Ezekiel 28:18

18 From the abundance of thy iniquity, By the perversity of thy traffic, Thou hast polluted thy sanctuaries, And I bring forth fire from thy midst, It hath devoured thee, And I make thee become ashes on the earth, Before the eyes of all beholding thee.

Ezekiel 28:18 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 28:18

Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine
iniquities
Or, "thy palaces", as Kimchi; the palace of the king, and the palaces of the nobles, where much iniquity was committed, and which was the cause of their being defiled or destroyed by the Chaldeans; or it may design their sacred places, their temples, where their gods were worshipped, and idolatry committed. This may be applied to the places of religious worship among the Papists, their churches; which, instead of being adorned, are defiled with their images and image worship, and other acts of superstition and will worship: by the iniquity of thy traffic;
as by bringing in ill gotten goods into the sacred places of Tyre, as they were accounted, so by selling pardons; praying souls out of purgatory for money; by simony, or buying and selling ecclesiastical benefices; and such like spiritual merchandise in Roman churches: therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall
devour thee;
sin, and the punishment of it, as Kimchi; which, for sin committed in the midst of them, should consume as fire; or some from among themselves, that should stir up and cause internal divisions, which should issue in their ruin; as the unclean spirit that shall go out of the mouth of the beast, dragon, and false prophet, to gather the antichristian kings to battle, will end in their ruin, ( Revelation 16:14 Revelation 16:16 ) . The Targum is,

``I will bring people who are strong as fire, because of the sins of thy pride they shall destroy thee.''

Alexander, when he took Tyre, ordered all the inhabitants to be slain, excepting those that fled to the temples, and the houses to be set on fire ^F21; which literally fulfilled this prophecy; and which may also have respect to the destruction of Rome by fire, because of the sins committed in it, ( Revelation 18:8 ) : and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth, in the sight of all them
that behold thee;
the kings and merchants of the earth, who shall stand and look on the city as it is burning, and when reduced to ashes; which denotes the utter destruction of it, ( Revelation 18:9-11 Revelation 18:18 ) . The Targum is,

``I will give thee as ashes on the earth'

and shall be no more accounted of.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 Curtius, Hist. l. 4. c. 4. p. 75.

Ezekiel 28:18 In-Context

16 By the abundance of thy merchandise They have filled thy midst with violence, And thou dost sin, And I thrust thee from the mount of God, And I destroy thee, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire.

17 High hath been thy heart, because of thy beauty, Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom because of thy brightness, On the earth I have cast thee, Before kings I have set thee, to look on thee,

18 From the abundance of thy iniquity, By the perversity of thy traffic, Thou hast polluted thy sanctuaries, And I bring forth fire from thy midst, It hath devoured thee, And I make thee become ashes on the earth, Before the eyes of all beholding thee.

19 All knowing thee among the peoples Have been astonished at thee, Wastes thou hast been, and thou art not -- to the age.'

20 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,