Ezekiel 31:16

Eze 31:16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.

Ver. 16. I made the nations shake at the sound of his fall.] As the earth seems to shake at the fall of some mighty cedar.

“ Sic subito casu, quae valuere, ruunt. ”

Shall be comforted.] In so noble a companion and partaker of their misery. Compare Isa 14:1-3

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.

Eze 31:16-17. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall — Through fear and terror. When I cast him down to hell — Rather, to the grave; with them that descend into the pit — That die and are buried. All the trees of Eden, &c. — The greatest kings on earth. All that drink water — That partake of wealth and other worldly enjoyments; shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth — The deceased princes, confederates to the Assyrians, described here as so many stately trees and cedars, shall feel some mitigation of their calamities, when they see thee brought down as low as themselves: compare Eze 32:31, and see notes on Isa 14:8-16, a passage exactly parallel to this. They also went down into hell — Or, the grave; with him — His allies underwent the same fate with himself, and were cut off in the common destruction. And they that were his arm — His auxiliaries; that dwelt under his shadow — Who lived under his protection; in the midst of the heathen — Or, the nations: see on Eze 31:11; namely, in several countries and provinces: see Lam 4:20. When the Assyrian power was overthrown, it was easy for the Chaldeans to subdue all its allies.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31:16-17 The nations all shook with fear at the shock waves created by Assyria’s fall. The great nations that had preceded it on the road to destruction and death were gratified to find it joining them in their disgrace, while its allies followed in its dangerous course.

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

To cause this destruction of the king of Assyria to seem more horrible, he setteth forth other kings and princes which are dead, as though they rejoiced at the fall of such a tyrant.

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

hell--Sheol or Hades, the unseen world: equivalent to, "I cast him into oblivion" (compare Isa 14:9-11).

shall be comforted--because so great a king as the Assyrian is brought down to a level with them. It is a kind of consolation to the wretched to have companions in misery.

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

(16) Hell is here, as generally, Sheol, or Hades, the world of the departed.

Shall be comforted.—Comp. Isa_14:9-10, which was probably in Ezekiel’s mind.

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

16. at the sound of his fall] See on Eze_26:15; cf. Eze_32:10.

to hell … into the pit] to Sheòl with them that are gone down to the pit, ch. Eze_32:18; Isa_14:15. The nations living on the earth shake with terror (ch. Eze_26:15) at the noise of his fall; while those already gone down to the pit are “comforted” that one so mighty has fallen as well as themselves, Eze_32:19; Eze_32:31; Isa_14:10. The language does not imply that those comforted were hostile to Pharaoh.

the trees of Eden] The figure of “trees” for states, or for the representatives of states like Pharaoh, is continued. The term Eden is used generally to suggest great trees or the place where trees are found, for the next words describe the trees as the “choice of Lebanon.”

choice and best] An anomalous construction, which is obviated in LXX. by the want of “best.”

drink water] i.e. trees nourished by water, Eze_31:14.

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.

I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall,.... As, when a large cedar was cut down and fell in Lebanon, the noise of it was heard at a distance; so when this mighty monarch and monarchy fell, the nations of the world, and the kings of them, heard of it far and near, and shook through fear of what would be the consequence, lest they should fall also in like manner:

when I cast him down to hell, or "the grave",

with them that descend into the pit; in common with other men that die, and are buried: it may refer to his subjects and soldiers that perished with him, who were slain by the sword, and were buried with him, and he with them; no distinction being made between them:

and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water; the greatest kings and potentates of the world, the chief and principal of the Assyrian empire; all that ruled over multitudes of people, and partook of their wealth and riches, and were supported in grandeur and dignity; who had been in the state of the dead before this time:

shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth; when they see so mighty a monarch depressed, and brought as low as they, into the same state of meanness and contempt; as it is some kind of solace for persons in distress to have partners with them: this is a poetic expression, representing the dead as rejoicing to see others in the same condition with themselves. The Targum is,

"all the kings of the east, the governors, and those that are rich in substance, all that hold a kingdom, are comforted in the lower part of the earth.''

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

Comforted. The ghosts of princes who had been subject to Serac, seeing his fall, bore their own misfortune with greater content. In the grave there is no distinction of master and slave. (Calmet) --- Surviving princes expected some emolument from the change. (Haydock)

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).

To shake; all that heard the noise of his fall trembled at it, it was as God intended it should be, an astonishment to them all.

Cast him down to hell; brought the king and kingdom, as a dead man, to the grave, among them that be. fore were dead and buried.

All the trees of Eden; all kings, and particularly the greatest and richest, called here

the choice and best of Lebanon. All that drink water; did enjoy great power, riches, and worldly glory.

Shall be comforted: it is a prosopopoeia, and he speaks of the dead with allusion to the manner of the living, who rejoice to see the proud brought as low as the lowest; thus the prophet, Isa 14:9,10.

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

16. The living nations mourn because they fear a like destruction (note Eze_26:15-16), while the dead monarchies, which once comforted themselves in earthly paradises, now in the cold, shadowy, monotonous existence of Sheol “comfort themselves” that they can welcome another kingdom to their midst. (Compare Eze_32:17, etc.; Isa_14:4, etc.).

Eden… Lebanon — The trees of Lebanon were so majestic that they could be called Edenic.

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

Shall be comforted, etc. The Dante-like imagination of the prophet points the contrasts between the impression made by the fall of Assyria on the nations that yet survived, and on those that had already perished. The former mourn and shako with fear, for it is a warning to them that their turn also may come. On the other hand, the tress of Eden the great monarchies that are already in Sheol shall he "comforted" with the thought that yet another kingdom mightier than they has fallen as they fell. (comp. Isa_14:4-20; Eze_32:17-32, where the thought is elaborately expanded)

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

Shake - All that heard the noise of his fall, trembled at it. Cast him down - Brought the king and kingdom, as a dead man to the grave among them, that before were dead and buried. All the trees - All kings, and particularly the greatest. All that drink water - Enjoyed great power, riches, and glory. Comforted - He speaks to the dead with allusion to the manner of the living, who rejoice to see the proud brought low.

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

hell

Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Yahweh's parable about the cedar continues.

when I threw it down to Sheol with those who went down into the pit

Here "threw it down to Sheol" is an idiom that means to kill. "The pit" refers to the grave; because the grave was thought to be the entrance to the world of the dead, the pit also represents that world. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 31:14. AT: "when I killed the cedar and it went to Sheol with everyone else that is dead" (See: Idiom and Metonymy)

in the lowest parts of the earth

"that were already deep down in the ground." This is an idiom. AT: "that had already died and are now in Sheol" (See: Idiom)

the choicest and best trees of Lebanon; the trees that drank the waters

"the best trees of Lebanon that everyone would want; trees that got a lot of water." This is describing the trees of Eden that were in the lowest parts of the earth.

the choicest

This is something that everyone would want because it is very good.

translationWords

nation

Hades

pit

comfort

Eden

earth

Lebanon

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

and they were consoled in the nether part of the earth The others who descended to Gehinnom received consolations. They said, “This one is like us also.”

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.