Ezekiel 32:21

Eze 32:21 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.

Ver. 21. The strong among the mighty.] Who might have seen many fair summers, had they not been cut off by Pharaoh’s sword.

Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell.] What they say to him, see Isa 14:10, where we have the like personification in poetry.

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 32:21. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him — Namely, to the king of Egypt; out of the midst of hell — Or, the pit, as Bishop Newcome renders the word: see Eze 32:23. The passage is “a poetical description of the regions of the dead; where the ghosts of deceased tyrants, with their subjects, are represented as coming to meet the king of Egypt and his auxiliaries, upon their arrival at the same place. Hell signifies here the state of the dead.” — Lowth. See note on Isa 14:9. They are gone down — The warriors, famous in their time for their exploits, have undergone the same fate with other men of blood, and are gone down to the grave by violent deaths.

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

32:21-30 Assyria . . . Elam . . . Meshech and Tubal . . . Edom . . . the princes of the north and the Sidonians: These nations that once struck terror in the hearts of people everywhere were now shadowy figures, spent forces in a world without meaning or joy. Assyria had been conquered by the Babylonians and Medes between 627 and 609 BC and had been removed from its previous status as a superpower.

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

To make the matter more sensible, he bringeth in Pharaoh whom the dead shall meet and marvel at him, read Isa. 14:9.

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

(Eze 31:16). Ezekiel has before his eyes Isa 14:9, &c.

shall speak to him--with "him" join "with them that help him"; shall speak to him and his helpers with a taunting welcome, as now one of themselves.

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 21. Out of the midst of hell] שאול sheol, the catacombs, the place of burial. There is something here similar to Isa 14:9, where the descent of the king of Babylon to the state of the dead is described.

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

(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 Eze_31:16-17. It occurs also at Eze_32:27.

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

21. The Pharaoh and his multitude are supposed here to have descended into Sheòl, and the “mighty ones” already there address them (Isa_14:8; Isa_14:10) or speak of them.

The strong among the mighty] lit. the strong of the mighty, where “strong” is not a class among the mighty, but identical with them—the strong mighty ones (gen. of appos.). In LXX. “strong” is wanting as in Eze_32:27. The word “strong” is that rendered mighty one of the nations, Eze_31:11. It is probably entirely different (though the same in spelling) from the word God, Eze_28:2, and from the phrase “mighty God,” Isa_9:6; Isa_10:21.

speak to him] Or, of him. The words that follow seem spoken in regard to Pharaoh—though such a meaning is rather flat.

that help him] his helpers, auxiliary nations. The meaning must be that the mighty speak to (of) Pharaoh and his helpers, hardly that Pharaoh’s helpers already gone down join the mighty in mocking Pharaoh.

In LXX. these three verses stand in a different order, viz. Eze_32:20 a, 20 b (read differently), 21 a, 19, and the first three words of Eze_32:20 again, “They shall fall with him in the midst of them that are slain with the sword, and all his multitude (strength) shall lie down. And the mighty (lit. giants, Eze_32:27) shall say unto thee: Be thou in the depth of the pit; to whom art thou superior? go down, and lie with the uncircumcised, in the midst of them that are slain with the sword.” Probably neither text presents the original, though the general meaning of both is the same. It is in favour of Heb. that it begins with the interrogation, and rather against the LXX. that it makes the address rather prolix. The “mighty” who speak are in any case those already in Sheòl, and not persons upon the earth such as the Babylonians (Hitz.).

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.

The strong among the mighty shall speak to him,.... The strongest of them, such who have excelled others in strength and courage, famous for military exploits, who have been generals of armies, great warriors, and conquerors; and yet with all their might and strength could not withstand death, but were subdued by it, and brought down to the grave; these are, by a poetical figure, represented as meeting Pharaoh king of Egypt, when he came to his grave, saluting and welcoming him to the state of the dead in which they were; taking a sort of comfort in it, and insulting him as being as weak as they; see Isa 14:9, which they should do

out of the midst of hell, or the grave, "Hades", the state of the dead:

with them that help him; the associates, allies, and friends of Pharaoh, his auxiliaries that fell with him, and were brought to the grave at the same time with him; these should be greeted, saluted, and welcomed in like manner:

they are gone down; to the grave; those mighty ones that are represented as speaking, and the Egyptians and their helpers who are spoken to:

they lie uncircumcised; among them that are so, Eze 32:19,

slain by the sword; of their enemies, who got the victory over them.

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

The uncircumcised - throughout this dirge is equivalent to pagan viewed as impure (Eze 31:18 note).

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

Most. Septuagint, "giants shall say to thee: Remain in the depth of the pit. Whom dost thou excel? descend," &c. (Haydock) --- They vary much in this chapter from the Hebrew. (St. Jerome) --- Helpers; Lybians, &c., chap. xxx. 5. These shall come to compliment the king. (Calmet) --- After a battle, those of the same nation were buried together, ver. 22. (Theodoret) --- The Egyptians had tombs like houses, in which there were separate holes or apartments (Calmet) as in large vaults. (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).

The prophet seems in this verse to introduce the next speakers in this parley, and bringing them in, gives their character.

The strong; the powerful, the valiant, whose natural strength of body was great, and their courage greater, those that were strongest.

Among the mighty; for feats they did, by which it appeared they might compared with others, pass for giants, mighty warriors. conquerors, and riders.

Shall speak to him, the king of Egypt.

Hell; or rather, the grave, where they lie without strength, as dead mortals, though while they lived they bore themselves as if gods and immortal.

Them that help him; either these great ones shall speak to Hophra’s helpers, or else these his friends, slain in his quarrel and dead before him, shall speak to him.

Gone down to the grave: see Eze 32:18. Uncircumcised; neglected and forgotten, or remembered with contempt: see Eze 32:19.

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

21. The strong among the mighty — The strong mighty ones (Davidson). The residents of Sheol greet these incoming nations — who in life considered themselves infinitely their superiors — with belittling comments. They have not entered Sheol with dignity, after the sacred rites of a religious burial, but have been hurried thither from the battlefield where their bones may yet be left uncovered. (Compare Eze_31:18.) The entire passage compels a sharp distinction between those who were buried in state with their weapons about them (Eze_32:27), and those who, like the uncircumcised barbarians, lay buried where they fell, without the funeral rites which prepared them for a favorable entrance into Sheol. (See Appendix.)

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

The strong among the mighty. Those already in Sheol watch the new arrival, and make their scornful comments, (comp. Isa_14:9, Isa_14:18) at once classing them with the uncircumcised. Had they heard, we ask, of the downfall of Egypt?

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

Him - The king of Egypt. The grave - Where they lie without strength, as dead mortals, tho' while they lived, they bore themselves, as gods. That help - His helpers, dead before him, shall speak to him. Gone down - To the grave. They lie - Neglected, and forgotten.

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

hell

Eze 32:27, 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.

shall speak of him [Heb. יְדַבְּרוּ לוֹ] shall speak of him and of his helpers.

the strongest of the mighty men...from the midst of the Grave Transpose the verse and interpret it: They shall speak of him אֶתעֹזרָיו, with his helpers; i.e., concerning all his helpers with him, too, shall the strongest of the mighty men, who are in the Grave, speak, and they will say about them thus: the uncircumcised... descended, etc. Every לָהֶם, לִי, לוֹ, and לְךָ written next to דִבּוּר, speech, means nothing but “about.”

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.