Ezekiel 26

The Downfall of Tyre

1 In the eleventh year, on the first [day] of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:

2 "Son of man, because Tyre said about Jerusalem: Good! The gateway to the peoples is shattered. She has been turned over to me. I will be filled [now that] she lies in ruins,

3 therefore this is what the Lord God says: See, I am against you, Tyre!^[a] I will raise up many nations against you, just as the sea raises its waves.

4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers.^[b] I will scrape the soil from her and turn her into a bare rock.

5 She will become a place in the sea to spread nets, for I have spoken." [This is] the declaration of the Lord God . "She will become plunder for the nations,

6 and her villages on the mainland will be slaughtered by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

7 For this is what the Lord God says: "See, I am about to bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a vast company of troops.

8 He will slaughter your villages on the mainland with the sword. He will set up siege works against you, and will build a ramp^[c] and raise a wall of shields against you.

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

10 His horses will be so numerous that their dust will cover you. 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 He will trample all your streets with the hooves of his horses. He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.

12 They will take your wealth as spoil and plunder your merchandise. They will also demolish your walls and tear down your beautiful homes. Then they will throw your stones, timber, and soil into the water.^[d]

13 I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard.

14 I will turn you into a bare rock, and you will be a place to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken." [This is] the declaration of the Lord God .

15 This is what the Lord God says to Tyre: "Won't the coasts and islands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan and slaughter occurs within you?

16 All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble continually, and be appalled^[e] at you.

17 Then they will lament^[f] for you and say of you: How you have perished, city of renown, you who were populated from the seas!^[g] She who was powerful on the sea, she and all of her inhabitants inflicted their terror.^[h]

18 Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your downfall;^[i] the islands in the sea are alarmed by your demise."

19 For this is what the Lord God says: "When I make you a ruined city like [other] deserted cities, when I raise up the deep against you so that the mighty waters cover you,

20 then I will bring you down [to be] with those who descend to the Pit,^[j] to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the underworld^[k] like^[l] the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or display [your] splendor^[m] in the land of the living.

21 I will make you an object of horror, and you will no longer exist.^[n] You will be sought but will never be found again." [This is] the declaration of the Lord God .

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

• [a]. Isa 23:1
• [b]. Am 1:10
• [c]. Lit ramp against you
• [d]. Ezk 27:12; Zch 9:3-4
• [e]. Ezk 27:35
• [f]. Ezk 27:2,32; 28:12
• [g]. Some LXX mss read How you were destroyed from the seas, city of renown!
• [h]. Lit and all her inhabitants who put their terror on all her inhabitants; Hb obscure
• [i]. Ezk 27:27
• [j]. Ezk 28:8; Isa 14:15
• [k]. Lit the lower parts of the earth
• [l]. Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss, Syr read in
• [m]. LXX reads or appear
• [n]. Ezk 27:36; 28:19

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.