The worst of the pagan - The most cruel and terrible of nations - the Chaldaeans.

The pomp of the strong - Compare Leviticus 26:19 "The strong" are those who pride themselves in imaginary strength.

Their holy places - What elsewhere is called "God's Holy place" is here "their holy places," because God disowns the profaned sanctuary. In the marginal rendering "they" must mean "the worst of the pagan."

The worst of the heathen - The Chaldeans; the most cruel and idolatrous of all nations.

Wherefore I will bring the worst of the Heathen,.... The Chaldeans, notorious for their cruelty, savageness, and barbarity:

and they shall possess their houses; which they have built, and thought to have lived and died in, and left them to their children for an inheritance; but the Chaldeans, and not their children, became their heirs, and inherited their houses and lands:

I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; or, "the pride of the mighty ones" (n); the noble and the rich; their wealth and substance, by which their pride and grandeur were supported, being takes away from them:

and their holy places shall be defiled; the temple, in which were the holy place, and the holy of holies: or, "they that sanctify them"; the priests that offered sacrifices, which only sanctified to the purifying of the flesh; even these holy persons and things, as well as holy places, would be defiled.

(n) "superbiam fortium", Calvin; "superbiam robustorum", Starckius.

Wherefore I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their {u} holy places shall be defiled.

(u) Which was the temple that was divided into three parts.

7:24 The pomp - The magnificence and glory, wherein they boasted; or the temple that the Jews gloried in.

their holy...: or, they shall inherit their holy places

24. worst of the heathen-literally, "wicked of the nations"; the giving up of Israel to their power will convince the Jews that this is a final overthrow.

pomp of . strong-the pride wherewith men "stiff of forehead" despise the prophet.

holy places-the sacred compartments of the temple (Ps 68:35; Jer 51:51) [Calvin]. God calls it "their holy places," because they had so defiled it that He regarded it no longer as His. However, as the defilement of the temple has already been mentioned (Eze 7:20, 22), and "their sacred places" are introduced as a new subject, it seems better to understand this of the places dedicated to their idols. As they defiled God's sanctuary, He will defile their self-constituted "sacred places."

7:23-27 Whoever break the bands of God's law, will find themselves bound and held by the chains of his judgments. Since they encouraged one another to sin, God would dishearten them. All must needs be in trouble, when God comes to judge them according to their deserts. May the Lord enable us to seek that good part which shall not be taken away.