Matthew Henry Commentary Ezekiel 32:17-32

"It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword; draw her away and all her multitudes. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Asshur is there and all her company; her graves are round about her; all of them slain, fallen by the sword; whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living. There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit. They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are round about her; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that are slain. There is Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude; their graves are round about them; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living. And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, that are gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are upon their bones; for [they were] the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. But thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain by the sword. There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who in their might are laid with them that are slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit. There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame; and they lie uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit. Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, saith the Lord Jehovah. For I have put his terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah." — Ezekiel 32:17-32 (ASV)

Various nations are mentioned as having gone down to the grave before Egypt, who are ready to give her a scornful reception; these nations had recently been ruined and devastated. But although Judah and Jerusalem were ruined and laid waste around this time, they are not mentioned here. Although they suffered the same affliction, and by the same hand, the benevolent purpose for which they were afflicted, and the mercy God reserved for them, altered its nature.

For them, it was not a going down to the pit, as it was for the heathen. Pharaoh will see and be comforted; but the comfort the wicked have after death is a poor comfort—not real, but only imaginary. The view this prophecy gives of ruined states reveals something about this present world and the dominion of death within it. Come and see the calamitous state of human life.

As if people did not die quickly enough, they are ingenious in finding ways to destroy one another. This also speaks of the other world; although the destruction of nations as such seems to be the primary intention, there is a clear allusion here to the everlasting ruin of unrepentant sinners. How people are deceived by Satan! What are the objects they pursue through scenes of bloodshed, and their many sins?

Surely a person troubles himself in vain, whether he pursues wealth, fame, power, or pleasure. The hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear the voice of Christ and will come forth; those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of damnation.