Ezekiel 28

Tyre's King Overthrown

1 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,

2 "Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Because your heart is lifted up And you have said, '¹I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods In the heart of the seas '; Yet you are a ²man and not God, Although you make your heart like the heart of God -

3 Behold, you are wiser than ³Daniel; There is no * secret that is a match for you.

4 "By your wisdom and understanding You have acquired ⁴riches for yourself And have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries.

5 "By your great wisdom, by your ⁵trade You have increased your riches And your ⁶heart is lifted up because of your riches -

6 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have ⁷made your heart Like the heart of God,

7 Therefore, behold, I will bring ⁸strangers upon you, The ⁹most ruthless of the nations. And they will draw their swords Against the beauty of your wisdom And defile your splendor.

8 'They will bring you down to the pit, And you will die the ¹⁰death of those who are slain In the heart of the seas.

9 'Will you still say, "I am a god," In the presence of your slayer, Though you are a man and not God, In the hands of those who wound you?

10 'You will die the death of the ¹¹uncircumcised By the hand of strangers, For I have spoken!' declares the Lord GOD!""'

11 Again the word of the LORD came to me saying,

12 "Son of man, ¹²take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

13 "You were in ¹³Eden, the garden of God; ¹⁴Every precious stone was your covering: The ¹⁵ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your ¹⁶settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared.

14 "You were the ¹⁷anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy ¹⁸mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the ¹⁹stones of fire.

15 "You were ²⁰blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until ²¹unrighteousness was found in you.

16 "By the ²²abundance of your trade You were internally ²³filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire.

17 "Your heart was lifted up because of your ²⁴beauty; You ²⁵corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before ²⁶kings, That they may see you.

18 "By the multitude of your iniquities, In the unrighteousness of your trade You profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought ²⁷fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you, And I have turned you to ²⁸ashes on the earth In the eyes of all who see you.

19 "All who know you among the peoples Are appalled at you; You have become ²⁹terrified And you will cease to be ³⁰forever *.""'

Judgment of Sidon

20 And the word of the LORD came to me saying,

21 "Son of man, ³¹set your face toward ³²Sidon, prophesy against her

22 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, And I will be glorified in your midst. Then they will know that I am the LORD when I ³³execute judgments in her, And I will manifest My holiness in her.

23 "For ³⁴I will send pestilence to her And blood to her streets, And the ³⁵wounded will fall in her midst By the sword upon her on every side; Then they will know that I am the LORD.

24 "And there will be no more for the house of Israel a ³⁶prickling brier or a painful thorn from any round about them who scorned them; then they will know that I am the Lord GOD."

Israel Regathered

25 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "When I ³⁷gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and will manifest My holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will ³⁸live in their land which I gave to My servant Jacob.

26 "They will ³⁹live in it securely; and they will ⁴⁰build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I ⁴¹execute judgments upon all who scorn them round about them. Then they will know that I am the LORD 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.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 14:14; Isaiah 47:8; Ezekiel 28:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:4
• 2. Psalms 9:20; Psalms 82:6, 7; Isaiah 31:3; Ezekiel 28:9
• 3. Daniel 1:20; Daniel 2:20-23, 28; Daniel 5:11, 12
• 4. Ezekiel 27:33; Zechariah 9:2, 3
• 5. Ezekiel 27:12; Hosea 12:7, 8
• 6. Job 31:24, 25; Psalms 52:7; Ezekiel 28:2; Hosea 13:6
• 7. Exodus 9:17; Ezekiel 28:2
• 8. Ezekiel 26:7
• 9. Ezekiel 30:11; Ezekiel 31:12; Ezekiel 32:12; Habakkuk 1:6-8
• 10. Ezek 27:26, 27, 34
• 11. 1 Samuel 17:26, 36; Ezekiel 31:18; Ezekiel 32:30
• 12. Ezekiel 19:1; Ezekiel 26:17; Ezekiel 27:2
• 13. Genesis 2:8; Isaiah 51:3; Ezek 31:8, 9, 16; Ezekiel 36:35
• 14. Ezekiel 27:16, 22
• 15. Exodus 28:17-20
• 16. Isaiah 24:8; Isaiah 30:32
• 17. Exodus 25:17-20; Exodus 30:26; Exodus 40:9; Ezekiel 28:16
• 18. Ezekiel 20:40; Ezekiel 28:16
• 19. Ezekiel 28:13, 16; Revelation 18:16
• 20. Ezekiel 27:3, 4; Ezekiel 28:3-6, 12
• 21. Ezekiel 28:17, 18
• 22. Ezekiel 27:12
• 23. Ezekiel 8:17; Habakkuk 2:8, 17
• 24. Ezekiel 27:3, 4; Ezekiel 28:7
• 25. Isaiah 19:11
• 26. Ezekiel 26:16
• 27. Amos 1:9, 10
• 28. Malachi 4:3
• 29. Ezekiel 26:21; Ezekiel 27:36
• 30. Jeremiah 51:64
• 31. Ezekiel 6:2; Ezekiel 25:2
• 32. Genesis 10:15, 19; Isaiah 23:2, 4; Ezekiel 27:8
• 33. Ezekiel 28:26; Ezekiel 30:19
• 34. Ezekiel 38:22
• 35. Jeremiah 51:52
• 36. Numbers 33:55; Joshua 23:13; Isaiah 55:13; Ezekiel 2:6
• 37. Psalms 106:47; Isaiah 11:12, 13; Jeremiah 32:37; Ezekiel 20:41; Ezekiel 34:13, 27
• 38. Jeremiah 23:8; Jeremiah 27:11
• 39. Jeremiah 23:6; Ezekiel 34:25-28; Ezekiel 38:8
• 40. Jer 32:15, 43, 44; Amos 9:13, 14
• 41. Ezekiel 25:11; Ezekiel 28:22

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "ruler, prince"
• [b]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch
• [c]. Or "God"
• [d]. Lit were "the one sealing a pattern"
• [e]. Or "tambourines"
• [f]. Or "flutes"
• [g]. Or "guards"
• [h]. Lit "They filled your midst"
• [i]. Or "guardian"
• [j]. Lit "terrors"
• [k]. Or "glorify Myself"
• [l]. Or "be judged"
• [m]. Lit "ground"

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.