King James Version
Ezekiel 32
32 verses with commentary
A Lament for Pharaoh
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,
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The date (twelfth year, twelfth month, first day = March 585 BC) places this lament about 18 months after Jerusalem's fall. The sustained focus on Egypt's fate reveals God's commitment to fulfill all prophetic words. The 'lamentation for Pharaoh' genre was a common Ancient Near Eastern literary form that Ezekiel adapted for prophetic purposes.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **In the twelfth year.—**This was one year and between six and seven months after the destruction of Jerusalem, and when, therefore, one great hindrance to Nebuchadnezzar’s march upon Egypt had been removed. It is also nearly two months (Ezekiel 33:21) since Ezekiel had heard of this calamity through a fugitive. It could not have been very long before the arrival of the fugitive Jews in Egypt,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER (ELEGY) 4 La 4:1-22. The Sad Capture of Jerusalem, the Hope of Restoration, and the Retribution Awaiting Idumea for Joining Babylon against Judea.
Aleph.
**1. gold--**the splendid adornment of the temple [Calvin] (La 1:10; 1Ki 6:22; Jr 52:19); or, the principal men of Judea [Grotius] (La 4:2).
**stones of ... sanctuary--**the gems on the breastplate of the high priest; or, metaphoric...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →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. whale: or, dragon
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Pharaoh is depicted as a 'young lion of the nations' and a 'dragon in the seas'—powerful, predatory, and dangerous. Yet despite self-perception as royal and majestic ('lion'), he's actually a destructive monster ('dragon') troubling the waters. This reveals the gap between self-perception and reality. Pride distorts self-understanding, seeing nobility where God sees destructiveness.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **As a whale.**—Rather, *a crocodile.* (See Note on Ezekiel 29:3, where the same word is used.) A striking contrast is brought out in this verse which is lost in our translation. “Thou wast compared to a young lion of the nations,” *i.e.,* their leader and glory; “but thou wast (really) like a crocodile in the seas,” stirring up and fouling the rivers, the sources of their prosperity.
**Thou c...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. comparable to ... gold--**(Job 28:16, 19).
**earthen pitchers--**(Is 30:14; Jr 19:11).
Gimel.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God will spread His 'net' over Pharaoh with 'an assembly of many peoples'—multinational coalition (Babylon and allies) would capture Egypt like hunters netting prey. The imagery reduces mighty Pharaoh to caught fish, emphasizing helplessness before God. No creature escapes God's sovereign purposes. Human power is illusory when confronting divine judgment.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Spread out my net over thee.**—The figure (Ezekiel 32:4-6) of drawing the crocodile to land and casting him upon the desert for food to the birds and beasts of prey is the same as in Ezekiel 29:4-5. (Comp. also Ezekiel 31:12-13.) In Ezekiel 32:6, “the land wherein thou swimmest” is, literally, *the land of thine outflow,* and may be taken either of the land on which his blood is poured out, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. sea monsters ... breast--**Whales and other cetaceous monsters are mammalian. Even they suckle their young; but the Jewish women in the siege, so desperate was their misery, ate theirs (La 4:10; La 2:20). Others translate, "jackals."
**ostriches--**see on Job 39:14; Job 39:16, on their forsaking their young.
Daleth.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The captured dragon would be 'left upon the land' and 'cast forth upon the open field'—exposed, helpless, dishonored. All creatures would feed upon him, representing total humiliation. Denial of proper burial was the ultimate disgrace in ancient culture. This judgment reveals that pride leads to ultimate humiliation (Matthew 23:12).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. thirst--**The mothers have no milk to give through the famine.
He.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The dragon's 'flesh upon the mountains' and 'height' filling valleys depicts comprehensive destruction—Egypt's corpse so large it covers the landscape. Hyperbolic imagery emphasizes judgment's magnitude. The reversal is complete: height and greatness become obstacles filling low places, no longer sources of glory but monuments to fall.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. delicately--**on dainties.
**are desolate--**or, "perish."
**in scarlet embrace dunghills--**Instead of the scarlet couches on which the grandees were nursed, they must lie on dunghills.
**embrace--**They who once shrank sensitively from any soil, gladly cling close to heaps of filth as their only resting-place. Compare "embrace the rock" (Job 24:8).
Vau.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee. the land wherein: or, the land of thy swimming
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KJV Study Commentary
The land would be 'watered with thy blood' even to the mountains, and 'rivers shall be full' of blood. This extensive bloodshed imagery depicts comprehensive military defeat. Blood filling watercourses represents the magnitude of destruction. The reversal is poetic: Egypt depended on Nile water for life; now blood (death) would fill waterways.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. greater than ... Sodom--**(Mt 11:23). No prophets had been sent to Sodom, as there had been to Judea; therefore the punishment of the latter was heavier than that of the former.
**overthrown ... in a moment--**whereas the Jews had to endure the protracted and manifold hardships of a siege.
**no hands stayed on her--**No hostile force, as the Chaldeans in the case of Jerusalem, continually...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →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: or, extinguish thee
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Cosmic darkening imagery—sun covered, moon darkened, stars veiled—represents judgment affecting heaven and earth. This apocalyptic language appears throughout Scripture (Isaiah 13:10, Joel 2:10, Matthew 24:29) for catastrophic divine intervention. Egypt's fall would seem like world-ending cataclysm to those affected, revealing judgment's comprehensive impact.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Make the stars thereof dark.—**This verse follows very closely Isaiah 13:10, spoken of Babylon. In this and the following verse the judgments of God are described in the common prophetic figure of changes in the heavenly bodies. (See Note on Ezekiel 30:18, and references there.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. Nazarites--**literally, "separated ones" (Nu 6:2). They were held once in the highest estimation, but now they are degraded. God's blessing formerly caused their body not to be the less fair and ruddy for their abstinence from strong drink. Compare the similar case of Daniel, &c. (Da 1:8-15). Also David (1Sa 16:12; 17:42). Type of Messiah (So 5:10).
**rubies--**Gesenius translates, "cor...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD. bright: Heb. lights of the light in heaven dark: Heb. them dark
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KJV Study Commentary
God Himself would 'darken all the bright lights' and 'set darkness upon thy land.' This directly attributes cosmic disturbances to divine action. The covenant formula emphasizes divine authority. When God judges, creation itself responds. The natural order serves redemptive purposes, revealing that nothing exists independently of God's sovereign control.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. blacker than ... coal--**or, "than blackness" itself (Joe 2:6; Na 2:10).
**like a stick--**as withered as a dry stick.
Teth.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →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. vex: Heb. provoke to anger, or, grief
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong> God announces that Egypt's downfall will disturb distant nations. The Hebrew <em>akis</em> (אַכְעִיס, "vex" or "provoke") literally means to grieve, irritate, or trouble—Egypt's catastrophic judgment will send shockwaves of fear through the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Vex the hearts.**—The margin, *provoke to grief,* is better, as being less ambiguous. “Thy destruction*” *means, *the news of thy destruction.* As is more fully expressed in the following verse, the fall of Egypt should be such a striking instance of Divine judgment as to awaken fear in every nation that should hear of the catastrophe.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. The speedy death by the sword is better than the lingering death by famine.
**pine away--**literally, "flow out"; referring to the flow of blood. This expression, and "stricken through," are drawn from death by "the sword."
**want of ... fruits--**The words in italics have to be supplied in the original (Ge 18:28; Psa 109:24).
Jod.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong> The spectacle of Egypt's judgment creates terror among observers. The Hebrew <em>shamem</em> (שָׁמֵם, "amazed") means appalled, desolate, or horror-str...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. (La 2:20; De 28:56, 57).
**pitiful--**naturally at other times compassionate (Is 49:15). Josephus describes the unnatural act as it took place in the siege under Titus.
**sodden--**boiled.
Caph.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.</strong> After vivid imagery, God identifies the instrument: Babylon. The phrase <strong>the sword of the king of Babylon</strong> (<em>cherev melekh-Babel</em>) is both literal (military conquest) and theological (divine judgment). Nebuchadnezzar isn't acting independently; he's Yahweh's appointed executio...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. fire ... devoured ... foundations--**(De 32:22; Jr 21:14). A most rare event. Fire usually consumes only the surface; but this reached even to the foundation, cutting off all hope of restoration.
Lamed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →By 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.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>By 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.</strong> God specifies the agents: <strong>the mighty</strong> (<em>gibborim</em>, גִּבֹּרִים)—elite warriors—and <strong>the terrible of the nations</strong> (<em>aritsim goyim</em>, עָרִיצֵי גּו...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12. Jerusalem was so fortified that all thought it impregnable. It therefore could only have been the hand of God, not the force of man, which overthrew it.
Mem.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong> God extends judgment beyond humans to animals, indicating total ecological devastation. The phrase <strong>all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters</strong> refers to the Nile's rich ecosystem—hippopotami, cr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters**.—The figurative description of this and the following verses is taken from the vast herds of cattle in Egypt going to the river to drink, and trampling the banks and disturbing the water with their feet (comp. Ezekiel 32:2). These represent the restless activity and stir of Egyptian life, and its constant disturbance of...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. prophets--**the false prophets (Jr 23:11, 21). Supply the sense thus: "For the sins ... these calamities have befallen her."
**shed the blood of the just--**(Mt 23:31, 37). This received its full fulfilment in the slaying of Messiah and the Jews' consequent dispersion (Jas 5:6).
Nun.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.</strong> After describing devastation, God announces restoration—but a strange, ominous restoration. <strong>I will make their waters deep</strong> (<em>ashkia meimeihem</em>) suggests settling, clearing, becoming tranquil after turbulence. <strong>Cause their rivers to run like oil</strong> (<e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Deep** should rather be rendered *quiet.* When the restless ambition of Egypt should be curbed, there would come about peace and quiet prosperity. This is thought by many to be a glance forward at the Messianic blessing of the future; but it does not necessarily look so far.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. blind--**with mental aberration.
**polluted ... with blood--**both with blood of one another mutually shed (for example, Jr 2:34), and with their blood shed by the enemy [Glassius].
**not touch ... garments--**as being defiled with blood (Nu 19:16).
Samech.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →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. destitute: Heb. desolate from the fulness thereof
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong> God states the purpose of judgment: <strong>then shall they know that I am the LORD</strong> (<em>ve-yadu ki-ani YHWH</em>). This signature phrase appears over 70 times in Ezekiel. Jud...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. They ... them--**"They," that is, "men" (La 4:14). Even the very Gentiles, regarded as unclean by the Jews, who were ordered most religiously to avoid all defilements, cried unto the latter, "depart," as being unclean: so universal was the defilement of the city by blood.
**wandered--**As the false prophets and their followers had "wandered" blind with infatuated and idolatrous crime in th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 32
Jeremiah buys a field. (Jr 32:1-15) The prophet's prayer. (Jr 32:16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (Jr 32:26-44)
**Verses 1-15** Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, whe...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong> God prescribes a formal <strong>lamentation</strong> (<em>qinah</em>, קִינָה)—a funeral dirge, mourning song for the dead. The term appears in laments over Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:17)...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Daughters of the nations** is a common enough expression for the nations themselves, but is peculiarly appropriate in connection with a lamentation, since the formal mourning of the East was always performed by women.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16. Ain and Pe are here transposed (La 4:16, 17), as in La 2:16, 17; 3:46-51.
**anger--**literally, "face"; it is the countenance which, by its expression, manifests anger (Psa 34:16). Gesenius translates, "the person of Jehovah"; Jehovah present; Jehovah Himself (Ex 33:14; 2Sa 17:11).
**divided--**dispersed the Jews.
**they respected not ... priests--**This is the language of the Gentiles. ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-25** Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that h...
Read full commentary →It 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,
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>It 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,</strong> This chronological marker dates the prophecy to April 586 BC (calculating from Ezekiel's exile in 597 BC), just months before Jerusalem's final destruction in July-August 586 BC. The precision of dating—<strong>twelfth year, fifteenth day of the month</stron...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **The fifteenth day of the month**.—The month itself is not mentioned, but since the previous prophecy was in the twelfth, or last month of the year, this must be in the same. There was thus an interval of just fourteen days between them. This dirge, which occupies the rest of the chapter, is to be compared with Isaiah 14, on which it is evidently founded.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. As for us--**This translation forms the best antithesis to the language of the heathen (La 4:15, 16). Calvin translates, "While as yet we stood as a state, our eyes failed," &c.
**watched for a nation that could not save us--**Egypt (2Ki 24:7; Is 30:7; Jr 37:5-11).
Tzaddi.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-25** Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that h...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt introduces a lament for Egypt's population. And cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth predicts descent into Sheol (the realm of the dead). With them that go down into the pit places Egypt among defeated nations in the afterlife. This is prophetic certainty—speak of future judgment as already...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Cast them down.—**The prophet is here, as often elsewhere, told to do that which he prophesies shall be done. This is a forcible way of stating the certain fulfilment of that which is declared by Divine command.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. They--**the Chaldeans.
**cannot go--**without danger.
Koph.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-25** Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that h...
Read full commentary →Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
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KJV Study Commentary
Whom dost thou pass in beauty? sarcastically challenges Egypt's pride. You think you're special, but you're not—many before you have fallen. Go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised commands Egypt's descent among pagans. Uncircumcised was a term of contempt from Hebrew perspective, indicating those outside God's covenant. Egypt, who considered herself superior, will be buried among those s...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **With the uncircumcised.—**See Note on Ezekiel 28:10. All question as to the use of circumcision among the Egyptians is out of place; the word is simply used as the ordinary phrase for the heathen.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19. The last times just before the taking of the city. There was no place of escape; the foe intercepted those wishing to escape from the famine-stricken city, "on the mountains and in the wilderness."
**swifter ... than ... eagles--**the Chaldean cavalry (Jr 4:13).
**pursued--**literally, "to be hot"; then, "to pursue hotly" (Ge 31:36). Thus they pursued and overtook Zedekiah (Jr 52:8, 9).
...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-25** Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that h...
Read full commentary →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. she: or, the sword is laid
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KJV Study Commentary
They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword predicts Egypt's military defeat. She is delivered to the sword means God has decreed it. Draw her and all her multitudes commands the executioners to drag Egypt to judgment. The imagery is stark—no dignity, no honor, just corpses dragged to mass graves. This is the fate of proud nations who defy God. All human glory ends in graves. ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Draw her.—**Viz., down to her judgment.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. breath ... anointed of ... Lord--**our king, with whose life ours was bound up. The original reference seems to have been to Josiah (2Ch 35:25), killed in battle with Pharaoh-necho; but the language is here applied to Zedekiah, who, though worthless, was still lineal representative of David, and type of Messiah, the "Anointed." Viewed personally the language is too favorable to apply to him....
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-25** Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that h...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell pictures other fallen rulers greeting Egypt in Sheol. With them that help him means Egypt's allies also fell. They are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword describes their shared fate. The image of former rivals welcoming new arrivals to the realm of the dead is darkly ironic—death creates fellowship in judgme...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Speak to him.—**The pronoun oscillates between the masculine and the feminine, because the thought is partly of the king and partly of the kingdom. The pronoun is determined by whichever is for the moment uppermost in the prophet’s mind. On *Hell,* see Note on Ezekiel 31:16-17. It occurs also at Ezekiel 32:27.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. Rejoice--**at our calamities (Psa 137:7). This is a prophecy that Edom should exult over the fall of Jerusalem. At the same time it is implied, Edom's joy shall be short-lived. Ironically she is told, Rejoice while thou mayest (Ec 11:9).
**cup--**for this image of the confounding effects of God's wrath, see Jr 13:12; 25:15, 16, 21; as to Edom, Jr 49:7-22.
Tau.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-25** Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that h...
Read full commentary →Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
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KJV Study Commentary
Asshur is there and all her company introduces Assyria in Sheol. His graves are about him notes burial sites. All of them slain, fallen by the sword describes their violent end. The catalog of fallen nations in Sheol continues through verse 32, listing empire after empire that defied God and fell. This procession demonstrates that no human power escapes divine judgment. Every proud empire joins th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Asshur is there.—**In the previous verses we have had a general picture of the fallen nations awaiting to receive Egypt as their companion; in Ezekiel 32:22-30 there follows an enumeration of the most prominent of them, with a few words about each. Some of them were not yet fallen; but in this prophetic view it is their ultimate condition which rises to the prophet’s mind. All worldly power...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
22. (Is 40:2). Thou hast been punished enough: the end of thy punishment is at hand.
**no more carry thee ... into captivity--**that is, by the Chaldeans. The Romans carried them away subsequently. The full accomplishment of this prophecy must therefore refer to the Jews' final restoration.
**discover--**By the severity of His punishments on thee, God shall let men see how great was thy sin (J...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-25** Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that h...
Read full commentary →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. terror: or, dismaying
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KJV Study Commentary
Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit continues describing Assyria's burial. And her company is round about her grave indicates mass burial. All of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living notes the irony: those who terrorized others now lie defeated. Which caused terror emphasizes Assyria's brutal reputation—feared throughout the ancient world for extr...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-25** Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that h...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave continues the catalog of fallen nations in Sheol. All of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth describes their fate. Elam was east of Babylon (modern Iran). Which caused their terror in the land of the living notes they once terrorized others. Yet have they borne their shame wi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **There is Elam.—**Jeremiah had already prophesied against Elam twelve years before (Jeremiah 49:34). Elam is substantially equivalent to Persia, and had been repeatedly conquered by Assyria and Chaldæa. It was a fierce and warlike nation, and its soldiers had long served in Nebuchadnezzar’s army. It was by the aid of Persia that he had succeeded in overthrowing Assyria. It was by a subsequen...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER (ELEGY) 5 La 5:1-22. Epiphonema, or a Closing Recapitulation of the Calamities Treated in the Previous Elegies.
1. (Psa 89:50, 51).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-25** Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that h...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude pictures Elam's place among the dead. Her graves are round about him describes burial. All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword repeats their fate. Though their terror was caused in the land of the living notes past power. Yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit reiterates poetic justice. He is ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. Our inheritance--**"Thine inheritance" (Psa 79:1). The land given of old to us by Thy gift.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-25** Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that h...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude continues cataloging fallen nations in Sheol. Her graves are round about him describes burial. All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword repeats their fate. Though they caused their terror in the land of the living notes past power. Meshech and Tubal were regions in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), representing distant northern powers. Even remote nati...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **There is Meshech, Tubal.—**See Note on Ezekiel 27:13. It is difficult to obtain historical data for the exact time of the fall of these more obscure kingdoms; but at this period of the world these smaller states were being rapidly swallowed up and absorbed by the greater Powers who were contending for the world’s empire. Meshech and Tubal, like Persia, do not appear at this time to have yet...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. fatherless--**Our whole land is full of orphans [Calvin]. Or, "we are fatherless," being abandoned by Thee our "Father" (Jr 3:19), [Grotius].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 26-44** God's answer discovers the purposes of his wrath against that generation of the Jews, and the purposes of his grace concerning future generations. It is sin, and nothing else, that ruins them. The restoration of Judah and Jerusalem is promised. This people were now at length brought to despair. But God gives hope of mercy which he had in store for them hereafter. Doubtless the pro...
Read full commentary →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. with their: Heb. with weapons of their war
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised</strong>—In Sheol's geography, warriors are ranked. Egypt's slain will not lie with גִּבּוֹרִים נֹפְלִים מֵעֲרֵלִים (gibbôrîm nōphĕlîm mēʿărēlîm, 'mighty fallen ones from the uncircumcised')—ancient warriors of renown.<br><br><strong>Which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their sw...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **And they shall not lie.—**If this be the correct translation, then a distinction is implied between these nations and the others. The others have been honourably buried “with their weapons of war,” while these come to a more disgraceful end. It is better, however, to take it as a question (which the Hebrew fully admits): “Shall they not?” &c.
**Their iniquities shall be upon their bones—***...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. water for money--**The Jews were compelled to pay the enemy for the water of their own cisterns after the overthrow of Jerusalem; or rather, it refers to their sojourn in Babylon; they had to pay tax for access to the rivers and fountains. Thus, "our" means the water which we need, the commonest necessary of life.
**our wood--**In Judea each one could get wood without pay; in Babylon, "our ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 26-44** God's answer discovers the purposes of his wrath against that generation of the Jews, and the purposes of his grace concerning future generations. It is sin, and nothing else, that ruins them. The restoration of Judah and Jerusalem is promised. This people were now at length brought to despair. But God gives hope of mercy which he had in store for them hereafter. Doubtless the pro...
Read full commentary →Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword</strong>—Egypt's fate restated: תִּשָּׁבֵר (tishshābēr, 'you shall be broken/shattered') בְּתוֹךְ עֲרֵלִים (bĕthôkh ʿărēlîm, 'in the midst of uncircumcised'). For circumcised Egyptians, this is ultimate degradation—mingling with barbarous peoples they despised.<br><br>The verb...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5. Literally, "On our necks we are persecuted"; that is, Men tread on our necks (Psa 66:12; Is 51:23; compare Jos 10:24). The extremest oppression. The foe not merely galled the Jews face, back, and sides, but their neck. A just retribution, as they had been stiff in neck against the yoke of God (2Ch 30:8, Margin; Ne 9:29; Is 48:4).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 26-44** God's answer discovers the purposes of his wrath against that generation of the Jews, and the purposes of his grace concerning future generations. It is sin, and nothing else, that ruins them. The restoration of Judah and Jerusalem is promised. This people were now at length brought to despair. But God gives hope of mercy which he had in store for them hereafter. Doubtless the pro...
Read full commentary →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. laid: Heb. given, or, put
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes</strong>—Sheol's roll call continues: אֱדוֹם (ʾĔdôm, Edom), Israel's perpetual enemy from Esau's line. <strong>Which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised</strong>—Despite בִּגְבוּרָתָם (bigbûrātām, 'their might'), they're among חַלְלֵי־חֶרֶב (ḥallê-ḥereb, 'slain of the sword').<br...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **There is Edom.—**Edom had been long since conquered and almost destroyed by Israel, but had again revived to mock at her calamity (Ezekiel 25:12-14). It was soon, like its neighbours, to be swept away by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. given ... hand to--**in token of submission (see on Jr 50:15).
**to ... Egyptians--**at the death of Josiah (2Ch 36:3, 4).
**Assyrians--**that is, the Chaldeans who occupied the empire which Assyria had held. So Jr 2:18.
**to be satisfied with bread--**(De 28:48).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 26-44** God's answer discovers the purposes of his wrath against that generation of the Jews, and the purposes of his grace concerning future generations. It is sin, and nothing else, that ruins them. The restoration of Judah and Jerusalem is promised. This people were now at length brought to despair. But God gives hope of mercy which he had in store for them hereafter. Doubtless the pro...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians</strong>—נְסִיכֵי צָפוֹן (nĕsîkhê ṣāphôn, 'princes of the north')—likely rulers of Syrian/Aramean states. צִידֹנִים (Ṣîdōnîm, Sidonians)—Phoenician city already judged (28:20-23).<br><br><strong>Which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might</strong>—Despite חִתִּיתָם (ḥittîtām, 'th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **The princes of the north.—**The word is not the same as that used for the princes of Edom in Ezekiel 32:29. That refers to the heads of the Edomite tribes, but this is thought to imply enfeoffed or vassal princes. However this may be, from the connection with the Zidonians it is clear that not the far north is intended, but perhaps chieftains of Syria, Damascus, and the like.
**The Zidonian...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7. (Jr 31:29).
**borne their iniquities--**that is, the punishment of them. The accumulated sins of our fathers from age to age, as well as our own, are visited on us. They say this as a plea why God should pity them (compare Eze 18:2, &c.).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 26-44** God's answer discovers the purposes of his wrath against that generation of the Jews, and the purposes of his grace concerning future generations. It is sin, and nothing else, that ruins them. The restoration of Judah and Jerusalem is promised. This people were now at length brought to despair. But God gives hope of mercy which he had in store for them hereafter. Doubtless the pro...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude</strong>—When Egypt descends to Sheol, פַּרְעֹה (Pharʿōh) will רָאָה (rāʾāh, 'see') other fallen nations and be נִחַם (niḥam, 'comforted'). This grim 'comfort' is misery's company—seeing he's not alone in judgment.<br><br><strong>Even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD</strong>—חַלְלֵי־חֶרֶב ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **Shall be comforted.—**Comp. Ezekiel 31:16.
Here closes the series of prophecies against foreign nations. It is true that there are other prophecies against them in Ezekiel 35, 38, 39; but these, as already said, have much more of the character of promises to Israel than of simple denunciation of their enemies. The greater part of this series was uttered between the investment and the close ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. Servants ... ruled ... us--**Servants under the Chaldean governors ruled the Jews (Ne 5:15). Israel, once a "kingdom of priests" (Ex 19:6), is become like Canaan, "a servant of servants," according to the curse (Ge 9:25). The Chaldeans were designed to be "servants" of Shem, being descended from Ham (Ge 9:26). Now through the Jews' sin, their positions are reversed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 26-44** God's answer discovers the purposes of his wrath against that generation of the Jews, and the purposes of his grace concerning future generations. It is sin, and nothing else, that ruins them. The restoration of Judah and Jerusalem is promised. This people were now at length brought to despair. But God gives hope of mercy which he had in store for them hereafter. Doubtless the pro...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For I have caused my terror in the land of the living</strong>—God declares: כִּי־נָתַתִּי אֶת־חִתִּיתִי בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים (kî-nātattî ʾet-ḥittîtî bĕʾereṣ ḥayyîm, 'for I have put my terror in the land of the living'). Not Egypt's terror, but YHWH's terror fills the earth.<br><br><strong>And he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Phar...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. We gat our bread with ... peril--**that is, those of us left in the city after its capture by the Chaldeans.
**because of ... sword of ... wilderness--**because of the liability to attack by the robber Arabs of the wilderness, through which the Jews had to pass to get "bread" from Egypt (compare La 5:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 26-44** God's answer discovers the purposes of his wrath against that generation of the Jews, and the purposes of his grace concerning future generations. It is sin, and nothing else, that ruins them. The restoration of Judah and Jerusalem is promised. This people were now at length brought to despair. But God gives hope of mercy which he had in store for them hereafter. Doubtless the pro...
Read full commentary →