Commentary - Ezekiel 32:17-32

Bird's-eye view

Here in the second half of Ezekiel 32, the prophet is commanded to deliver another funeral dirge over Egypt. This is not a song of sorrow, but a declaration of finality. God is burying a great and proud nation, and He is doing so publicly. The passage functions as a guided tour of the nether world, of Sheol, where all the formerly great and terrible nations of the earth are now residing in their shame. This is God's cosmic graveyard for pagan empires. Egypt, with all her pomp and glory, is about to join the club. The repeated refrains of being "slain by the sword" and lying with the "uncircumcised" drive the point home with the force of a battering ram. This is the end for all who build their kingdoms on pride and defiance of the living God. Their earthly terror is answered with eternal dishonor.

The central theme is the absolute sovereignty of God over the nations. Men build empires, they make war, they cause the whole world to tremble, and they think they are something. But God raises them up and God casts them down. Sheol is filled with the evidence of this. The passage culminates in a grim and ironic picture of Pharaoh being "comforted" by the sight of all the other defeated multitudes. This is the only comfort Hell offers: the shared misery of the justly condemned. It is a terrifying picture of God's justice and a stark warning to any nation or individual who would live as though He does not reign.

Outline

Commentary

17 Now it happened in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 18 “Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and bring it down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the nether world, with those who go down to the pit;

The Lord gives Ezekiel his marching orders. The time for warning is past; the time for the funeral has come. The prophet is to "wail," but this is not a wail of sympathetic grief. It is a prophetic declaration of doom. The word of God spoken through the prophet is what accomplishes the deed. He is to "bring it down." This is how God works. He speaks, and worlds are made. He speaks, and empires are unmade. Egypt, along with her allies, the "daughters of the powerful nations," is being consigned to the "nether world." This is Sheol, the pit, the place of the dead. God is not just predicting Egypt's demise; He is performing it through the mouth of His servant.

19 ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and make your bed with the uncircumcised.’

Here begins the taunt. Egypt was renowned for its culture, its monuments, its wisdom, its glory. It was, in its own eyes, the pinnacle of human achievement. God asks a rhetorical question that cuts to the heart of their pride: "Whom do you surpass in beauty?" The implied answer is "no one," at least not anymore. In the great equalizer of the grave, all worldly distinctions are rendered meaningless. The command is blunt: "Go down." Your time is up. And your final resting place? You will "make your bed with the uncircumcised." This is not merely a statement about a physical rite. To be uncircumcised was to be outside the covenant people of God, to be ceremonially and spiritually unclean, to be without God and without hope in the world. This is the ultimate dishonor for any nation that sets itself up against Yahweh.

20 They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword. She is given over to the sword; they have drawn her and all her multitude away. 21 The dominant among the mighty ones shall speak of him and his helpers from the midst of Sheol, ‘They have gone down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

Egypt's end will be violent. They will fall among the slain. The sword here is the instrument of God's judgment, wielded by the Babylonians. But the ultimate actor is God Himself. And what happens when Pharaoh and his armies arrive in Sheol? They are greeted. The "dominant among the mighty ones," the great warlords and kings of yesteryear, speak from the pit. This is not a warm welcome. It is a cynical, mocking recognition. 'Look who's here. The great Egypt has joined us. They've gone down. They lie still.' The refrain is repeated, sealing their fate: "the uncircumcised, slain by the sword." This is the chorus of the damned, recognizing their common end and their shared dishonor.

22 “Assyria is there and all her assembly; her graves are round about her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, 23 whose graves are put in the remotest parts of the pit, and her assembly is all round about her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who put terror in the land of the living.

Now begins the tour of the imperial graveyard. First up is Assyria. Not long before this, Assyria was the terror of the ancient world, the very definition of military might and cruelty. They were the ones who put "terror in the land of the living." And where are they now? They are "there." In the pit. Their graves are in the "remotest parts," the deepest, most dishonorable section. All their pomp, all their armies, all their terrorizing is reduced to a collection of graves in the dark. The refrain tolls again: "slain, fallen by the sword." God's judgment is thorough.

24 “Elam is there and all her multitude all around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, who put their terror in the land of the living and bore their dishonor with those who went down to the pit. 25 They have put a bed for her among the slain with all her multitude. Her graves are all around it; all of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword (although their terror was put in the land of the living), and they bore their dishonor with those who go down to the pit; they were put in the midst of the slain.

Next is Elam, another ancient power. The description is much the same, because the end of all God's enemies is the same. They too put terror in the land of the living. They too went down uncircumcised. They too bore their dishonor. A "bed" has been made for Elam, but it is a bed among the slain. This is a picture of utter and complete defeat. Notice the emphasis: their terror was once a real thing "in the land of the living," but it has no currency in the land of the dead. Worldly power has an expiration date.

26 “Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude are there; their graves are all around them. All of them were slain by the sword uncircumcised, though they put their terror in the land of the living. 27 Nor do they lie beside the fallen mighty ones of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war and whose swords were put under their heads; but the punishment for their iniquity rested on their bones, though the terror of these mighty ones was once in the land of the living. 28 But as for you, in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken and lie with those slain by the sword.

Meshech and Tubal, northern powers, join the assembly. Their story is the same: they were terrifying in their day, and now they are slain and uncircumcised in the pit. But a curious distinction is made in verse 27. They do not lie with another class of "mighty ones" who were buried with their weapons, a pagan honor for fallen warriors. This suggests degrees of dishonor even in Sheol. These particular nations receive a special measure of shame; the "punishment for their iniquity rested on their bones." Their sin finds them out in a particularly potent way. And then the address turns back to Pharaoh: "But as for you..." You will share this fate. You will be broken right in the middle of this inglorious company.

29 “There also is Edom, its kings, and all its princes, who for all their might are put with those slain by the sword; they will lie with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit.

Edom is next. As descendants of Esau, they had a special relationship with Israel, and a special history of animosity. Despite their "might," their kings and princes are all thrown onto the same heap. Their royal status means nothing here. They lie with the uncircumcised, a profound insult to a people who practiced circumcision but were outside the covenant of promise. Their physical sign did not save them because their hearts were far from God.

30 “There also are the chiefs of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who in spite of the terror resulting from their might, in shame went down with the slain. So they lay down uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bore their dishonor with those who go down to the pit.

The list concludes with the "chiefs of the north" and the Sidonians, representing the Phoenician powers. Their story is a carbon copy of the others. They had might, they caused terror, and now they are in shame. They bear their dishonor with everyone else in the pit. The repetition is the point. This is the universal end of all man-centered power. It doesn't matter what flag you fly or what language you speak; if you set yourself against God, your address will be the pit.

31 “These Pharaoh will see, and he will be comforted for all his multitude slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his military force,” declares Lord Yahweh. 32 “Though I put a terror of him in the land of the living, yet he will be made to lie down among the uncircumcised along with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his hordes,” declares Lord Yahweh.

Here is the climax, and it is drenched in divine irony. When Pharaoh arrives and sees this grand assembly of failed empires, he will be "comforted." What kind of comfort is this? It is the comfort of shared misery. It is the cold consolation of knowing you are not alone in your rebellion and ruin. It is the comfort of a man in a prison cell who is glad to see his rival thrown into the cell next to him. This is the only joy the ungodly have left: seeing others receive the same just condemnation. It is a comfort that is no comfort at all. And the final word belongs to God. "Though I put a terror of him in the land of the living..." God is sovereign even over the terror that pagan kings inspire. He raises them up as instruments for His purposes, and when He is done with them, He casts them down. Pharaoh and all his hordes will lie down exactly where God has decreed, among the uncircumcised, slain by the sword. The Lord Yahweh has spoken, and so it shall be.

Application

This chapter is a stark reminder that God judges nations. We live in an age that wants to privatize faith and dismiss the idea that God has anything to say about politics, borders, or national destinies. This passage says otherwise. Every nation that builds its identity on pride, military might, or economic prowess is building on sand. Every nation that puts "terror in the land of the living" will one day find itself in the pit, bearing its dishonor.

For Christians, the message is twofold. First, do not put your trust in princes, or in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation. Do not be intimidated by the "terror" of modern superpowers, whether they be military, cultural, or political. Their graves are already dug. Our ultimate citizenship is in a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Second, we must understand the meaning of being "circumcised" in the new covenant. It is not a physical mark, but a spiritual one, the circumcision of the heart performed by the Holy Spirit. To be outside of Christ is to be "uncircumcised" in the way that truly matters, and to share the fate of these fallen nations. The only escape from the pit is to be united by faith to the one who descended into the pit for us and rose again, leading captivity captive. Christ is the only king whose kingdom will have no end, and in Him is the only comfort that is not a cold and miserable lie.