What does "descend with those who go down to the Pit" signify?

Context of the Phrase

“I will bring you down with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of old. I will make you dwell in the lowest places of the earth, in ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will not be inhabited or stand in the land of the living.” Ezekiel 26:20

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Defining “the Pit”

• Hebrew bor speaks of a deep hole, cistern, or dungeon

• In prophetic passages it functions as a synonym for Sheol, the realm of the dead (Psalm 30:3; Isaiah 14:15)

• Always linked to death, judgment, and separation from life above

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Layers of Meaning in “descend with those who go down to the Pit”

• Literal physical death—bodies lowered into the earth

• Divine judgment—God Himself “brings down,” not mere natural causes

• Finality—placed “with…people of old,” joining previous generations already under judgment

• Shame and loss—removed from “the land of the living,” cut off from covenant blessings

• Corporate solidarity—no individual exception; the fall of proud Tyre (or Egypt, Assyria, etc.) mirrors the fate of every unrepentant nation and person

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Echoes in Other Passages

• Psalm 55:23 “But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction…”

• Ezekiel 31:16 “I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit…”

• Ezekiel 32:18 “Send them down…with those who go down to the Pit”

• Revelation 20:13-15 shows the final reality that the temporary abode of the dead gives way to the lake of fire

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Why the Image Matters

• Reminds that God judges pride, violence, and idolatry without partiality

• Underscores the certainty and irreversibility of divine sentence once carried out

• Highlights the contrast between the destiny of the rebellious and the hope promised to the faithful (Psalm 49:15, John 11:25-26)

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Personal Application

• View sin and rebellion with sober seriousness because their end is the Pit

• Praise the Lord for the salvation that rescues from this destiny (Colossians 1:13-14)

• Live in humility, remembering that every breath is a gift and that only those in Christ escape ultimate descent (Romans 8:1)