Ezekiel 28:17

17 Thine heart lifted thee up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I will cast thee to the earth; I will expose thee before the kings, that they may behold thee.

Ezekiel 28:17 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 28:17

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty
Riches, wealth, power, and authority; see ( Ezekiel 28:5 ) , as the pope of Rome is, because of his dignity, the pomp and splendour of the Roman church, and the gaudy appearance it makes: thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness;
outward lustre and glory, which dazzled his eyes so that he could not see things in a true light; but neglecting the word of God, and setting up his own infallibility, corrupted his doctrine and worship, and became foolish, stupid, and sottish: I will cast thee to the ground;
from the throne and pinnacle of honour, to the lowest state and condition: and I will lay thee before kings:
prostrate at the feet of them, who heretofore has set his feet on the necks of them; or he shall fall before them, and be destroyed by them, when they shall hate the whore, and make her desolate, and burn her flesh with fire, ( Revelation 17:16 ) : that they may behold thee; with contempt and disdain, and as an instance and example of divine vengeance.

Ezekiel 28:17 In-Context

15 Thou wast perfect in all thy ways from the day that thou wast created, until iniquity was found in thee.

16 Because of the multitude of thy trafficking thou wast filled with violence, and thou hast sinned; and I cast thee out of the mountain of God, and I cast thee unto evil from among the stones of fire, O cherubim that wast covered.

17 Thine heart lifted thee up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I will cast thee to the earth; I will expose thee before the kings, that they may behold thee.

18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuary by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy trafficking; therefore I brought forth fire from the midst of thee, which has consumed thee, and I brought thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all those that behold thee.

19 All those that knew thee from among the peoples shall marvel over thee; thou hast been greatly disturbed, and thou shalt not exist again forever.