There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.

EZEKIEL 32:24KJV
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Ezekiel 32:24 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 32:24 mean?

Ezekiel 32:24 describes the nation of Elam and its people as being dead, lying around their grave after being killed in battle, having gone down to the underworld in shame and without honor, even though they once caused fear in others while alive. The verse says that, like others who have died violently, Elam now shares disgrace with those who descend to the pit.

The prophet Ezekiel is speaking God’s message to the people of Israel during their exile, using vivid imagery to show the fate of foreign nations that opposed God. Here, Elam is pictured among the dead in the "nether parts of the earth," a poetic way of describing the realm of the dead, as a warning that even powerful nations who inspired terror will ultimately face shame and destruction.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 32:24

  • אֵילָם (Elam, 'Elam): This refers to an ancient kingdom east of Babylon, showing that God’s judgment is not limited to Israel’s immediate neighbors but reaches distant peoples as well.
  • חֶרְפָּה (kherpah, "shame"): The word for "shame" emphasizes not just defeat in battle but lasting disgrace, highlighting the reversal of fortune for those who once caused terror.
  • בּוֹר (bor, "pit"): This word often means a grave or the underworld, reinforcing the idea that these nations now share the same fate as all the dead, no matter their former power or reputation.

Why Ezekiel 32:24 matters

  • Ezekiel 32:24 clarifies that God’s judgment is universal, extending beyond Israel to powerful foreign nations like Elam, which might otherwise seem untouchable.
  • The verse highlights the theme of reversal: those who once caused fear and terror are now themselves shamed and powerless in death.
  • This passage connects to the larger section in Ezekiel where various nations are pictured in the underworld, serving as a warning that pride and violence lead to the same end for all.

Where else these words appear

“terror” Hebrew H2851 · used in 8 verses

  • Ezekiel 26:17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!
  • Ezekiel 32:25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain.
  • Ezekiel 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

“grave” Hebrew H6900 · used in 13 verses

  • Genesis 35:20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
  • 2 Kings 9:28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.
  • Ecclesiastes 6:3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.

“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.

“Elam” Hebrew H5867 · used in 27 verses

  • Genesis 10:22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.
  • Ezra 8:7 And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.
  • Isaiah 22:6 And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.