Ezekiel 32:23

23 whose sepulchres be given in the last things of the pit. And the multitude of him is made (there) by the compass of his sepulchre; all slain men, and falling down by sword, which gave sometime their fearedfulness in the land of living men. (whose tombs, or graves, be found in the last things of the pit. And her multitude is buried there all around her tomb, or her grave; all the slain, and those fallen by the sword, who spread abroad their fearfulness, or their terror, in the land of the living.)

Ezekiel 32:23 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 32:23

Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit
Or vault, where lay the king of Assyria, and those who fell by the sword with him, who are represented as lying in graves all around him; the nearest to him those who were in the highest posts, and most valiant and courageous, and next the common soldiers, as follows: and her company is round about her grave
not Pharaoh's company round about the grave of the Assyrian monarch; but the company of the king of Assyria, or his army, as the Targum, round about grave; or lying about in the ruins of his kingdom: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land
of the living;
even they who now are in the state of the dead, and can no more disturb and distress any, while they were alive, or in the world, struck terror in all neighbouring states and kingdoms; threatening destruction to them, and obliging them to submit to their tyranny and exactions. Jarchi interprets this of the land of Israel; and the Jewish writers commonly understand by the land of the living the land of Canaan wherever they meet with it; because here men worshipped the living God, and lived before him; and the inhabitants of this land were often terrified by the king of Assyria. So the Targum,

``because they ruled in the land of Israel.''

Ezekiel 32:23 In-Context

21 The mightest of strong men shall speak to him, from the midst of hell, which with their helpers went down, and slept uncircumcised, and slain by sword. (The mightest of the strong men shall speak to him, from the midst of Sheol, they who went down with their helpers, and slept uncircumcised, killed by the sword.)
22 There is Assur, and all his multitude; the sepulchres of them be in the compass of him; all slain men, that fell down by sword, (Saying, There is Asshur, or Assyria, and all her multitude; their tombs, or their graves, be all around her; all the slain, who fell down by the sword,)
23 whose sepulchres be given in the last things of the pit. And the multitude of him is made (there) by the compass of his sepulchre; all slain men, and falling down by sword, which gave sometime their fearedfulness in the land of living men. (whose tombs, or graves, be found in the last things of the pit. And her multitude is buried there all around her tomb, or her grave; all the slain, and those fallen by the sword, who spread abroad their fearfulness, or their terror, in the land of the living.)
24 There is Elam, and all the multitude thereof by the compass of his sepulchre; all these were slain, and falling down by sword, that went down uncircumcised to the last land; which setted their dread in the land of living men, and bare their shame with them that go down into the pit. (There is Elam, and all her multitude all around her tomb, or her grave; all these were slain, and fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised to the last land; who spread abroad their terror in the land of the living, and bare their shame with those who go down into the pit.)
25 In the midst of slain men they putted his bed in all the peoples of him; his sepulchre is in the compass of him. All these were uncircumcised and slain by sword, for they gave dread in the land of living men, and bare their shame with them that go down into the pit; they be set in the midst of slain men. (In the midst of the slain they put her bed with all her peoples; yea, their tombs, or their graves, be all around her. All these were uncircumcised and slain by the sword, for they spread abroad their terror in the land of the living, and bare their shame with those who go down into the pit; they be set in the midst of the slain.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.