Ezekiel 28

The Fall of Tyre's Ruler

1 The word of the Lord came to me:

2 "Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre: This is what the Lord God says: Your^[a] heart is proud, and you have said: I am a god;^[b] I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea. Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.

3 Yes, you are wiser than Daniel;^[c] no secret is hidden from you!

4 By your wisdom and understanding you have acquired wealth for yourself. You have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries.

5 By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has become proud because of your wealth."

6 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Because you regard your heart as that of a god,

7 I am about to bring strangers^[d] against you, ruthless men from the nations. They will draw their swords against your magnificent wisdom and will defile your splendor.^[e]

8 They will bring you down to the Pit,^[f] and you will die a violent death in the heart of the sea.

9 Will you still say: I am a god, in the presence of those who kill^[g] you?^[h] Yet you will be [shown to be] a man, not a god, in the hands of those who kill you.

10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised^[i] at the hands of strangers.^[j] For I have spoken. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the declaration of the Lord God .

A Lament for Tyre's King

11 The word of the Lord came to me:

12 "Son of man, lament^[k] for the king of Tyre and say to him: This is what the Lord God says: You were the seal^[l] of perfection,^[m] full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.^[n]

13 You were in Eden,^[o] the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone covered you: carnelian, topaz, and diamond,^[p] beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire,^[q] turquoise^[r] and emerald.^[s] Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold;^[t] they were prepared on the day you were created.

14 You were an anointed guardian cherub,^[u] for^[v] I had appointed you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

15 From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways until wickedness was found in you.

16 Through the abundance of your trade,^[w] you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I expelled you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and banished you, guardian cherub,^[x] from among the fiery stones.

17 Your heart became proud because of your beauty; For the sake of your splendor^[y] you corrupted your wisdom. So I threw you down to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

18 You profaned your sanctuaries by the magnitude of your iniquities in your dishonest trade. So I sent out fire from within you, and it consumed you.^[z] I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of everyone watching you.

19 All those who know you among the nations are appalled at you.^[aa] You have become an object of horror and will never exist again."^[ab]

A Prophecy against Sidon

20 The word of the Lord came to me:

21 "Son of man, turn your face toward Sidon and prophesy against it.

22 You are to say: This is what the Lord God says: Look! I am against you, Sidon, and I will display My glory within you. They will know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments against her^[ac] and demonstrate My holiness through her.

23 I will send a plague against her and bloodshed in her streets; the slain will fall within her, while the sword is against her^[ad] on every side. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

24 "The house of Israel will no longer be hurt by^[ae] prickling briers or painful thorns^[af] from all their neighbors who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God .

25 "This is what the Lord God says: When I gather the house of Israel^[ag] from the peoples where they are scattered and demonstrate My holiness through them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their own land, which I gave to My servant Jacob.

26 They will live there securely,^[ah] build houses, and plant vineyards.^[ai] They will live securely when I execute judgments^[aj] against all their neighbors who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God."

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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit Because your
• [b]. Isa 14:14; 2 Th 2:4
• [c]. Dn 1:20; 2:20-23,28; 5:11-12
• [d]. Ezk 30:12
• [e]. Ezk 30:11
• [f]. Ezk 26:20; Isa 14:15
• [g]. Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg; other Hb mss read of the one who kills
• [h]. Ps 82:6-7
• [i]. Ezk 31:18; 32:30
• [j]. Ezk 30:12
• [k]. Ezk 27:2
• [l]. Or sealer
• [m]. Hb obscure
• [n]. Ezk 27:3
• [o]. Ezk 31:9,16,18; 36:35; Gn 2:8
• [p]. Hb obscure
• [q]. Or lapis lazuli
• [r]. Or malachite, or garnet
• [s]. Or beryl
• [t]. Ex 28:17-20; 39:10-13; Rv 21:19-20
• [u]. Ezk 10:2-19; Gn 3:24; Ex 25:18-22
• [v]. Or With an anointed guardian cherub
• [w]. Rv 18:16
• [x]. Or and the guardian cherub banished you
• [y]. Ezk 27:3-4
• [z]. Ezk 19:14
• [aa]. Ezk 26:16; 27:35
• [ab]. Ezk 26:21; 27:36
• [ac]. Ezk 5:10; 11:9; 25:11
• [ad]. Or within her by the sword
• [ae]. Lit longer have
• [af]. Nm 33:55
• [ag]. Ezk 20:41; 34:13; Ps 106:47
• [ah]. Ezk 34:25,28; 38:8; Jr 23:6
• [ai]. Ezk 11:3; Jr 32:15
• [aj]. Ezk 5:10; 11:9; 25:11

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.