Ezekiel 27:35

Eze 27:35 All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in [their] countenance.

Ver. 35. They shall be troubled in their countenance,] i.e., Appalled and dispirited.

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.

isles--seacoasts.

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

The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee,.... As Tyre had done at Jerusalem, Eze 26:2 as she hoped to make better markets upon the fall of Jerusalem, and therefore rejoiced at it; so these merchants upon her fall will hope that her trade will come into their hands, and therefore despise her, hiss, and laugh at her in her abject state. The Targum is,

"shall be astonished at thee;''

struck with wonder, and even with a stupor at her fall: "and thou shalt be a terror"; not only to thyself, but to kings and merchants, and to all the inhabitants of the isles, and to all that trade by sea; who will be struck with surprise and dread when they hear of thy destruction; see Rev 18:9,

and never shall be any more; upon the same spot, and in the same grandeur and glory: some understand this only of a long time, as seventy years, when it was rebuilt; see Isa 23:15, it may respect its last destruction, since which it has not been, nor now is, or ever will be: this will be true of mystical Babylon, the antitype of Tyre, Rev 18:21.

Next: Ezekiel Chapter 28

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

The news of Tyre’s ruin shall reach to distant isles, to merchant cities who trade with her. These in their selfish love of gain shall rejoice over her who was once paramount over them, hissing out against her curses and scorn.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The isles; strictly and in a larger sense the seacoasts.

Astonished; wondering it ever should be effected that Tyre should fall.

Sore afraid: knowing how they are much less able to resist and defend themselves, and not knowing where that mighty conqueror would next try his arms and fortune.

They shall be troubled; shall not be able to conceal the discomposure of their mind; but in their countenance a trouble made up of grief, fear, and indignation, grief for their friends, fear for themselves, against that cruelty and inhumanity which, without respect to any thing dear to mankind, ruined the glory of the world, destroyed what could not be repaired by all the riches, and wisdom, and bounty of the Babylonish kingdom.

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

35. Isles — Rather, as usual, coast.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A great surprise.

All the neighboring inhabitants are astonished at the terrible and unexpected fate of strong, proud Tyre. The dramatic event sends a shock of amazement through all the region round about. This great surprise is instructive.

I MEN EXPECT THE CUSTOMARY TO CONTINUE. The intellect is conservative. Novelty is unlocked for. We believe that the future will be like the past for no other reason than that, on the whole, things seem to be stable and the course of the world uniform. But every now and then the unexpected happens, as though to warn us that things may not continue forever in their present quiet state. The antediluvians were too much accustomed to the regular rotation of the seasons to believe Noah"s preaching. Vesuvius had slumbered for unknown years before the great eruption overthrew Herculaneum and Pompeii, and the consequence was that its foot was covered with buildings. People have but faint apprehensions of Divine judgment because life runs on at present in its old groove.

II SUPERFICIAL PROSPERITY IS OFTEN MISTAKEN FOE SOLID SECURITY. Tyre was so great and rich and beautiful that her neighbors had never anticipated her downfall. There is no surprise at the destruction of poor little pastoral kingdoms like Ammon and Moab. But when a nation that is in the foremost rank of the world"s progress is smitten down, men are simply confounded. Thus the destruction of Tyre surprised her neighbors, as the sack of Rome by the Goths astounded the contemporaries of St. Augustine and St. Jerome. Men have to learn that splendor is not strength, and that prosperity is not its own security.

III PEOPLE MAY BE TAKEN FOR A TIME AT THEIR OWN ESTIMATE. Tyre boasted of her magnificence. "Thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty" (Ver. 3). She prided herself in her strong sea-walls, and until they were tested in battle none knew that they were not strong enough to withstand the shock of the northern invader. The Church is proud of her orthodoxy, her splendor, her strength, and thus she may lead simple minds to trust in her certain safety. But all such boasting brings no real strength. It goes down at a touch from hard realities. Then the deceived are dismayed. In the end the discovery brings shame on the head of the boasters.

IV A FEARFUL CALAMITY IS ASTOUNDING. We use big words, but we fail to comprehend their meaning; and even when our own language is translated into fact we are surprised at seeing what it really meant. There is a tendency to water down the strong language of Scripture. No doubt this is largely due to a reaction against the coarse literalism of earlier ages. A revolt from descriptions of future punishment which quiet, thinking people could not believe to be true of their own familiar acquaintances, has landed us in a region of mild theology. But there are stern and terrible realities in God"s judgments on that horrible thing sin. When these are witnessed assuredly they will give a great surprise to complacent people who are now content to imbibe the thinnest dilutions of Scripture doctrines of coming judgment.

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

Troubled - They shall not be able to conceal the discomposure of their mind, but will shew it in their countenance.

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

their faces were angry [Heb. רָעֲמוּ פָּנִים,] angry faces, and so (I Sam. 1:6): “in order to make her complain (הַרְעִימָהּ),” and so every expression of complaint is called תּוּרְעֲמָתָא.

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.