Ezekiel 26:1-14

A Prophecy against Tyre

1 In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, ^[a] on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ¹

2 “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken; it has swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will be filled,’

3 therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, O Tyre, I am against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.

4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock.

5 She will become a place to spread nets in the sea, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. She will become plunder for the nations,

6 and the villages on her mainland will be slain by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’

7 For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar ^[b] king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company of troops.

8 He will slaughter the villages of your mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp to your walls, and raise his shields against you.

9 He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his axes.

10 His multitude of horses will cover you in their dust. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots.

11 The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets. He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.

12 They will plunder your wealth and pillage your merchandise. They will demolish your walls, tear down your beautiful homes, and throw your stones and timber and soil into the water.

13 So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.

14 I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread the fishing nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the LORD, have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.’

Ezekiel 26:1-14 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Cross References

• 1. (Isaiah 23:1–18)

Footnotes

• [a] Likely reading of the original Hebrew text; MT In the eleventh year
• [b] Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant of Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon). The latter spelling is used throughout Ezekiel for consistency.