Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt
Sing a funeral song or dirge, or compose one, to be sung by the mourning women, on account of the vast numbers of the inhabitants of Egypt that shall be slain; for the prophet himself would not mourn, but rejoice, on this occasion; but this is said to show the certainty of the destruction, and the lamentation that would be made on that account: and cast them down, even her and the daughters of the famous nations;
Egypt, and all those countries, and the inhabitants of them, that were in alliance and friendship with her; that is, declare by prophecy that they shall be cast down and destroyed, or be brought down from the height of grandeur and prosperity in which they now were: unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down to the pit;
not unto stately sepulchres built on high, such as were made for the kings of Egypt; but unto common pits or graves, dug in the lower parts of the earth, where the meaner and common sort of people were buried; there should be no distinction between them and others, they should have one common burial. The Targum is,
``son of man, prophesy concerning the multitude of Egypt, and break her, even her, and the villages of the mighty people; prophesy that they shall be delivered unto the lowest earth, with those that go down to the pit of the house of perdition.''