.
The Targum is,
"son
of man, prophesy concerning the multitude of Egypt, and break her, even her,
and the villages of the mighty people; prophesy that they shall be delivered
unto the lowest earth, with those that go down to the pit of the house of
perdition.'
Verse 19
Whom dost thou pass in beauty?.... This question the
prophet is bid to put to Egypt; what nation is there, or has been, that thou
excellest in wisdom, in riches, or in strength, in the multitude of subjects,
or extent of dominions, that thou thinkest thyself secure from destruction?
look over other kingdoms and states mightier than thou, or at least equal to
thee, and see how they are brought to ruin, and expect that this will quickly
be thy case:
go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised; go down to
the grave, and take thy place, and lie there among the wicked and most
profligate of mankind, and such as might be most despised by the Egyptians,
since they used circumcision. The Targum is,
"go
down and sleep with sinners.'
Verse 20
They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword,.... The
Egyptians shall fall in battle by the sword of the Chaldeans:
she is delivered to the sword; Egypt is given to the
sword, to perish by it, for her sins, according to the just appointment of God:
draw her and all her multitudes; to the place of burial;
not in pomp and splendour, as great persons are drawn in hearses; but in great
disgrace, as carcasses are dragged unto a common pit or grave, and cast into
it: this is said to the Chaldeans, who had a commission from the Lord to slay
Egypt, and to bury her, and all her people.
Verse 21
The strong among the mighty shall speak to him,.... The
strongest of them, such who have excelled others in strength and courage,
famous for military exploits, who have been generals of armies, great warriors,
and conquerors; and yet with all their might and strength could not withstand
death, but were subdued by it, and brought down to the grave; these are, by a
poetical figure, represented as meeting Pharaoh king of Egypt, when he came to
his grave, saluting and welcoming him to the state of the dead in which they
were; taking a sort of comfort in it, and insulting him as being as weak as
they; see Isaiah 14:9, which they should do
out of the midst of hell, or the grave,
"Hades", the state of the dead:
with them that help him; the associates, allies,
and friends of Pharaoh, his auxiliaries that fell with him, and were brought to
the grave at the same time with him; these should be greeted, saluted, and
welcomed in like manner:
they are gone down; to the grave; those mighty ones that are
represented as speaking, and the Egyptians and their helpers who are spoken to:
they lie uncircumcised; among them that are so, Ezekiel 32:19,
slain by the sword; of their enemies, who got the victory over
them.
Verse 22
Ashur is there, and all her company,.... In the state of the
dead, or in a most desolate and ruinous condition; the great Assyrian monarchy,
the kings of it, the princes, nobles, generals, soldiers, and the vast number
of subjects in all the dominions of it; all his army, as the Targum; this, with
what follows, shows who the mighty are, that should meet and address the king
of Egypt at his funeral:
his graves are about him; either the graves of Pharaoh
and his multitude are round about the graves of the Assyrian monarch and his
subjects, as Kimchi; or rather the graves of his subjects and soldiers are
round about him: it seems to represent the king of Assyria as having a more
stately monument, and the graves of his people as lesser ones round about him,
but all in the same condition:
all of them slain, fallen by the sword of their
enemies, the Medes and the Babylonians, by whom the Assyrian monarchy was
destroyed.
Verse 23
Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit,.... Or vault,
where lay the king of Assyria, and those who fell by the sword with him, who
are represented as lying in graves all around him; the nearest to him those who
were in the highest posts, and most valiant and courageous, and next the common
soldiers, as follows:
and her company is round about her grave not Pharaoh's
company round about the grave of the Assyrian monarch; but the company of the
king of Assyria, or his army, as the Targum, round about grave; or lying about
in the ruins of his kingdom:
all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the
land of the living; even they who now are in the state of the dead, and can no more
disturb and distress any, while they were alive, or in the world, struck terror
in all neighbouring states and kingdoms; threatening destruction to them, and
obliging them to submit to their tyranny and exactions. Jarchi interprets this
of the land of Israel; and the Jewish writers commonly understand by the land
of the living the land of Canaan wherever they meet with it; because here men
worshipped the living God, and lived before him; and the inhabitants of this
land were often terrified by the king of Assyria. So the Targum,
"because
they ruled in the land of Israel.'
Verse 24
There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave,.... The
kingdom of the Medes and Persians lying in ruin, and the potent kings thereof
in the state of the dead; with their army, as the Arabic version, slain and
destroyed, and placed round about the grave of the king of Persia; for of him
rather it is to be understood than of the king of Assyria, or of Egypt, as
some:
all of them slain, fallen by the sword; either of the
Scythians in the reign of Cyaxares; or of Nebuchadnezzar a few years before this,
in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah; see Jeremiah 49:34,
which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the
earth; unholy persons, profane sinners, destitute of the grace of God;
who were gone down into the grave, and even into hell and everlasting
destruction, as their sins deserved:
which caused their terror in the land of the living; made a great
noise in the world, and struck a panic in neighbouring nations, invaded and
conquered by them; this they did while living, but now, being in the state of
the dead, nothing was to be feared from them: yet have they borne their shame
with them that go down to the pit; were obliged to submit to death, and a
shameful one, by the hands of their conquerors, and to be laid with ignominy in
the grave with others, without any mark of distinction; all being upon a level,
cast into the same pit of destruction, and into the lower parts of it; though
their king might have a magnificent sepulchre erected for him, as follows:
Verse 25
They have set her bed in the midst of the slain, with all her
multitude,.... The grave is called a bed, Isaiah 57:2, whereon is put the sepulchral
chest or coffin, in which the body is laid, and rests as on a bed. It may here
design a stately sepulchre or coffin in it, with a magnificent monument over it
for the king of Elam, with his army, and the generals of it slain in battle,
placed all around him, in less stately beds, coffins, and graves, as explained
in the next clause:
her graves are round about him; the king of Persia and
his grave, surrounded with the graves of his soldiers and officers:
all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror
was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them
that go down to the pit; which is repeated for the confirmation of it:
he is put in the midst of them that be slain; the king of
Elam or Persia; he is laid among the slain, having fallen with them, and his
grave is placed in the midst of them.
Verse 26
There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude,.... The
Scythians, a powerful and warlike people; and all their armies, as the Targum;
with their leaders, generals, and commanders, as lying in their graves next to
the Assyrians and Elamites, or
her graves are round about him; not the king of Egypt,
nor the king of Assyria, nor the king of Persia; but the chief commander of the
Scythians, called the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, Ezekiel 38:2,
all of them slain by the sword; of Halyattes, king of
Lydia, and Cyaxares, king of Media, who was assisted by the former in subduing
the Scythians:
though they caused their terror in the land of the living; as they did
in Media, and other countries, and especially in some parts of Asia.
Verse 27
And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the
uncircumcised,.... That is, shall not lie in such state, or be buried with such
pomp and magnificence, and have such sepulchral monuments erected to their
memory, as other heroes among the Heathens have had; such as the mighty kings
of Assyria and Persia before mentioned:
which are gone down to hell, or "the
grave",
with their weapons of war; which were never taken
from them, and which they held in their hands to the last, being never
conquered, and died at last a natural death, and not by the sword; or which
were carried in state before their hearse at the time of interment, as is the
custom to this day so to do at the funeral of great warriors, generals, and
officers:
and they have laid their swords under their heads; as a sign and
token, as Jarchi says, that the sword did not rule over them, that they did not
fall by it; either their statues and sepulchral monuments were adorned with
these, and other instruments of war, as was the grave of Misenus by AeneasF4Vid.
Virgil. Aeneid. l. 6. & Seneca, l. 4. controvers. 4. ; and as is still the
custom where the heads of such mighty ones are laid, to engrave them on them:
or, literally, their swords and other weapons of war were put in their graves
under their heads; as it was usual, in former times, in some places to put
swords, shields, and other armour, in the graves of military men, as were in
the grave of Theseus, on the bier of Alexander the great, and others, as
reported by Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus, and SophoclesF5Vid. Lydium
de Re Militari, l. 6. c. 7. p. 250,251. & Kirchman, de Funer. Roman. l. 3.
c. 18. : now the Scythians were not buried: after this grand and pompous
manner:
but their iniquities shall be upon their bones; or the
punishment of their sin should be, that their bones should lie unburied and
scattered about, or be dug up and broke to pieces, and treated with inhumanity
and contempt, as a just reward for their savageness, and cruelty:
though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the
living: not only the terror of the common people, but even of the most
powerful kings and mighty warriors.
Verse 28
Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised,.... Kimchi,
and so others, think this is said to Pharaoh king of Egypt; but rather it
respects the prince of the Scythians, who should fall into the hands of
Heathens, and be destroyed by them:
and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword; be buried
with them, or in like manner as they are; and not as mighty warriors, who die a
natural death in their own country, and are buried in a stately and magnificent
manner; but like those that fall by the sword of the enemy, and are thrown into
one common pit.
Verse 29
There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes,.... In the
next place, near the graves of the above mentioned, and in the same ruinous and
desolate condition, lie the famous kingdom of Idumea, and the several kings and
dukes of it, from the first setting of it up, to its last destruction
prophesied of, Ezekiel 25:12, of many of which mention is
made, Genesis 36:15,
which with their might are laid by them that are slain with the
sword; who, notwithstanding their powerful armies, and prowess and
skill in war, yet are conquered, and destroyed, and laid in graves in like
manner as all others slain by the, sword of the enemy are:
they shall lie with the uncircumcised; for though
they themselves were circumcised, being the descendants of Esau the son of
Isaac, the son of Abraham, on whose seed circumcision was enjoined; yet this
did not secure them from a violent death, and an ignominious burial; they being
uncircumcised in heart, wicked and ungodly men, and so should be joined in
their death and burial with such:
and with them that go down to the pit; the common
receptacle of the slain.
Verse 30
There be the princes of the north,..... The kings of
Babylon, according to Kimchi, which lay north of Judea; or the princes of
Syria, Damascus, and Tyre, especially the latter, which commonly goes along
with Zidon, being near it, as follows:
and all the Zidonians. The Vulgate Latin
version renders it, "and all the hunters"; but wrongly; as also the
Septuagint and Arabic versions, which read the princes or soldiers of Assyria.
The Zidonians or inhabitants of Zidon are meant as the Targum; a famous
maritime city, as Tyre also was, in Phoenicia:
which are gone down with the slain; into the grave, being
conquered and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar; see Ezekiel 28:21,
with their terror they are ashamed of their might, the number
and strength of their armies, the valour and courage of their soldiers, and the
fortifications of their cities, in which they trusted, and of which they
boasted; but yet could not preserve them from ruin:
and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword; in common
with other profane and wicked persons that have fallen by the sword as they
have done:
and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit; See Gill on Ezekiel 32:24.
Verse 31
Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over his multitude,.... That is,
when Pharaoh is brought to the grave, and into the state of the dead, he shall
look about him, and see who lie by him; and he shall behold the above mentioned
kings of Assyria, Persia, Idumea, and the princes of Tyre and Zidon, and all
their mighty armies, generals and soldiers, in the same condition with himself;
and this shall be some solace to him in his own death, and at the loss of so
great a kingdom, such numerous subjects, and a vast army, that others as rich,
as powerful as himself, lie in the same low and miserable condition; though
such comfort as this must be poor comfort indeed! and yet this is all the comfort
wicked men have in hell, that they have company with them there:
even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword. Pharaohhophra
and his numerous army slain by the sword of the king of Babylon. This explains
who is meant by Pharaoh and his multitude: and that this would certainly be his
case it is added,
saith the Lord God; he hath spoken it, and it shall be done;
whose words are continued in the next verse.
Verse 32
For I have caused my terror in the land of the living,.... Or,
"his terror"F6חתיתו
"terrorem ejus", Grotius; "consternationem ejus",
Starckius. ; there is a double reading. The Keri or marginal reading, which we
follow has it "my terror"F7חתיתי
"terrorem meum", Pagninus, Munster, Tigurine version, Junius &
Tremellius, Polanus. ; but the Cetib or writing is his terror; and so read the
Septuagint. Syriac, and Arabic versions; both may be taken, and the sense be, I
have caused or suffered him, Pharaoh king of Egypt, to be a terror to the
nations about him, particularly to the land of Israel, which the Targum
expressly mentions as the land of the living; and now I will terrify him who
has terrified others:
and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with those
that are slain with the sword; shall have a common burial with other
Heathen nations; even with such, who, in a way of judgment, have perished by
the sword of their victorious enemies, as he will:
even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God; the king of
Egypt, his subjects, and his soldiers, as numerous as they are; and thus ends
this doleful ditty, and funeral dirge or lamentation, composed, taken up, and
sung for Pharaoh as ordered, thereby to assure him of his certain destruction.
── John Gill