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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