Ezekiel 28:3

3 You think you are wiser than Danel, that no secret can be kept from you.

Ezekiel 28:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 28:3

Behold; thou art wiser than Daniel
That is, in his own opinion; or it is ironically said. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it by way of interrogation, "art thou not wiser than Daniel?" who was now at the court of Babylon, and was famous throughout all Chaldea for his knowledge in politics, his wisdom and prudence in government, as well as his skill in interpreting dreams. The Jews have a saying, that

``if all the wise men of the nations were in one scale, and Daniel in the other, he would weigh them all down.''
And perhaps the fame of him had reached the king of Tyre, and yet he thought himself wiser than he; see ( Zechariah 9:2 ) , antichrist thinks himself wiser than Daniel, or any of the prophets and apostles; he is wise above that which is written, and takes upon him the sole interpretation of the Scriptures, and to fix the sense of them: there is no secret that they can hide from thee;
as he fancied; he had sagacity to penetrate into the councils of neighbouring princes, and discover all plots and intrigues against him; he understood all the "arcana" and secrets of government, and could counterwork the designs of his enemies. Antichrist pretends to know all mysteries, and solve all difficulties, and pass an infallible judgment on things; as if he was of the privy council of heaven, and nothing was transacted there but he was acquainted with it, and had full knowledge of the mind of God in all things.

Ezekiel 28:3 In-Context

1 The Lord spoke to me.
2 "Mortal man," he said, "tell the ruler of Tyre what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to him: Puffed up with pride, you claim to be a god. You say that like a god you sit on a throne, surrounded by the seas. You may pretend to be a god, but, no, you are mortal, not divine.
3 You think you are wiser than Danel, that no secret can be kept from you.
4 Your wisdom and skill made you rich with treasures of gold and silver.
5 You made clever business deals and kept on making profits. How proud you are of your wealth!

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Danel; [or] Daniel [(see 14.14).]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.