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Proclamation against the King of Tyre

28 The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God:

Because your heart is proud
    and you have said, “I am a god;
I sit in the seat of the gods,
    in the heart of the seas,”
yet you are but a mortal and no god,
    though you compare your mind
    with the mind of a god.(A)
You are indeed wiser than Daniel;[a]
    no secret is hidden from you;(B)
by your wisdom and your understanding
    you have amassed wealth for yourself
and have gathered gold and silver
    into your treasuries.(C)
By your great wisdom in trade
    you have increased your wealth,
    and your heart has become proud in your wealth.(D)
Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Because you compare your mind
    with the mind of a god,(E)
therefore, I will bring strangers against you,
    the most terrible of the nations;
they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom
    and defile your splendor.(F)
They shall thrust you down to the Pit,
    and you shall die a violent death
    in the heart of the seas.(G)
Will you still say, “I am a god,”
    in the presence of those who kill you,
though you are but a mortal and no god,
    in the hands of those who pierce you?
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
    by the hand of foreigners,
    for I have spoken, says the Lord God.(H)

Lamentation over the King of Tyre

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me: 12 Mortal, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord God:

You were the signet of perfection,[b]
    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.(I)
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
    every precious stone was your covering,
carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone,
    beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire,[c] turquoise, and emerald;
    and worked in gold were your settings
    and your engravings.[d]
On the day that you were created
    they were prepared.(J)
14 You were a cherub;[e]
    I placed you on the holy mountain of God;
    you walked among the stones of fire.(K)
15 You were blameless in your ways
    from the day that you were created,
    until iniquity was found in you.(L)
16 In the abundance of your trade
    you were filled with violence, and you sinned,
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
    and I drove you out, O guardian cherub,
    from among the stones of fire.(M)
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
    you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
    I exposed you before kings,
    to feast their eyes on you.(N)
18 By the multitude of your iniquities,
    in the unrighteousness of your trade,
    you profaned your sanctuaries.
So I brought out fire from within you;
    it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
    in the sight of all who saw you.(O)
19 All who know you among the peoples
    are appalled at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
    and shall be no more forever.(P)

Proclamation against Sidon

20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 Mortal, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against it,(Q) 22 and say: Thus says the Lord God:

I am against you, O Sidon,
    and I will gain glory in your midst.
They shall know that I am the Lord
    when I execute judgments in it
    and manifest my holiness in it;(R)
23 for I will send pestilence into it,
    and bloodshed into its streets;
and the dead shall fall in its midst,
    by the sword that is against it on every side.
And they shall know that I am the Lord.(S)

24 The house of Israel shall no longer find a pricking brier or a piercing thorn among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the Lord God.(T)

Future Blessing for Israel

25 Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall settle on their own soil that I gave to my servant Jacob.(U) 26 They shall live in safety in it and shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall live in safety when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God.(V)

Footnotes

  1. 28.3 Or Danel
  2. 28.12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. 28.13 Or lapis lazuli
  4. 28.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  5. 28.14 Gk: Heb adds anointed guardian

Prophecy against Tyre

28 This message came to me from the Lord: “Son of Man, tell Tyre’s Commander-in-Chief,[a] ‘This is what the Lord God says:

“Because your heart is arrogant,[b]
    and because you keep saying,
‘I have taken my seat,
    I am a god,
        seated in God’s seat right in the middle[c] of the sea,’[d]
and because you’re a man,
    and not a god,
even though you pretend
    that you have a god-like heart…
Look! You’re wiser than Daniel, aren’t you?
    No secret is too mysterious for you!
Your wisdom and understanding
    brought you phenomenal wealth.
You’ve brought gold and silver
    into your treasuries.
By your great wisdom,
    by your skills in trading
you have amassed wealth for yourself
    and your heart has become arrogant
        because of your wealth.”

Therefore this is what the Lord God says:

“Because you’ve made your heart
    like that of God
Therefore, look!
    I’m bringing foreigners in your direction,
        the most terrifying of nations!
They will direct their violence[e]
    against the grandeur
        that you’ve created by your wisdom.
They’ll send you down to the Pit,[f]
    and you’ll die defiled in the depths of the sea.
Is that when you’ll say, ‘I’m God’
    to the face of those who will be killing you?
After all, you’re a man,
    and have never been a god,
especially when you’re under the control[g] of those
    who will defile you!
10 You will die a death fit for the uncircumcised
    at the hand of foreigners.”
‘for I have said it will be so,’
    declares the Lord.”

A Rebuke for Tyre’s King

11 Another message came to me from the Lord, and this is what it said: 12 “Son of Man, start singing this lamentation for the king of Tyre. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

“You served as my[h] model,
    my example of complete wisdom
        and perfect beauty.
13 You used to be in Eden—
    God’s paradise!
You wore precious stones for clothing:
ruby,[i] topaz, diamond,[j]
    beryl,[k] onyx, jasper,
        sapphire,[l] turquoise, and carbuncle.
Your settings were crafted in gold,
    along with your engravings.
On the day of your creation
    they had been prepared!

14 “You were the anointed cherub;
    having been set in place
on the holy mountain of God,
    you walked in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your behavior[m]
    from the day you were created
        until wickedness was discovered in you.
16 Since your vast business planning[n]
    filled you with violent intent[o]
from top to bottom,[p]
    you sinned,
so I cast you away as defiled
    from the mountain of God.
I destroyed you,
    you guardian cherub,
        from the midst of the fiery stones.
17 Your heart grew arrogant because of your beauty;
    you annihilated your own wisdom
        because of your splendor.
Then I threw you to the ground
    in the presence of kings,
        giving them a good look at you!
18 By all of your iniquity
    and unrighteous business planning[q]
you defiled your sanctuaries,
    so I’m going to bring out fire from within you
and burn you to ashes on the earth
    before the whole watching world!
19 Everyone who knows you
    throughout all the nations
will be appalled at your calamity
    and you will no longer exist forever.”’”

The Judgment of Sidon

20 Another message came to me from the Lord, who had this to say:

21 “Son of Man, turn your attention[r] to Sidon and prophesy against her.[s] 22 Tell her:

‘Pay attention to me, Sidon!
    I’m against you,
        and I’m going to glorify myself right in your midst.’
They’ll learn that I am the Lord
    when I carry out these punishments
        and manifest my holiness in her midst.

23 I’m going to send disease into that city[t]
    and blood into her streets.
People will drop dead in her midst
    from the violence done to[u] her from every side.
        Then they’ll learn that I am the Lord God.”

The Future Regathering of Israel

24 “The house of Israel will never again suffer from painful briers and sharp thorn bushes that surround them on every side, and they will learn that I am the Lord. 25 This is what the Lord God says:

‘When I gather the house of Israel from the nations to which I’ve scattered them, I will show them my holiness before the watching world, and they will live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live in safety in the land,[v] building houses and planting vineyards. They’ll live in safety while I judge everyone who maligns them among those who surround them. At that time they’ll learn that I am the Lord their God.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 28:2 Lit. Nagid; i.e. a senior officer entrusted with dual roles of operational oversight and administrative authority
  2. Ezekiel 28:2 Lit. tall
  3. Ezekiel 28:2 Lit. heart
  4. Ezekiel 28:2 I.e., an allusion to Tyre’s location on an island off the coast of Lebanon
  5. Ezekiel 28:7 Lit. swords
  6. Ezekiel 28:8 I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife
  7. Ezekiel 28:9 Lit. you’re in the hand
  8. Ezekiel 28:12 The Heb. lacks my
  9. Ezekiel 28:13 Lit. red
  10. Ezekiel 28:13 Or emerald
  11. Ezekiel 28:13 Lit. Tarshish; i.e. a yellow stone
  12. Ezekiel 28:13 Or lapis lazuli; a bright blue stone
  13. Ezekiel 28:15 Lit. ways
  14. Ezekiel 28:16 Or merchandizing
  15. Ezekiel 28:16 Lit. with violence
  16. Ezekiel 28:16 Lit. in your midst
  17. Ezekiel 28:18 Or merchandizing
  18. Ezekiel 28:21 Lit. face
  19. Ezekiel 28:21 I.e., the city personified as a woman
  20. Ezekiel 28:23 Lit. disease into her
  21. Ezekiel 28:23 Lit. the sword brought against
  22. Ezekiel 28:26 Lit. in her