Ezekiel 31:17
in Ezekiel 31They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They also went down into Sheol with him unto them that are slain by the sword; yea, they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the nations.
KJV
They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
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This verse in Ezekiel 31
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe must leave the king of Egypt to apply all this to himself, to see his own face in the looking-glass of the king of Assyria's sin, and to foresee his own fall through the perspective glass of his ruin,
This site's exposition
I caused mourning
on Ezekiel 31:15-17
The Lord marks the day of the fall with mourning fit for a funeral of cosmic scale. Fairbairn reads the descent language as the same underworld picture the book will use again over Egypt in the next chapter. The nations that had sheltered under Assyria's shadow go down with him.
This site's exposition
to those slain by the sword
Slain by the sword marks a violent death without honour. The phrase becomes the refrain of chapter 32's roll call of the dead. Egypt had its own allies, listed at 30:5, and they share the same fate.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 31.) And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his people: Whom are you like in your greatness? Behold, Assyria was like a cedar (or cypress) in Lebanon, beautiful in branches and dense with foliage, towering in height, and its top was among the thick foliage (or in the midst of clouds).
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They also went down to hell with him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They also went down into hell with him - Into remediless destruction.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| הֵ֗ם | hem | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| אִתּ֛וֹ | ʾito | with it | H854 → | 929 times |
| יָרְד֥וּ | yaredu | they went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| שְׁא֖וֹלָה | sheolah | Sheol towards | H7585 → | 66 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חַלְלֵי־ | chalei- | [those] slain of | H2491 → | 94 times |
| חָ֑רֶב | charev | a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| וּזְרֹע֛וֹ | uzeroo | and arm its | H2220 → | 91 times |
| יָשְׁב֥וּ | yashevu | [which] they dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְצִלּ֖וֹ | vetzilo | in shade its | H6738 → | 49 times |
| בְּת֥וֹךְ | betokh | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| גּוֹיִֽם׃ | goyim | [the] nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
הֵ֗םthey
hemH1992 →553 times
אִתּ֛וֹwith it
ʾitoH854 →929 times
יָרְד֥וּthey went down
yareduH3381 →381 times
שְׁא֖וֹלָהSheol towards
sheolahH7585 →66 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חַלְלֵי־[those] slain of
chalei-H2491 →94 times
חָ֑רֶבa sword
charevH2719 →413 times
וּזְרֹע֛וֹand arm its
uzerooH2220 →91 times
יָשְׁב֥וּ[which] they dwelt
yashevuH3427 →1079 times
בְצִלּ֖וֹin shade its
vetziloH6738 →49 times
בְּת֥וֹךְin among
betokhH8432 →418 times
גּוֹיִֽם׃[the] nations
goyimH1471 →561 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Mark 4:32But after it is planted, it grows to be the largest of all garden plants and puts forth great branches, so that the birds of the air nest in its shade.”
it leads to
- Daniel 4:20–22
The tree you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached the sky and was visible to all the earth,
- Daniel 4:10–14
In these visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this come to pass: There was a tree in the midst of the land, and its height was great.
- Ezekiel 31:3–10
Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.
- Daniel 4:20–22
Through
Psalms 9:17The wicked will return to Sheol— all the nations who forget God.
it leads to
- Psalms 50:22
Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
- Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
- Romans 2:8–9
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:7–9
and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
- Job 8:13
Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.
- Psalms 50:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel; Patrick Fairbairn, Ezekiel and the Book of His Prophecy and Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.