Bible Strands
Ezekiel 32:21
Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol about Egypt and her allies: ‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Mighty chiefs in Sheol announce the fate of Egypt and her allies immediately following the prophetic declaration of her imminent military collapse.
The words — שׁאֹל (Sheol) denotes the abode of the dead, while יָרְדוּ (ya.re.Du) literally means "they have come down," marking the forced descent into that realm.
The thread — The descent to Sheol and the gathering of slain rulers recurs in Isaiah 14:9, where the grave stirs spirits to greet the fallen king, and in Ezekiel 32:27, which contrasts Egypt with warriors who do not lie dishonored. The motif of sudden divine descent appears in Numbers 16:30.
Why it lands — The text states that political power and military alliances cannot prevent final judgment, as even the mighty are reduced to the same grave as the defeated. It requires readers to accept that earthly dominance ends in the same fate as the uncircumcised and slain.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 14:9 Sheol beneath is eager to meet you upon your arrival. It stirs the spirits of the dead to greet you—all the rulers of the earth. It makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones.
- Ezekiel 32:27 They do not lie down with the fallen warriors of old, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were placed under their heads, whose shields rested on their bones, although the terror of the mighty was once in the land of the living.
- Numbers 16:30 But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”
- Psalms 9:17 The wicked will return to Sheol—all the nations who forget God.
- Psalms 55:15 Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.
- Proverbs 14:32 The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.
- Isaiah 1:31 The strong man will become tinder and his work will be a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the flames.
- Ezekiel 32:19 Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised!
- Ezekiel 32:24 Elam is there with all her multitudes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—those who went down uncircumcised to the earth below, who once spread their terror in the land of the living. They bear their disgrace with those who descend to the Pit.
- Luke 16:23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.