Ezekiel 32:27

27 "They lie down with the other dead soldiers who had not been circumcised. They and their weapons had gone down into the grave. Their swords had been placed under their heads. They had spread their terror while they were alive. But now the shame of their sin covers their bones.

Ezekiel 32:27 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 32:27

And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the
uncircumcised
That is, shall not lie in such state, or be buried with such pomp and magnificence, and have such sepulchral monuments erected to their memory, as other heroes among the Heathens have had; such as the mighty kings of Assyria and Persia before mentioned: which are gone down to hell,
or "the grave", with their weapons of war;
which were never taken from them, and which they held in their hands to the last, being never conquered, and died at last a natural death, and not by the sword; or which were carried in state before their hearse at the time of interment, as is the custom to this day so to do at the funeral of great warriors, generals, and officers: and they have laid their swords under their heads;
as a sign and token, as Jarchi says, that the sword did not rule over them, that they did not fall by it; either their statues and sepulchral monuments were adorned with these, and other instruments of war, as was the grave of Misenus by Aeneas ^F4; and as is still the custom where the heads of such mighty ones are laid, to engrave them on them: or, literally, their swords and other weapons of war were put in their graves under their heads; as it was usual, in former times, in some places to put swords, shields, and other armour, in the graves of military men, as were in the grave of Theseus, on the bier of Alexander the great, and others, as reported by Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus, and Sophocles ^F5: now the Scythians were not buried: after this grand and pompous manner: but their iniquities shall be upon their bones;
or the punishment of their sin should be, that their bones should lie unburied and scattered about, or be dug up and broke to pieces, and treated with inhumanity and contempt, as a just reward for their savageness, and cruelty: though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living:
not only the terror of the common people, but even of the most powerful kings and mighty warriors.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Vid. Virgil. Aeneid. l. 6. & Seneca, l. 4. controvers. 4.
F5 Vid. Lydium de Re Militari, l. 6. c. 7. p. 250, 251. & Kirchman, de Funer. Roman. l. 3. c. 18.

Ezekiel 32:27 In-Context

25 "A bed is made for Elam's king among the dead. His huge armies lie around his grave. They had not been circumcised. They were killed with swords. They had spread terror while they were alive. So now their shame is like the shame of others who go down into the grave. They lie down among the dead.

26 "Meshech and Tubal are also there. Their huge armies lie around the graves of their kings. They had not been circumcised. They had spread their terror while they were alive. So they were killed with swords.

27 "They lie down with the other dead soldiers who had not been circumcised. They and their weapons had gone down into the grave. Their swords had been placed under their heads. They had spread their terror while they were alive. But now the shame of their sin covers their bones.

28 "Pharaoh Hophra, you too will be broken. You will lie down among those who had not been circumcised. You will be there with those who were killed with swords.

29 "Edom is also there. So are its kings and all of its princes. In spite of their power, they lie down with those who were killed with swords. They lie down with those who had not been circumcised. They are there with others who went down into the grave.