When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;

EZEKIEL 26:20KJV
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Ezekiel 26:20 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 26:20 mean?

Ezekiel 26:20 describes God’s warning to the city of Tyre that it will be brought down to the realm of the dead, joining ancient peoples in desolate places below the earth, so that it will no longer be inhabited, while God’s glory will remain in the land of the living. The verse contrasts Tyre’s coming destruction and emptiness with the continuing life and honor found elsewhere.

The prophet Ezekiel is speaking God’s message to Tyre, a wealthy and proud city, warning of its total downfall. The “pit” refers to the grave or the underworld, and the “low parts of the earth” means a place of ruin and abandonment. This verse is part of a prophecy against Tyre, showing that its fate will be like those long-gone peoples, cut off from the living world, while God’s presence and splendor remain among the living.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 26:20

  • “Pit” (בּוֹר, bor): This word often means a grave or a deep pit, symbolizing death or the underworld. Here, it emphasizes Tyre’s complete removal from the world of the living.
  • “Low parts” (תַּחְתִּיּוֹת, takhtiyyot): This term means the lowest or deepest places, often used for the underworld or places of utter ruin. It highlights the depth of Tyre’s coming fall.
  • “Desolate” (שְׁמָמָה, shemamah): This word means a place laid waste or abandoned. It underlines that Tyre will become empty and uninhabited, not just conquered.
  • “Glory” (צָב, tsav): This word means splendor or honor. The verse sets Tyre’s desolation in contrast to the ongoing glory that God will establish in the land of the living.

Why Ezekiel 26:20 matters

  • Ezekiel 26:20 clarifies that Tyre’s destruction is not just military defeat but a total removal from history, likened to being sent to the realm of the dead.
  • The verse emphasizes the contrast between the fate of the wicked (desolation and death) and the continuing presence of God’s glory among the living, showing a bigger picture of God’s justice.
  • Understanding the imagery of “the pit” and “low parts of the earth” helps modern readers see how ancient people viewed death and ruin, making the warning more vivid and serious.

Where else these words appear

“parts” Hebrew H8482 · used in 19 verses

  • Genesis 6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
  • Job 41:24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
  • Lamentations 3:55 I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.

“glory” Hebrew H6643 · used in 32 verses

  • Deuteronomy 12:15 Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.
  • Song of Solomon 2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
  • Isaiah 28:4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.

“desolate” Hebrew H2723 · used in 42 verses

  • Leviticus 26:31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
  • Isaiah 58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
  • Ezekiel 13:4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

“pit” Hebrew H953 · used in 64 verses

  • Genesis 37:20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
  • 1 Chronicles 11:18 And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD,
  • Jeremiah 6:7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief and wounds.