Ezekiel 26:16

Eze 26:16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at [every] moment, and be astonished at thee.

Ver. 16. All the princes of the sea,] i.e., Of the neighbouring islands.

Clothe themselves with trembling.] Luth., With mourning.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The governors and rulers of other countries that dwell by the sea: whereby he signifieth that her destruction should be so horrible, that all the world should hear thereof and be afraid.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

come down from their thrones . . . upon the ground--"the throne of the mourners" (Job 2:13; Jon 3:6).

princes of the sea--are the merchant rulers of Carthage and other colonies of Tyre, who had made themselves rich and powerful by trading on the sea (Isa 23:8).

clothe . . . with trembling--Hebrew, "tremblings." Compare Eze 7:27, "clothed with desolation"; Psa 132:18. In a public calamity the garment was changed for a mourning garb.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. The princes of the sea] The chief maritime states, such as Leptis, Utica, Carthage, Gades, &c. See Calmet.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(16) Princes of the sea.—Or, as we should say, merchant princes. (Comp. Isa_23:8.) Actual sovereigns are not meant, but those raised by commerce to wealth and power. Their astonishment and grief is poetically described under the figure of the customs of Oriental mourning. (Comp. Jon_3:6.) “Thrones” should rather be translated seats, as in Jdg_3:20; 1Sa_1:9; 1Sa_4:13; 1Sa_4:18.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. In token of mourning the princes of the sea, the rulers of the principalities and cities on all sea, coasts, shall descend from their thrones, lay aside their royal robes and sit on the ground (Lam_2:10).

clothe themselves] Or, be clothed, i.e. be enveloped in, be wholly tremblings; cf. Eze_7:27.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones,.... The kings of the islands of the sea shall lay aside their regalia, all their royal grandeur, and the ensigns of it; leave their thrones of state, and sit in an humble posture:

and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments; their royal robes and raiment of needlework curiously embroidered, and richly wrought, such as princes wear; so did the king of Nineveh in token of humiliation, Jon 3:6. The Septuagint and Arabic versions understand the first clause of their taking their mitres, or diadems, from their heads:

they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall tremble from head to foot in every joint, as if they were covered with it, as with a garment; or, being clothed with sackcloth, as mourners used to be, shall shake and tremble, being used to other and better clothing:

they shall sit upon the ground; as Job did, and his friends, with dust and ashes on their heads, as persons in distress were wont to do, Job 2:8,

and shall tremble at every moment; continually, every hour, minute, and moment of the day: or, "at the breaches" (o); so Jarchi; that is, those made upon Tyre; fearing lest the same should be made upon them; so the Targum, "because of their breaches"; or at the ruin and destruction they fear will be their case also:

and be astonished at thee; that a city so wealthy and mighty should be brought so low; see Rev 18:9.

(o) "super repentino casu suo", V. L.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Sea: colonies, or tributary to Tyre, ver. 8. (Haydock) --- Leptis, Utica, Carthage,and Cadiz, were founded by Tyrians. (Pliny, [Natural History?] v. 19.) --- Some pretend that these cities were attacked by the conquerors, for manifesting their grief. See Josephus, Antiquities x.; Pineda, &c. --- But we shall not here follow conjectures. --- Astonishment. Hebrew, "troubles," or mourning. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The princes of the sea; who were lords of the islands in that sea, and who traded with Tyrus, and there were many such; or sea commanders, who, in their wooden world, are so many petty princes; but rather the former, the crowned heads whose kingdoms were so many islands.

Come down from their thrones, in token of sadness and condolence.

Lay away their robes, as further sign of grief.

Put off their broidered garments: this is added also to show how greatly they were affected with sorrow at this sad fall of their ally and friend.

Clothe themselves with trembling: this laying aside of their gallantry shall not be in compliment, as now in such cases of condolence, but they shall be heartily afraid of their own concerns, and astonished in the midst of their fears.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The princes of the sea are not the kings of the isles, but the merchant-princes of the city. (Isa_23:8) They shall lay aside their robes of state Tyrian purple embroidered with gold and silver and shall put on the garments of mourners. Jon_3:6 presents an interesting parallel. The word thrones is used, as in 1Sa_4:13, for any chair of state, as that of priest or judge (Pro_9:14; Est_3:1) as well as for the specifically kingly throne. For the, most part, however, the later meaning is dominant.

The princes of the sea.

The Tyrians were a seafaring people on a large scale. Unlike the poor Philistines, who did not go beyond the fisherman"s simple toil, those adventurers swept the Mediterranean with their fleets, and even ventured to distant shores of the Atlantic. They had the advantages and the evils of a great maritime nation.

I THE PRINCES OF THE SEA GATHERED RICHES, The merchants of Tyre were princes. Wealth was got by industry, daring, and enterprise. Thus the Tyrians anticipated the good fortune of the English. Prosperity is not often won except by means of energy and adventure. When the spirit that urges on daring attempts is enervated by luxury, the success that it once achieved is surely doomed. It is happy when that spirit is transformed into a higher character, and seeks for better returns than bales of merchandise. We cannot but feel that the voyages of the Beagle and the Challenger are nobler in this respect, as their aim was to gather treasures of knowledge. But better still is it when the command of the waters is used for the promotion of peace, the extension of liberty, and the check of the slave trade, and above all, the propagation of Christianity.

II THE PRINCES OF THE SEA UNITED RACES. In ancient times the Tyrians were the great link of connection between the East and the West. Through them the venerable civilization of Asia woke up the genius of Europe, as yet slumbering in unconscious barbarism. Tyre gave the alphabet to Europe. Thus she laid the foundation of Greek culture and started European literature on its wonderful course. She gave more than she took. Immense and untold good comes from the peaceful inter-communication of races.

III THE PRINCES OF THE SEA RAN GREAT RISKS. They trusted their wealth to the treacherous waves. The Merchant of Venice finds himself beggared by unexpected calamities. The greatest wealth is usually won by the most uncertain means, i.e. by foreign trade and home speculation. This is a warning to the prosperous not to put their trust in riches which so easily take wings and fly away. The fate of Tyre should drive us further to seek those better riches in the heavenly treasury, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal. (Mat_6:20) If even the princes of the sea were ruined, who can be satisfied to rest in the greatest earthly success?

IV THE PRINCES OF THE SEA LIVED LOW LIVES. Princes they were, but not saints. Their mercenary character was not hidden by all the splendor of their surroundings. In their gorgeous palaces, among their well-stocked bazaars, with their heavy-laden ships on many waters, they were the cynosure of every eye. Yet in God"s sight they were "miserable, and blind, and naked," for they were but mammon-worshippers. More enlightened than the Tyrian merchants, Englishmen will be guilty of greater sin and folly if they fall down and worship the same image of gold.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The princes - Who were lords of the islands of that sea. Come down - In token of condolence. Trembling - They shall be afraid of their own concerns, and astonished in the midst of their fears.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

and they will tremble for [fear of] destruction [Heb. לִרְגָעִים,] for fear of destruction, lest it befall them like your destruction.

לִרְגָעִים as is an expression of breaking, like (Isa. 51:15): “Who splits (ַרוֹגַע) the sea;” (Job 7:5), “my skin split (רָגַע);” (Ps. 35:20), “and against the crushed people of (רִגְעֵי) the earth,” [synonymous with] דִכְּאֵי “the crushed people of the earth.” Menachem, however, explained it (p. 162) in the sense of רֶגַע, a moment, as in (Ps. 30:6): “For His wrath lasts but a moment (רֶגַע).”

and will be appalled [Heb. וְשָּׁמְמוּ,] an expression of bewilderment.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.