Ezekiel 25-28
Amplified Bible
Judgment on Gentile Nations—Ammon
25 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the [a]Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 And say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God, for thus says the Lord God, “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate and against the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore, behold, I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession, and they will set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah [your chief city] a pasture for camels and [the cities of] the Ammonites a resting place for flocks [of sheep]. And you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.” 6 For thus says the Lord God, “Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the contempt, and malice, and spite of your soul against the land of Israel, 7 therefore, behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and will hand you over as prey and spoil to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you. Then you shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”(A)
Moab
8 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because [b]Moab and Seir (Edom) say, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the [pagan] nations,’ 9 therefore, behold, I will deprive the flank of Moab of its cities which are on its frontiers, the glory of the land, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon and Kiriathaim. 10 I will give it, along with the children of Ammon, to the people of the East as a possession, so that the children of Ammon will not be remembered among the nations [any longer]. 11 Thus I will execute judgment and punishment on Moab, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”(B)
Edom
12 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because [c]Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended and has incurred grievous guilt by taking revenge on them,” 13 therefore thus says the Lord God, “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and I will cut off and destroy man and beast. I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword. 14 I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom in accordance with My anger and My wrath, and they will know and experience My vengeance,” says the Lord God.(C)
Philistia
15 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because the [d]Philistines have acted revengefully and have taken vengeance [contemptuously] with malice in their hearts to destroy with everlasting hostility and hatred,” 16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the [e]Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. 17 I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes and chastisements and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance on them.”’”(D)
Judgment on Tyre
26 Now in the eleventh year, on the first [day] of the month [after the capture of King Jehoiachin], the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, because [f]Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gateway of the people is broken; she is open to me. I will be filled, now that she is a desolate waste,’ 3 therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea makes its waves crest. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her dust and debris from her and make her as bare as [the top of] a rock. 5 Her island in the midst of the sea will become a dry place to spread nets, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God, ‘and she will become a prey and a spoil for the nations. 6 Also Tyre’s daughters (towns, villages) [g]on the mainland will be killed by the sword, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.’”
7 For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north [h]Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots and with horsemen and a great army. 8 He will kill your daughters on the mainland with the sword, and he shall make siege walls against you and build a siege ramp against you and raise [a roof of] large shields [as a defense] against you. 9 He will direct the [shocking] blow of his battering rams against your walls, and he will tear down your towers with his crowbars. 10 Because of the great number of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls [O Tyre] will shake from the noise of the horsemen and the wagons and the chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached. 11 With the hoofs of his horses Nebuchadnezzar will trample all your streets; with the sword he will kill your people, and your strong pillars (obelisks) will fall to the ground. 12 Also they will take your riches as spoil and plunder your merchandise, and tear down your walls and your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timber and the debris [from your city] out in the water. 13 So I will silence your songs, and the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard. 14 I will make you [Tyre] a [i]bare rock; you will be a dry place on which to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,” says the Lord God.
15 Thus says the Lord God to Tyre, “Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter occurs in your midst? 16 Then all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones and remove their robes and take off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble again and again, and be appalled at you. 17 They will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for you and say to you,
‘How you have perished and vanished, O renowned city,
From the seas, O renowned city,
Which was mighty on the sea,
She and her inhabitants,
Who imposed her terror
On all who lived there!
18
‘Now the coastlands will tremble
On the day of your fall;
Yes, the coastlands which are by the sea
Will be terrified at your departure.’”
19 For thus says the Lord God, “When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and great waters cover you, 20 then I will bring you down with those who descend into the pit (the place of the dead), to the people of old, and I will make you [Tyre] live in the depths of the earth, like the ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory and splendor in the land of the living. 21 I will bring terrors on you and you will be no more. Though you will be sought, yet you will never be found again,” says the Lord God.
Dirge for Tyre
27 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 “Now you, son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for Tyre, 3 and say to Tyre, who lives at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, ‘Thus says the Lord God,
“O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
4
“Your borders are in the heart of the seas;
Your builders have perfected your beauty.
5
“They have made all your planks of fir trees from [j]Senir;
They have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6
“Of the oaks of Bashan they have made your oars;
They have made your deck of boxwood from the coastlands of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory.
7
“Your sail was of fine embroidered linen from Egypt
So that it became your distinguishing mark (insignia);
Your [ship’s] awning [which covered you] was blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah [of Asia Minor].
8
“The inhabitants of Sidon and [the island] of Arvad were your oarsmen;
Your skilled and wise men, O Tyre, were with you; they were your pilots.
9
“The elders of [k]Gebal and its skilled and wise men were with you, repairing your leaks;
All the ships of the sea with their mariners were with you to deal in your merchandise.
10 “Persia and Lud and Put (Libya) were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and the helmet on you; they gave you splendor. 11 The men of Arvad with your army were upon your walls, all around, and the Gammadim (men of valor) were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls, all around; they perfected your beauty.
12 “Tarshish [in Spain] was your customer and traded with you because of the abundance of your riches of all kinds; with silver, iron, tin, and lead they paid for your wares. 13 Javan (Greece), Tubal and Meshech (Asia Minor) traded with you; with the lives of men [taken as slaves] and vessels of bronze they paid for your merchandise. 14 Those from Beth-togarmah (Armenia) traded for your wares with [chariot] horses, war horses, and mules. 15 The men of [l]Dedan were your traders. Many coastlands were your markets; ivory tusks and ebony they brought to you in payment or as gifts. 16 [m]Aram traded with you because of the abundance of the goods you made. They paid for your merchandise with emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies. 17 Judah and the land of Israel, they were your traders; with the wheat of Minnith [in Ammon], cakes, honey, oil, and balm they paid for your goods. 18 [n]Damascus traded with you because of the abundance of your handiworks and the immense wealth of every kind, with the wine of Helbon [Aleppo] and the white wool [of Sachar in Syria]. 19 Vedan and Javan traded with yarn from Uzal [in Arabia] for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were among your merchandise. 20 Dedan traded with you in saddle blankets for riding. 21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, they were your customers for lambs, rams, and goats [favored by you]; for these they were your customers. 22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah [in Arabia], they traded with you; they paid for your wares with the choicest of all kinds of spices and all kinds of precious stones and gold. 23 Haran and Canneh and Eden [in Mesopotamia], the merchants of Sheba [on the Euphrates], Asshur and Chilmad traded with you. 24 They traded with you in choice fabrics and garments, in clothes of blue or violet and embroidered work, and in [treasures of] multi-colored damask and knotted carpets bound with tightly wound cords, which were among your merchandise. 25 The ships of Tarshish were the caravans for your merchandise,
And you [Tyre] were replenished and very glorious [heavily laden with an imposing fleet]
In the heart of the seas.
26
“Your rowers have brought you
Into great and deep waters;
The east wind has broken and shipwrecked you
In the heart of the seas.
27
“Your riches, your wares, your merchandise
Your oarsmen and your pilots,
Your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,
And all your men of war who are with you,
With all your company that is in your midst,
Will sink in the heart of the seas
On the day of your ruin.
28
“The pasture lands and the countryside will shake
At the [piercing] sound of the [hopeless, wailing] cry of your pilots.
29
“All who handle the oar,
The mariners and all the pilots of the sea
Will come down from their ships;
They will stand on the shore,
30
And they will make their voice heard [as they wail loudly] over you
And they will cry bitterly.
They will throw dust on their heads;
They will wallow in ashes.
31
“And they will make themselves [completely] bald for you
And wrap themselves in sackcloth;
And in bitterness of soul they will weep for you
With bitter mourning and wailing.
32
“In their wailing they will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for you
And sing a dirge for you:
‘Who is like Tyre,
Like her who is silent [destroyed] in the midst of the sea?
33
‘When your wares went out to the sea,
You met the desire, and the demand, and the necessities of many people;
You enriched the kings of the earth
With your abundant wealth and merchandise.
34
‘Now you are shattered by the seas
In the depths of the waters;
Your merchandise and all your crew
Have gone down with you.
35
‘All the inhabitants of the coastlands
Are aghast and appalled at you,
And their kings are horribly frightened and shudder;
Their faces twitch and pale.
36
‘The merchants among the people hiss at you [with malicious joy];
You have become a horror and a source of terrors.
You will cease to be [o]forever.’”’”
Tyre’s King Overthrown
28 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God,
“Because your heart is lifted up
And you have said and thought, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of the gods
In the heart of the seas’;
Yet you are [only] a man [weak, feeble, made of earth] and not God,
Though you [imagine yourself to be more than mortal and] think your mind is as [wise as] the mind of God—
3
Behold, you are [imagining yourself] wiser than Daniel;
There is no secret [you think] that is hidden from you;
4
With your [own] wisdom and with your [own] understanding
You have acquired your riches and power
And have brought gold and silver into your treasuries;
5
By your great wisdom and by your trade
You have increased your riches and power,
And your heart is proud and arrogant because of your wealth;
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God,
‘Because you have imagined your mind [to be]
Like the mind of God [having thoughts and plans like God Himself],(E)
7
Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers (Babylonians) upon you,
The most ruthless and violent of the nations.
And they will draw their swords
Against the beauty of your wisdom [O Tyre]
And defile your splendor.
8
‘They will bring you down to the pit [of destruction],
And you will die the death of all those who die
In the heart of the seas.
9
‘Will you still say, “I am a god,”
In the presence of him who kills you?
But you are [only] a man [made of earth] and not God,
In the hands of those who wound and profane you.
10
‘You will die the death of the uncircumcised [barbarian]
By the hand of strangers,
For I have spoken!’ says the Lord God.”’”
11 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God,
“You had the full measure of perfection and the finishing touch [of completeness],
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13
“You were in [p]Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The ruby, 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 [q]settings and your sockets,
Was in you.
They were prepared
On the day that you were created.(F)
14
“You were the anointed cherub who covers and protects,
And I placed you there.
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked in the midst of the stones of fire [sparkling jewels].(G)
15
“You were blameless in your ways
From the day you were created
Until unrighteousness and evil were found in you.
16
“Through the abundance of your commerce
You were internally filled with lawlessness and violence,
And you sinned;
Therefore I have cast you out as a profane and unholy thing
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 proud and arrogant because of your beauty;
You destroyed your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I lay you before kings,
That they might look at you.
18
“You profaned your sanctuaries
By the great quantity of your sins and the enormity of your guilt,
By the unrighteousness of your trade.
Therefore I have brought forth a fire from your midst;
It has consumed you,
And I have reduced you to ashes on the earth
In the sight of all who look at you.
19
“All the peoples (nations) who knew you
Are appalled at you;
You have come to a horrible and terrifying end
And will forever cease to be.”’”(H)
Judgment of Sidon
20 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her 22 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,
“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,
And I will show My glory and be glorified in your midst.
Then they will know [by personal experience] that I am the Lord when I bring judgment and punishment on her,
And I will manifest My holiness in her.
23
“For I will send virulent disease to her
And blood into her streets,
And the wounded will fall in her midst
By the sword upon her from every side,
And they shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.
24 And there will no longer be a briar or a painful thorn to prick the house of Israel from all those around them who treated them with contempt; then they will know [with clarity] that I am the Lord God.”
Israel Regathered
25 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “When I gather the house of Israel from the nations among whom they are scattered, and I manifest my Holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. 26 They shall live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgment on all those around them who despise them. Then they will know [with clarity and confidence] that I am the Lord their God.”’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 25:2 A nomadic, hostile people descended from Lot and his younger surviving daughter. They worshiped Molech.
- Ezekiel 25:8 These people were descendants of Lot and his elder surviving daughter. In general, they were far more civilized and peaceful than the Ammonites.
- Ezekiel 25:12 These people were descendants of Esau (later called Edom), the elder twin brother of Jacob (later called Israel). They settled south of the Dead Sea, southwest of Moab and east of Arabah.
- Ezekiel 25:15 The name of this coastal people was derived from Philistia, the country bordering the Mediterranean where they settled. It is believed that they were originally from the island of Crete, home of the Minoan civilization.
- Ezekiel 25:16 Probably another name for the Philistines, or a reference to another closely related group from Crete also living in Philistia.
- Ezekiel 26:2 Tyre, the Phoenician capital, was a major trading port established on the Mediterranean coast (Lebanon). An adjoining city was built on an island about a half mile off shore. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre, without success, for fifteen years (586-571 b.c.). To prevent Nebuchadnezzar from getting their valuables, the people of Tyre moved to the island city. The conqueror destroyed the city on the mainland and left. More than two centuries later, Alexander the Great, in 332 b.c., used the ruins of the old city, even scraping up the dust, to make a causeway to the island (then home to about 30,000 people) during a seven-month siege. In the following decades sand, silt and debris collected over the causeway and the island was joined to the mainland. Its most famous export was the purple dye derived from the murex, a marine snail, found along its shores.
- Ezekiel 26:6 Lit in the field.
- Ezekiel 26:7 See note Jer 21:2.
- Ezekiel 26:14 According to Herodotus, Tyre’s recorded history began in 2750 b.c. It was a fortified city in Joshua’s time (Josh 19:29), and later became a great maritime commercial center (Is 23:8). Yet Jeremiah (Jer 27:2-7; 47:4) and Ezekiel (Ezek 26:3-21; 28:6-10) both foretold the destruction of ancient Tyre. Tyre was attacked repeatedly by various ancient powers including the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, and the Romans.
- Ezekiel 27:5 A peak of Mount Hermon.
- Ezekiel 27:9 A city north of Sidon.
- Ezekiel 27:15 The first Dedanites to settle in Arabia may have sailed to Arabia from the island of Rhodes.
- Ezekiel 27:16 The people of the kingdom of Aram were descendants of Aram, the son of Shem, son of Noah (Gen 10:22, 23). The territory of the Arameans also included areas later identified as Syria and Mesopotamia.
- Ezekiel 27:18 The capital city of Aram.
- Ezekiel 27:36 As late as the thirteenth century a.d. the grandeur of the ancient city of Tyre was still visible. As time passed a large part of the western section of “the island” became covered by the sea, and early travelers told of seeing “houses, towers, and streets far down in the deep.” The site gradually disappeared; however, sporadic excavations (subject to the political climate) began in 1947, and many sections of the ancient city have been uncovered. Tyre is located about 50 miles south of Beirut.
- Ezekiel 28:13 This speech, though not addressed directly to Satan, seems to be spoken against his evil nature expressing itself in and through the human ruler who grants to himself the honors due only to God. Here may be seen also a foreshadowing of “the beast” who is to attribute to himself divine rights in the time of the end (Dan 7:8-28; 2 Thess 2:1-12; Rev 13; 19:20).
- Ezekiel 28:13 Or tambourines.
Revelation 10
Amplified Bible
The Angel and the Little Book
10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed in a cloud, with a rainbow (halo) over his head; and his face was like the sun, and his feet (legs) were like columns of fire;(A) 2 and he had a little book (scroll) open in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land;(B) 3 and he shouted with a loud voice, like the roaring of a lion [compelling attention and inspiring awe]; and when he had shouted out, the seven peals of thunder spoke with their own voices [uttering their message in distinct words].(C) 4 And when the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them down.”(D) 5 Then the angel whom I had seen standing on the sea and the land raised his right hand [to swear an oath] to heaven,(E) 6 and swore [an oath] by [the name of] Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be delay no longer,(F) 7 but [a]when it is time for the [b]trumpet call of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God [that is, His hidden purpose and plan] is finished, as He announced the gospel to His servants the prophets.(G)
8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking to me, and saying, “Go, take the book (scroll) which is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the little book. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”(H) 10 So I took the little book from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey; but once I had swallowed it, my stomach was [c]bitter.(I) 11 Then they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”(J)
Footnotes
- Revelation 10:7 Lit in the days of.
- Revelation 10:7 Lit voice.
- Revelation 10:10 I.e. John was encouraged by the Word of God but was saddened as he realized the approaching judgment on unbelievers.
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