Ezekiel 28
GOD’S WORD Translation
Judgment on the King of Tyre
28 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 2 “Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says:
In your arrogance you say,
“I’m a god. I sit on God’s throne in the sea.”
But you’re only human and not a god,
although you think you are a god.
3 You think that you are wiser than Daniel
and that no secret can be hidden from you.
4 Because you are wise and understanding,
you’ve made yourself rich.
You saved gold and silver in your treasuries.
5 Because of your great skill in trading,
you’ve made yourself very wealthy.
You have become arrogant because of your wealth.
6 “ ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says:
You think you are wise like God.
7 That is why I am going to bring foreigners against you,
the most ruthless foreigners among the nations.
They will draw their swords against your fine wisdom
and dishonor your greatness.
8 They will throw you into a pit,
and you will die a violent death in the sea.
9 You will no longer say that you are a god
when you face those who kill you.
You will be a human, not a god, in the hands of those who kill you.
10 You will die at the hands of foreigners like a godless person.
I have spoken,’ ” declares the Lord.
11 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 12 “Son of man, sing a funeral song for the ruler of Tyre. Tell him, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says:
You were the perfect example,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, God’s garden.
You were covered with every kind of precious stone:
red quartz, topaz, crystal,
beryl, onyx, gray quartz, sapphire,
turquoise, and emerald.
Your settings and your sockets
were made of gold when you were created.
14 I appointed an angel [a] to guard you.
You were on God’s holy mountain.
You walked among fiery stones.
15 Your behavior was perfect from the time you were created,
until evil was found in you.
16 You traded far and wide. You learned to be violent, and you sinned.
So I threw you down from God’s mountain in disgrace.
The guardian angel forced you out from the fiery stones.
17 You became too proud because of your beauty.
You wasted your wisdom because of your greatness.
So I threw you to the ground
and left you in front of the kings
so that they could see you.
18 You dishonored your own holy places
because of your many sins and dishonest trade.
So I set fire to you to burn you up.
I turned you into ashes on the ground
in the presence of all who saw you.
19 All the nations who knew you are horrified because of you.
You have come to a terrible end,
and you will never exist again.’ ”
Judgment on Sidon Means Hope for Israel
20 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 21 “Son of man, turn to Sidon and prophesy against it. 22 Tell it, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says:
I’m against you, Sidon.
I will show my greatness through you.
Then people will know that I am the Lord,
because I will punish you and show you how holy I am.
23 I will send a plague against you
and make blood flow in your streets.
Your people will fall dead.
People with swords will attack you from every side.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
24 The nation of Israel will no longer be hurt
by prickly thorns or sharp briars from everyone around them.
Then they will know that I am the Almighty Lord.
25 “ ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they were scattered, I will show that I am holy as the nations watch. The people of Israel will live in their own land, the land I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live there in safety. They will build homes and plant vineyards. They will live in safety when I punish all the surrounding people who treat them with scorn. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’ ”
Footnotes
- 28:14 Or “one of the cherubim.”
Ezekiel 28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 28
The Prince of Tyre. 1 [a]The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God:
Because you are haughty of heart,
you say, “I am a god!
I sit on a god’s throne
in the heart of the sea!”
But you are a man, not a god;
yet you pretend
you are a god at heart!
3 Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,[b]
nothing secret is too obscure for you!(A)
4 By your wisdom and intelligence
you made yourself rich,
filling your treasuries with gold and silver.
5 Through your great wisdom in trading
you heaped up riches for yourself—
your heart is haughty because of your riches.
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Because you pretend you are a god at heart,
7 Therefore, I will bring against you
strangers, the most bloodthirsty of nations.
They shall draw their swords
against your splendid wisdom,
and violate your radiance.(B)
8 They shall thrust you down into the pit:
you shall die a violent death
in the heart of the sea.
9 Then, face to face with your killers,
will you still say, “I am a god”?
No, you are a man, not a god,
handed over to those who slay you.
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
handed over to strangers,
for I have spoken—oracle of the Lord God.(C)
11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 Son of man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord God:
[c] You were a seal of perfection,
full of wisdom, perfect in beauty.(D)
13 In Eden, the garden of God, you lived;
precious stones of every kind were your covering:
Carnelian, topaz, and beryl,
chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, garnet, and emerald.
Their mounts and settings
were wrought in gold,
fashioned for you the day you were created.(E)
14 With a cherub I placed you;
I put you on the holy mountain of God,[d]
where you walked among fiery stones.
15 Blameless were you in your ways
from the day you were created,
Until evil was found in you.
16 Your commerce was full of lawlessness, and you sinned.
Therefore I banished you from the mountain of God;
the cherub drove you out
from among the fiery stones.(F)
17 Your heart had grown haughty
because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground,
I made you a spectacle
in the sight of kings.(G)
18 Because of the enormity of your guilt,
and the perversity of your trade,
you defiled your sanctuary.
I brought fire out of you;
it devoured you;
I made you ashes on the ground
in the eyes of all who see you.(H)
19 All the nations who knew you
are appalled on account of you;
You have become a horror,
never to be again.(I)
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 Thus says the Lord God:
Watch out! I am against you, Sidon;
I will win glory for myself in your midst.
They shall know that I am the Lord,
when I deliver judgment upon it
and manifest my holiness in it.
23 I will send disease into it;
blood will fill its streets,
Within it shall fall
those slain by the sword
raised against it on every side.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
24 No longer will there be a thorn that tears
or a brier that scratches for the house of Israel
From the surrounding neighbors
who despise them;
thus they shall know that I am the Lord.(J)
25 Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and I manifest my holiness through them in the sight of the nations, then they shall live on the land I gave my servant Jacob.(K) 26 They shall dwell on it securely, building houses and planting vineyards. They shall dwell securely while I execute judgment on all their neighbors who treated them with contempt; then they shall know that I, the Lord, am their God.(L)
Footnotes
- 28:1–10 Ezekiel mocks the arrogance of Tyre’s leader, who mistakes the city’s commercial success for evidence of his divinity. At the hands of a foreign army, commissioned by the only God worthy of the name, this leader dies a humiliating, unceremonious death.
- 28:3 Wiser than Daniel: see note on 14:14.
- 28:12–19 Ezekiel describes the leader of Tyre in language that recalls the imagery of Gn 2–3.
- 28:14 The holy mountain of God: the residence of gods in Israelite and non-Israelite myth; cf. Is 14:13. Fiery stones: associated with the divine presence; cf. Ez 1:13; Ps 18:13.
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