Ezekiel 28:1-19

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 *.""'

Ezekiel 28:1-19 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Cross References 30

  • 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

Footnotes 10

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