Ezekiel 26

Ezekiel Prophesies Against Tyre

1 And it was in the {eleventh} year, on the first [day] of the month, the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},
2 "Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, 'Ah! The gates of the peoples are broken; it has swung [open] to me; I shall be filled, [for] it lies in ruins!'
3 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Look! I [am] against you, Tyre, and I will bring up against you many nations like the stirring up of the sea {stirring up its waves}.
4 And I will destroy the walls of Tyre, and they will demolish its towers, and I will scrape away its earthen dirt from it, and I will make it into {a bare rock}.
5 It will become a place for spreading out dragnets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken,' {declares} the Lord Yahweh. 'And it will become as plunder for the nations,
6 and its daughters who [are] in the field with the sword, they will be killed; and they will know that I [am] Yahweh.'"
7 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] bringing to Tyre Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, from [the] north, [the] king of kings, with horse and with chariot and with horsemen and [his] assembly and many people.
8 Your daughters he will kill in the field with the sword, and he will place against you siege works, and he will build against you a siege ramp, and he will raise against you a shield,
9 and the thrust of his battering ram he will direct against your walls, and your towers he will break down with his weapons.
10 From the abundance of his horses he will cover you [with] their fine dust; at [the] sound of horseman and wheel and chariot your walls will shake, at his coming into your gates like the entrance of a city [that is] being broken through.
11 With the hooves of his horses he will trample all of your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and {your strong stone pillars} will tumble down to the earth.
12 And they will plunder your wealth, and they will loot your merchandise, and they will break down your walls, and the houses of your delight they will break down, and your stones and your timbers and your earthen dirt they will cast into the midst of [the] water.
13 And, I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres will not be heard any longer.
14 And I will make you into {a bare rock}, a place for [the] spreading out of dragnets. You will not be built again, for I, Yahweh, I have spoken," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.
15 Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Tyre, "Will not the coastlands shake from the sound of your downfall, at [the] groaning of the wounded, {at people being killed} in the midst of you?
16 And all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones, and they will remove their robes, and their {beautiful garments} [of] finished cloth they will take off. With terror they will be clothed, and on the ground they will sit, and they will tremble {continually}, and they will be appalled over you.
17 And they will raise a lament over you, and they will say to you, 'How you have been lost [who was] inhabited from [the] seas; the city that was praised, that was strong. It [is] [located] on the sea, and its inhabitants imposed their terror {on all of its inhabitants}.
18 Now the coastlands will tremble [at] the day of your downfall, and the islands that [are] in the sea will be horrified because of your departure.'"
19 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "When I make you a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited, when bringing up over you the deep, the {great surging waters} will cover you.
20 And I will bring you down with [those who are] going down to the grave, {an ancient people}, and I will cause you to dwell in the world of [the] depths, in the ruins from of old with [those who are] going down to [the] grave, so that you will not be inhabited and {have a place} in [the] land of [the] living.
21 Sudden terrors I will bring [on] you, and you shall no [longer exist]; and you will be sought, and you will not be found again {forever}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

Ezekiel 26 Commentary

Chapter 26

A prophecy against Tyre.

Verses 1-14 To be secretly pleased with the death or decay of others, when we are likely to get by it; or with their fall, when we may thrive upon it, is a sin that easily besets us, yet is not thought so bad as really it is. But it comes from a selfish, covetous principle, and from that love of the world as our happiness, which the love of God expressly forbids. He often blasts the projects of those who would raise themselves on the ruin of others. The maxims most current in the trading world, are directly opposed to the law of God. But he will show himself against the money-loving, selfish traders, whose hearts, like those of Tyre, are hardened by the love of riches. Men have little cause to glory in things which stir up the envy and rapacity of others, and which are continually shifting from one to another; and in getting, keeping, and spending which, men provoke that God whose wrath turns joyous cities into ruinous heaps.

Verses 15-21 See how high, how great Tyre had been. See how low Tyre is made. The fall of others should awaken us out of security. Every discovery of the fulfilment of a Scripture prophecy, is like a miracle to confirm our faith. All that is earthly is vanity and vexation. Those who now have the most established prosperity, will soon be out of sight and forgotten.

Footnotes 23

  • [a]. Literally "one ten"
  • [b]. Literally "was"
  • [c]. Literally "to say"
  • [d]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
  • [e]. Hebrew "because that"
  • [f]. Literally "[with respect to] its waves"
  • [g]. Literally "to barrenness of rock"
  • [h]. Literally "declaration of"
  • [i]. Hebrew "give"
  • [j]. Literally "the stone pillars of strength your"
  • [k]. Literally "to barrenness of rock"
  • [l]. Literally "declaration of"
  • [m]. Literally "at being killed a killing"
  • [n]. Literally "the garments of beautiful finished cloth"
  • [o]. Literally "for moments"
  • [p]. Literally "the waters the many"
  • [q]. Or "pit"
  • [r]. Literally "a people of eternity/endless ages"
  • [s]. Or "land"
  • [t]. Or "pit"
  • [u]. Hebrew "and I will give beauty in [the] land of [the] living"
  • [v]. Literally "to eternity/endless ages"
  • [w]. Literally "declaration of"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 26

This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of Tyre. The time of the prophecy, Eze 26:1, the cause of the destruction of it, rejoicing at the ruin of Jerusalem, Eze 26:2, the instruments of it, many nations, particularly the king of Babylon, Eze 26:3-7, the manner in which it shall be done, Eze 26:8-14, the lamentation of other isles, and the princes of them, on account of it, Eze 26:15-18, the utter destruction of it, so as never to be found any more, Eze 26:19-21.

Ezekiel 26 Commentaries

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.