Ezekiel 28

Listen to Ezekiel 28

Prophecy Against the Prince of Tyre

1 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 ¹"Son of man, say to ²the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: ³"Because your heart is proud, and ⁴you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,' yet ⁵you are but a man, and no god, ⁶though you make your heart like the heart of a god--

3 ⁷you are indeed wiser ⁸than ⁹Daniel; no secret is hidden from you;

4 by your wisdom and your understanding ¹⁰you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;

5 by your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and ¹¹your heart has become proud in your wealth--

6 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ¹²Because you make your heart like the heart of a god,

7 therefore, behold, I will bring ¹³foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against ¹⁴the beauty of your wisdom and defile ¹⁵your splendor.

8 ¹⁶They shall thrust you down into the pit, ¹⁷and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas.

9 ¹⁸Will you still say, 'I am a god,' in the presence of those who kill you, though ¹⁹you are but a man, and no god, in the hands of those who slay you?

10 ²⁰You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; ²¹for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD."

A Lament over the King of Tyre

11 Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me:

12 ²²"Son of man, ²³raise a lamentation over ²⁴the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the signet of perfection,^[a] ²⁵full of wisdom and ²⁶perfect in beauty.

13 You were in ²⁷Eden, the garden of God; ²⁸every precious stone was your covering, ²⁹sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire,^[b]³⁰emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings.^[c] ³¹On the day that you were created they were prepared.

14 You were an anointed ³²guardian cherub. I placed you;^[d] you were on ³³the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.

15 You were blameless in your ways ³⁴from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.

16 In the abundance of ³⁵your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from ³⁶the mountain of God, and I destroyed you,^[e]³⁷O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 ³⁸Your heart was proud because of ³⁹your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.

18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so ⁴⁰I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth ⁴¹in the sight of all who saw you.

19 All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; ⁴²you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever."

Prophecy Against Sidon

20 The word of the LORD came to me:

21 ⁴³"Son of man, ⁴⁴set your face toward ⁴⁵Sidon, and ⁴⁶prophesy against her

22 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, ⁴⁷I am against you, O Sidon, and ⁴⁸I will manifest my glory in your midst. And ⁴⁹they shall know that I am the LORD ⁵⁰when I execute judgments in her and ⁵¹manifest my holiness in her;

23 for I will send ⁵²pestilence into her, and blood into her streets; and the slain shall fall in her midst, by the sword that is against her on every side. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

24 "And for the house of Israel ⁵³there shall be no more a brier to prick or ⁵⁴a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors ⁵⁵who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.

Israel Gathered in Security

25 "Thus says the Lord GOD: ⁵⁶When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and ⁵⁷manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, ⁵⁸then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob.

26 ⁵⁹And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, ⁶⁰when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors ⁶¹who have treated them with contempt. ⁶²Then they will know that I am the LORD their God."

PREVIOUS Ezekiel 27 NEXT Ezekiel 29

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.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 62

1. See Ezekiel 2:1
2. [ver. 12]
3. [Revelation 18:7]
4. [ver. 9]
5. Isaiah 31:3
6. ver. 6
7. [ver. 12; Zechariah 9:2]
8. Daniel 1:17
9. Ezekiel 14:14
10. [Zechariah 9:3]
11. [See ver. 2 above]
12. ver. 2
13. ver. 10; Ezekiel 7:21; Ezekiel 30:12; Ezekiel 31:12
14. [ver. 17]
15. [ver. 17]
16. [Ezekiel 32:18, 19]
17. [Ezekiel 32:20]
18. [ver. 2]
19. [See ver. 2 above]
20. Ezekiel 31:18; Ezekiel 32:19, 21, 24, 25
21. See Ezekiel 17:24
22. See Ezekiel 2:1
23. See Ezekiel 19:1
24. [ver. 2]
25. [ver. 3]
26. Ezekiel 27:3
27. Ezekiel 31:8, 9; See Isaiah 51:3
28. [Ezekiel 27:16]
29. Revelation 4:3; Revelation 21:19, 20
30. [Ezekiel 27:16]
31. ver. 15
32. Exodus 25:20; 1 Kings 8:7
33. [Ezekiel 20:40]
34. ver. 13
35. [ver. 5]
36. [See ver. 14 above]
37. [See ver. 14 above]
38. ver. 2, 5
39. [ver. 7]
40. [Ezekiel 30:8, 14, 16; Revelation 18:8]
41. [ver. 17]
42. Ezekiel 26:21; Ezekiel 27:36
43. See Ezekiel 2:1
44. See Ezekiel 6:2
45. See Isaiah 23:2
46. See Ezekiel 6:2
47. See Ezekiel 13:8
48. Ezekiel 39:13; [Ex. 14:4, 17, 18]
49. See Ezekiel 6:7
50. ver. 26
51. See Ezekiel 20:41
52. Ezekiel 38:22
53. Numbers 33:55; Joshua 23:13
54. [2 Corinthians 12:7]
55. Ezekiel 16:57
56. See Ezekiel 11:17
57. [See ver. 22 above]
58. Ezekiel 36:28; Ezekiel 37:25
59. Jeremiah 23:6; Jeremiah 32:37
60. ver. 22
61. [See ver. 24 above]
62. [See ver. 22 above]

Footnotes 5

[a]. The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain
[b]. Or lapis lazuli
[c]. The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain
[d]. The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain
[e]. Or banished you

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.