Ezekiel 32 - Benson Joseph - Bible CommentaryEzekiel 321 And it came to pass, in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month on the first of the month, that the word of Yahweh me unto me, saying: 2 Son of man Take up a dirge over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and thou shalt say unto him. The young lion of the nations, thou didst deem thyself,- Whereas thou, wast like the crocodile in the seas, And didst cause thy streams to burst forth And didst trouble the waters with thy feet, And foul their rivers. 3 Thus saith My Lord, Yahweh, Therefore will I spread over thee my net, With a gathered host of many e peoples,-And they shall bring thee up in my net; 4 And I will stretch thee out on the land, Over the face of the field, will I fling thee,- And will cause to settle upon thee all the birds of the heavens, And will satiate with thee the wild beasts of all the earth; 5 And I will lay thy flesh on the mountains,— And fill the valleys, with thy blood; 6 And will soak the earth with thy blood, amongst the mountains,- And the channels shall be fled with thee. 7 And when I quench thee, I will cover the heavens, And obscure their stars,— The sun—with a cloud, will I cover, And the moon shall not shed her light; 8 As for all the light-bearers in the heavens, I will obscure them over thee— And will stretch out darkness over thy land, Declareth My Lord Yahweh. 9 And I will aggrieve the heart of many peoples,- when I bring them who are broken off from thee among the nations, unto lands which thou hast not known. 10 Yea I will cause amazement over thee unto many peoples And the hair of their kings shall stand on end over thee, when I brandish my sword over their faces,- And they shall tremble every moment every man for his own life, In the day of thy fall. 11 For thus saith My Lord, Yahweh:-the sword of the king of Babylon shall reach thee. 12 With the swords of mighty men, will I cause thy multitude to fall, Terrible ones of the nations all of them!-And they shall spoil the pride of Egypt, And all her multitude shall be destroyed I, 13 And I will cause to perish all her beasts, from beside the many waters,— And the foot of man shall not trouble them any more, Nor shall hoof of beast, trouble them. 14 Then, will I make their waters subside, And their streams—like, will I cause to flow,— Declareth My Lord, Yahweh. 15 When I make the land of Egypt an astonishment A land laid bare of its fulness, When I cut off all that dwell therein, Then shall they know that, I am Yahweh. 16 A dirge, it is And they shall chant it, The daughters of the nations Shall chant it: Over Egypt and over all her multitude, Shall they chant it, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh. 17 And it came to pass in the twelfth year on the fifteenth of the month, that the word of Yahweh came unto me saying: 18 Son of man Wail thou over the multitude of Egypt and cause it to descend—her and to daughters of the famous nations—into the earth below with them who descend into the pit. 19 Than whom, art thou more precious? Descend and be aid low with the uncircumcised: 20 Into the midst of them who were thrust through by the sword, let them fall,-To the sword, hath she been delivered up, Lay ye hold of her and all her multitudes. 21 The chiefs of the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hades, with his helpers,- They have descended They have lain down. The uncircumcised! Thrust through by the sword. 22 There, is Assyria with all her gathered host, Round about him, are his graves, All of them thrust through, The fallen by the sword: 23 Whose graves have been set In the recesses of the pit, And so her gathered host is round about her grave, All of them thrust through. Fallen by the sword, Who caused terror in the land of the living. 24 There, is Persia with all her multitude, round about her grave,— All of them, thrust through The fallen by the sword Who have descended, uncircumcised into the earth below Who made themselves a terror in the land of the living, And so they have borne their confusion with them who descend into the pit: 25 In the midst of them who were thrust through, have they have placed a couch for her with all her multitude, Round about it, are her graves,-All of them, uncircumcised. Thrust through with the sword. For that their terror was caused in the land of the living. And so they have borne their confusion, with them who descend into the pit, In the midst of them who were thrust through, hath it been pleased. 26 There, are Meshech-Tuba and all her multitude, Round about it, are her graves,— All of them I uncircumcised Who were thrust through with the sword, For that they made themselves a terror in the land of the living; 27 Therefore shall they not lie with the mighty men The fallen ones from age-past times, Who descended into hades with their weapons of war And their swords were placed under their heads. But their iniquities have come upon their bones Because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. 28 Thou, therefore in the midst of the uncircumcised, shalt be overthrown. And shalt lie low with them who were thrust through by the sword. 29 There, are Edom her kings and all her princes, Who have been delivered up in their might. With them who were thrust through by he sword,— They with the uncircumcised, shall lie low. Even with them who descend into the pit. 30 There, are the princes of the-North lull of them, and all the Zidonians, Who have descended with them who were thrust through. By reason of the terror they caused, of their might, are they ashamed, So they have lain down uncircumcised. With them who were thrust through by the sword, And they have bowed their confusion with them who descend into the pit. 31 Them, shall Pharaoh see, and be grieved over all his multitude,— Thrust through with the sword, shall be Pharaoh and all his army! Declareth My Lord, Yahweh. 32 For I have suffered his terror to be in the land of the living, Therefore shall be laid low In the midst of the uncircumcised With them who were thrust through by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude! Declareth My Lord, Yahweh. Ezekiel 32Ezekiel 32:1And 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, Ezekiel 32:1-2. In the twelfth year — Namely, of Jehoiachin’s captivity, about which time Amasis began to set up himself against the king of Egypt, concerning whom this prophecy is. Song of Solomon of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh — “To the preceding funeral panegyric over Assyria, the fate of which was past, Ezekiel prophetically subjoins a similar panegyric over Egypt, though its fate was still future; making plainly here a happy variation in the oratorical figure, by which past events are brought down and represented as now present before our eyes; whereas, on the contrary, by this prophetic figure future events are anticipated, and represented as already past.” — Obs. on Books, 2:188. Thou art like a young lion of the nations — Thou art like a beast of prey, devouring far and near. Thou art as a whale in the seas — By the word tannim we may fitly understand a crocodile, as has been observed upon Ezekiel 29:3, and the description that follows agrees very well to a crocodile, but cannot be applied to a whale. And thou camest forth with thy rivers, &c. — Or rather, Thou rushedst forth through thy streams, and didst trouble the waters, &c. that is, thou wentest beyond the bounds of thine own kingdom, and didst trouble and tread down, or subdue, the neighbouring cities and nations.Ezekiel 32:2Son 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.Ezekiel 32:3Thus 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. Ezekiel 32:3-6. I will spread out my net over thee, &c. — I will bring thine enemies upon thee, who shall encompass thee on every side, and master thee as a wild beast or monstrous fish is taken in a net. Then will I leave thee upon the land — That is, leave thee to certain destruction, or take away from thee all means of recovery. For Pharaoh being here spoken of as a water animal, leaving him upon the land, signified leaving him to certain death, without the means of escaping it; for a fish left upon the land must needs die, let it struggle as it will, water being absolutely necessary to its life. This was literally fulfilled when, making war upon the Cyrenians, he was vanquished, and his army cut in pieces, and left a prey to the fowls and beasts in the deserts of Libya and Cyrene: see note on Ezekiel 29:4-5. And I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee — With the flesh of thy vast armies. Or rather, understanding the words figuratively, I will enrich all nations with thy spoils. And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, &c. — Thy people shall be slain, both upon the mountains and in the valleys, and their carcasses lie unburied there. I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest — The land of Egypt, wherein thou bearest rule; even to the mountains — The mountains shall be wet with it, as well as the lower grounds: compare Isaiah 34:3. And the rivers shall be full of thee — All places, both high and low, both land and water. All the expressions in these verses are hyperbolical, signifying the vast slaughter that should be made of the Egyptians, and the immense booty that should be obtained by their enemies.Ezekiel 32:4Then 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.Ezekiel 32:5And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.Ezekiel 32:6I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.Ezekiel 32:7And 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. Ezekiel 32:7-10. And when I shall put thee out — When I shall cast thee down from thy power, and extinguish all thy glory. I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark — It is well known that the downfall of states and kingdoms, kings and princes, is often expressed in the Scriptures by these or such like metaphors: see notes on Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 24:23; Isaiah 30:26. But here the expressions may mean, I will make every thing look sad and dismal, or will cause a universal sorrow; for to men amidst great calamities and afflictions every thing appears dark and gloomy, and even the light itself seems little different from darkness; and therefore it is usual to express a state of great sorrow by the heavens being covered, and the stars darkened. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee — I will involve thy whole land in trouble and distress, making every thing in it look dismal. I will vex the hearts, &c., when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations — When thy exiles shall be dispersed into foreign countries, (see Ezekiel 29:12,) and relate the miserable circumstances of thy destruction, it shall cause grief and consternation in all that hear it. Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings, &c. — The kings and princes of Africa, who lay near to Egypt, seem here to be spoken of; for the destruction of Egypt could not but fill them with fear for themselves, lest the victor should make them suffer the same fate.Ezekiel 32:8All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.Ezekiel 32:9I 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.Ezekiel 32:10Yea, 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.Ezekiel 32:11For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.Ezekiel 32:12By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.Ezekiel 32:13I 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. Ezekiel 32:13-14. I will also destroy the beasts thereof — Their horses, in which they trusted so much, Isaiah 31:3, and other cattle, feeding in their rich pastures by the river sides. Neither shall the foot of man, nor the hoofs of beasts, &c. — The country shall be so deserted that the waters of the river shall not be fouled by man or beast. But we may understand the prophet here as speaking metaphorically, and by the beasts of Egypt, intending its armies, which had frequently troubled the neighbouring nations, but which, it is here said, should trouble them no more; for when Egypt should be made desolate, and the number both of men and beasts should be diminished by their wars and confusions, then they should neither have the will nor the power to give their neighbours any further molestation; but the nations around them should enjoy quietness, like that of a river which smoothly glides along, and never has its streams fouled or disturbed: see Ezekiel 32:2. Then will I make their waters deep, &c. — The nations which used to be harassed and troubled by the Egyptians, shall then enjoy great peace and quietness.Ezekiel 32:14Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.Ezekiel 32:15When 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. Ezekiel 32:15. When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, &c. — When I shall bring the fore-mentioned dreadful calamities upon it. Then shall they know that I am the Lord — The awful and destructive visitation shall be sanctified to those that survive: it shall yield them important instruction, and they shall give glory to my power and justice, while a sensible conviction of the vanity of the world, and of the fading and perishing nature of all things in it, shall draw their affections from it, and from all that it contains, and induce them to seek an acquaintance with me as their portion and happiness.Ezekiel 32:16This 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. Ezekiel 32:16. This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her — This is the substance of the lamentation, which may be properly used to bewail the calamities which Egypt shall suffer: see note on Ezekiel 32:2. The daughters of the nations shall lament her — That is, the people of the neighbouring countries shall use such like words as these when they hear of Egypt’s calamities: thus the daughter of Zion and of Babylon signifies the inhabitants of those cities. This verse alludes to the mourning women, whose office it was to lament at funerals.Ezekiel 32:17It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Ezekiel 32:17-18. It came to pass, in the fifteenth day of the month — Namely, of the month before mentioned, which was a few days after the time of the preceding revelation. The word of the Lord came unto me — Giving me further directions how to improve the fall of Egypt. Song of Solomon of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt — Prepare the funeral ceremonies at the burial of Egypt, and compose an elegy suitable to the sad occasion. Bishop Lowth observes, that “this prophetic ode is a master-piece in that species of writing which is appropriated to the exciting terror.” And cast them down, even her, &c. — Houbigant renders this clause, And thrust them down with the daughters of the nations; thrust them down to the lower parts of the earth, to those who are gone down to the lake. And he observes, that “the prophet is commanded to thrust the Egyptians down to the shades below; that is, to exhibit, by an hypotyposis, familiar with the prophets, the ruin of the Egyptians, similar to the ruin of the people who have been destroyed and gone down to the regions of the dead.” The reader will observe that this figure of speech is a representation of things painted in such strong and bright colours as may cause the imagination of the hearers to conceive of them rather as present to their view than described in words. Such is the representation which the prophet here gives of the calamities of the Egyptians. The expressions, Unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit, denote utter destruction, and are parallel to those elsewhere used, of being brought down to hell, to the grave, or into silence. The Egyptians affected to be buried in their pyramids, and their kings, princes, and nobles would be laid by themselves, but Ezekiel provides them their graves among common people, to lie just where they fell.Ezekiel 32:18Son 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.Ezekiel 32:19Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. Ezekiel 32:19-20. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? — What reason hast thou to prefer thyself before others? Art thou better than they, that thou shouldest not die and be laid in the dust as well as they? Go down — Namely, to the regions of the dead; and be laid with the uncircumcised — Among profane and loathed carcasses, such as the bodies of the uncircumcised were in the opinion of the circumcised: see notes on Ezekiel 28:8-10; Ezekiel 31:18. The circumcised, in Scripture, being put for those for whom God had a peculiar regard, and this being one of the distinguishing characteristics of his peculiar people, therefore the term uncircumcised seems to be used for those whom God had rejected, that is, for the wicked and profane. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword — Thy people shall not die the common death of all men, but shall be cut off by an extraordinary judgment from the hand of God himself: they shall be slain by the sword. Draw her and all her multitude — Carry her and her people away to the grave, like so many carcasses, which are buried without any solemnity. The words seem to be spoken to the Babylonians, the executioners of God’s judgments upon Egypt.Ezekiel 32:20They 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.Ezekiel 32:21The 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. Ezekiel 32:21. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him — Namely, to the king of Egypt; out of the midst of hell — Or, the pit, as Bishop Newcome renders the word: see Ezekiel 32:23. The passage is “a poetical description of the regions of the dead; where the ghosts of deceased tyrants, with their subjects, are represented as coming to meet the king of Egypt and his auxiliaries, upon their arrival at the same place. Hell signifies here the state of the dead.” — Lowth. See note on Isaiah 14:9. They are gone down — The warriors, famous in their time for their exploits, have undergone the same fate with other men of blood, and are gone down to the grave by violent deaths.Ezekiel 32:22Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword: Ezekiel 32:22-23. Asshur is there and all her company — The Assyrians, both king and people, whose destruction is represented in the foregoing chapter: though famous, warlike, and victorious, that mighty monarch fell. His graves are about him — The graves of his soldiers slain in the war. This expression, and that in the next verse, her company is round about her grave, seem to signify no more than a universal destruction of high and low, and that death had made them all equal. The masculine and feminine genders are promiscuously used in the following verses. The masculine referring to the prince, whose subjects the deceased were; the feminine to the nation or country to which they belonged. Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit — Here is supposed a spacious vault, in the midst whereof the king of Asshur lies, and round the vault, in receptacles hewn about its sides, his famous captains and commanders. And her company is round about her grave — Like lesser graves placed round the monument of some person of great quality. All of them slain, which caused terror, &c. —Who were a terror while they were alive to their neighbours. Ezekiel 32:23Whose 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.Ezekiel 32:24There 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. Ezekiel 32:24-25. There is Elam and all her multitude — Which was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar: see note on Jeremiah 49:36. The nations mentioned in this and the following verse were probably confederates with the Assyrians, and fell when they did. Which caused terror — yet have they borne their shame — They have been shamefully subdued, and have lost their lives and glory together, as Asshur did before them. They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain, &c. — Elam and her people have gone down to the state of the dead, among those who have fallen by the sword. The word bed is used for the grave, Isaiah 57:2, and may, in both places, allude to the costly monuments, or sepulchres, which used to be erected for persons of great quality. Her graves are round about him — The king and people are involved in the same common destruction.Ezekiel 32:25They 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.Ezekiel 32:26There 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. Ezekiel 32:26-28. There is Meshech, Tubal, &c. — These are some other of the Assyrian allies; some think the Cappadocians, and other nations neighbouring to them, are here meant. The Scythians also, who anciently governed Asia, may be comprehended, and their expulsion from Media by Cyaxares may here be referred to: see Obs. on Books, 1:192. And they shall not lie with the mighty, &c. — They shall not lie among those heathen heroes, men of courage and fortitude, who were laid in distinct graves, with pomp and magnificence, but shall all be tumbled together into one common pit, as their actions have not made them worthy of any distinction. Which are gone down to hell — Or, the state of the dead, as the word which we translate hell ought often to be rendered. With their weapons of war — Brave men, who had gained signal victories, used, by way of honour, to have their arms buried with them, or hung upon their sepulchres. Thus was the grave of Misenus honoured by Æneas.“ — — — Ingenti mole sepulchrum Imponit, suaque arma viro.” ÆN. 6:232. “It was usual,” says Kirchman, De Funer. Roman., 50. 3. c. 18, “in former times, in some places, to put swords, shields, and other armour in the graves of military men, as they did in the grave of Theseus, and on the bier of Alexander the Great.” But the meaning of the prophet here is, that those, of whom he speaks, should be without these usual martial solemnities, with which people formerly often honoured their dead. Instead of which he says their iniquities shall be upon their bones — Their death shall carry in it plain tokens of their sins, and of God’s vengeance pursuing them on account of them. Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised — Thou, O king of Egypt, shalt have no honorary distinctions paid thee at thy death, or be laid in a magnificent tomb, as those great conquerors have been, but shalt lie in a common pit, or grave, promiscuously with those who are overcome and slain in battle. Ezekiel 32:27And 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.Ezekiel 32:28Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.Ezekiel 32:29There 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. Ezekiel 32:29-32. There is Edom, her kings, &c. — Of whose destruction Ezekiel prophesied, Ezekiel 25:12; laid by them that were slain by the sword — Laid among the conquered. With them that go down to the pit — Among those of no renown, who are thrown into one common grave without any honour or distinction paid to them. There be the princes of the north — By these, it seems, are meant the Tyrians, who lay north of Judea, and were overcome in many battles by the Chaldeans. Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted, &c. — Here, by a poetical figure, sense is given to Pharaoh among the dead, and he feels a consolation in that state to see so many other kings and nations brought into the same condition as himself and his people were in. Even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword — Herodotus affirms, that Apries, or Pharaoh-hophra, was strangled: οι δε μιν απεπνιξαν, 50. 2. p. 154. But the enemies of Apries may have used the sword against him before he expired. For I have caused my terror in the land of the living — In the Hebrew text it is, חתיתו, his terror, that is, I have permitted the king of Egypt to be a vexation and terror to many while he was alive in the world. And he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised — That is, with the basest sort, or those of no distinction. Or, if we read with the Masorites, whom our translators follow, my terror, the meaning of the verse may be, As these kings and nations have been a terror to the world while they were in it, Ezekiel 32:24, &c, so will I be now a terror to them, and especially to Pharaoh and his people, in making them a remarkable example of my vengeance. Observe, reader, the calamitous state of human life! See what a dying world this is! The strong die, the mighty die; Asshur, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, the princes of the north, the Zidonians, 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!Ezekiel 32:30There 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.Ezekiel 32:31Pharaoh 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.Ezekiel 32:32For 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. |
Westcott and Hort, 1892 revision(NT), Is in the public domain.