Ezekiel 28:8

Eze 28:8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of [them that are] slain in the midst of the seas.

Ver. 8. They shall bring thee down to the pit.] There shall lie the greatness of the god of Tyre.

And thou shalt die the death.] Death will make no difference between a prince and a peasant, a lord and a lowly. The mortal scythe is master of the royal sceptre.

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.

28:8 The clearest demonstration that the prince of Tyre was a mortal man and not a divine being came when he was put to death by the Babylonians. His final resting place would not be in the heights with the gods, but in the pit, the residence of the dead. Like the city of Tyre, the prince of Tyre would die in the heart of the sea (cp. 27:26-27).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

the pit--that is, the bottom of the sea; the image being that of one conquered in a sea-fight.

the deaths--plural, as various kinds of deaths are meant (Jer 16:4).

of them . . . slain--literally, "pierced through." Such deaths as those pierced with many wounds die.

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

(8) Deaths.—The plural accurately represents the rare form of the original, and indicates emphatically a violent death.

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

8. deaths of … slain] The death.

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.

They shall bring thee down to the pit,.... Or, "to corruption" (k); to the grave, the pit of corruption and destruction; so antichrist shall go into perdition, into the bottomless pit from whence he came, Rev 17:8,

and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas; that die in a sea fight, whose carcasses are thrown overboard, and devoured by fishes.

(k) "ad corruptionem".

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

These strangers shall slay thee, which is a blemish to the honour of a king thus to be brought to the pit.

The pit; a usual periphrasis of death and the grave.

The deaths; in the plural, because of the many terrors, dangers, and wounds such meet with, the successive deaths, slain, drowned, eat of fish, cast upon shore, and become meat to sea fowl.

In the midst of the seas; if literally understood, thou shalt die as other common mariners, and be cast overboard; if figuratively, seas for great distresses, then amidst multitude of deep distresses thou shalt meet with more than one death, be often dying.

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

Vers. 8, 9. The effect of the Chaldean invasion was to bring the king down to the nether world of the dead. In the use of the plural "deaths" we have a parallel to the "plurima morris imago" of Virgil ("AEneid," 2:369). And this death was not to be like that of a hero-warrior, but as that of those who are slain in the midst of the seas, who fall, i.e. , in a naval battle, and are cast into the waters. Would he then repeat his boast, I am God?

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

General Information:

Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to the ruler of Tyre.

General Information:

The word "They" refers to foreign armies. The words "you" and "your" in these verses refer to the king of Tyre.

down to the pit

Here "the pit" refers to the grave or to hell. AT: "down to the grave" (See: Metonymy)

in the heart of the seas

"in the middle of the seas"

Will you truly say, "I am a god" to the face of one who kills you?

This question expects a negative answer to emphasize the irony when one who claims to be a god is destroyed by men. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "You will not say 'I am a god' to the face of one who kills you!" (See: Rhetorical Question and Irony)

to the face of

Here the face represents being in the presence of another person. AT: "in the presence of" or "before" (See: Synecdoche)

in the hand of

Here being in the hand of someone represents being under their control. AT: "under the control of" (See: Metaphor)

by the hand of foreigners

Here "hand" is a metonym for the actions of the foreigners' army. AT: "by an army of foreigners" (See: Metonymy)

this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration

Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 5:11. AT: "this is what the Lord Yahweh has declared" or "this is what I, the Lord Yahweh, have declared" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

translationWords

pit

die

face

God

hand

circumcise

declare

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.