Ezekiel 28

A Prophecy Aimed at the King of Tyre

1 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

2 "Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because your heart was haughty, and you said, 'I [am] a god; I sit [in the] seat of [the] gods, I sit in [the] heart of [the] seas!' But you are a human, not a god, and you gave your heart to be like [the] heart of a god.

3 Look, are you wiser than Daniel, [so that] {no secret} is hidden [from] you?

4 By your wisdom and by your understanding you have gained for yourself wealth, and you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.

5 By the abundance of your wisdom in your trading you [have] increased your wealth and your heart was proud in your wealth." '"

6 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of your regarding your {mind} like [the] {mind} of a god,

7 therefore look! I [am] bringing strangers over you, [the most] ruthless of [the] peoples, and they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and they will defile your splendor.

8 They will thrust you down to the pit, and you will die {a violent death} in [the] heart of [the] seas.

9 {Will you indeed still say} "I [am] a god!" before the face of your killers? And [in fact] you [are] a human and not a god in the hand of {those who pierce you}.

10 You will die [the] death of [the] uncircumcised by the hand of strangers, for {I myself} have spoken!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

11 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

12 "Son of man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre, and you must say to him, 'thus says the Lord Yahweh: "You were a perfect model of an example, full of wisdom and perfect of beauty.

13 You were in Eden, the garden of God, and every precious stone [was] your adornment: carnelian, topaz and moonstone, turquoise, onyx and jasper, sapphire, malachite and emerald. And gold [was] the craftsmanship of your settings and your mountings in you; on the day when you were created they were prepared.

14 You were [an] anointed guardian cherub, and I placed you on {God's holy mountain}; you walked in the midst of stones of fire.

15 You [were] blameless in your ways from the day {when you were created}, until wickedness was found in you.

16 In the abundance of your trading, they filled the midst of you [with] violence, and you sinned; and I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I expelled you, [the] guardian cherub, from the midst of [the] stones of fire.

17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you ruined your wisdom because of your splendor. I threw you on the ground {before} kings; I have exposed you {for viewing}.

18 From the abundance of your iniquities in the dishonesty of your trading, I profaned your sanctuaries and I brought fire from your midst; it consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth {before the eyes of everyone who sees you}.

19 {All who know you} among the peoples are appalled over you; you have become [as] horrors, and {you shall cease to exist forever}." '"

20 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

21 "Son of man, set your face toward Sidon and prophesy against it,

22 and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] against you, Sidon, and I display my glory in the midst of you, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh {when I execute my judgments}, and I will show myself holy within it.

23 And I will send into it a plague, and blood will [be] in its streets. And [the] dead will fall in the midst of her by [the] sword [that is] against it from all around; and they will know that I [am] Yahweh.

24 And {there will not be any longer} [a] painful thorn and a sharp thornbush for the house of Israel from {anywhere around them} [from those] {who are despising them}, and they will know that I [am] the Lord Yahweh." '"

25 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples to which they were scattered [about] in them, and I show myself holy in them before the eyes of the nations, then they will live on their soil, which I gave to my servant Jacob.

26 And they will live on it in safety, and they will build houses, and they will plant vineyards, and they will live in safety when I execute my judgments on all {those who despise them from all around them}, and [then] they will know that I [am] Yahweh their God."

Ezekiel 28 Commentary

Chapter 28

The sentence against the prince or king of Tyre. (1-19) The fall of Zidon. (20-23) The restoration of Israel. (24-26)

Verses 1-19 Ethbaal, or Ithobal, was the prince or king of Tyre; and being lifted up with excessive pride, he claimed Divine honours. Pride is peculiarly the sin of our fallen nature. Nor can any wisdom, except that which the Lord gives, lead to happiness in this world or in that which is to come. The haughty prince of Tyre thought he was able to protect his people by his own power, and considered himself as equal to the inhabitants of heaven. If it were possible to dwell in the garden of Eden, or even to enter heaven, no solid happiness could be enjoyed without a humble, holy, and spiritual mind. Especially all spiritual pride is of the devil. Those who indulge therein must expect to perish.

20-26. The Zidonians were borderers upon the land of Israel, and they might have learned to glorify the Lord; but, instead of that, they seduced Israel to the worship of their idols. War and pestilence are God's messengers; but he will be glorified in the restoring his people to their former safety and prosperity. God will cure them of their sins, and ease them of their troubles. This promise will at length fully come to pass in the heavenly Canaan: when all the saints shall be gathered together, every thing that offends shall be removed, all griefs and fears for ever banished. Happy, then, is the church of God, and every living member of it, though poor, afflicted, and despised; for the Lord will display his truth, power, and mercy, in the salvation and happiness of his redeemed people.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "was"
• [b]. Literally "to say"
• [c]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [d]. Literally "all of hidden/secret"
• [e]. Or "by/through"
• [f]. Or "splendor"
• [g]. Literally "a death of a slain"
• [h]. Literally "Will you say, will you say"
• [i]. Or "slayers"
• [j]. Or "man"
• [k]. Literally "piercers/slayers of you"
• [l]. Literally "was"
• [m]. Literally "to say"
• [n]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [o]. Meaning of Hebrew uncertain
• [p]. Or "lapis lazuli"
• [q]. Literally "on the mountain of the holiness of God"
• [r]. Literally "being created you"
• [s]. Or "guarding"
• [t]. Literally "in the face of"
• [u]. Literally "to look at you"
• [v]. Literally "before the eyes of all seeing you"
• [w]. Literally "all of the knowers of you"
• [x]. Literally "there is not you until eternity"
• [y]. Literally "was"
• [z]. Literally "to say"
• [aa]. Or "mortal," or "son of humankind"
• [ab]. Literally "and not it will be again"
• [ac]. Or "against"
• [ad]. Literally "from all [of] all around them"
• [ae]. Literally "the ones despising them"
• [af]. Or "among"
• [ag]. Literally "the ones despising them"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 28

This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of the prince of Tyre; a lamentation for the king of Tyre; a denunciation of judgments on Zidon, and a promise of peace and safety to Israel. The order given the prophet to prophesy of the ruin of the prince of Tyre, Eze 28:1,2, the cause of his ruin, his pride on account of his wisdom and riches, which rose to such a pitch, as to make himself God, Eze 28:2-6, the manner in which his destruction shall be accomplished, Eze 28:7-10, the lamentation for the king of Tyre begins Eze 28:11,12, setting forth his former grandeur and dignity, Eze 28:13-15, his fall, and the cause of it, injustice and violence in merchandise, pride because of beauty and wisdom, and profanation of sanctuaries, Eze 28:16-19, next follow the judgments on Zidon, Eze 28:20-23, and the chapter is concluded with a promise of the restoration of the Jews to their own land, and of great tranquillity and safety in it, Eze 28:24-26.