Proclamation Against the King of Tyre

28 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

“Because your heart is (A)lifted[a] up,
And (B)you say, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods,
(C)In the midst of the seas,’
(D)Yet you are a man, and not a god,
Though you set your heart as the heart of a god
(Behold, (E)you are wiser than Daniel!
There is no secret that can be hidden from you!
With your wisdom and your understanding
You have gained (F)riches for yourself,
And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;
(G)By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches,
And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),”

‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,
Behold, therefore, I will bring (H)strangers against you,
(I)The most terrible of the nations;
And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom,
And defile your splendor.
They shall throw you down into the (J)Pit,
And you shall die the death of the slain
In the midst of the seas.

“Will you still (K)say before him who slays you,
‘I am a god’?
But you shall be a man, and not a god,
In the hand of him who slays you.
10 You shall die the death of (L)the uncircumcised
By the hand of aliens;
For I have spoken,” says the Lord God.’ ”

Lamentation for the King of Tyre

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Son of man, (M)take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

(N)“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in (O)Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of (P)your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

14 “You were the anointed (Q)cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on (R)the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till (S)iniquity was found in you.

16 “By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you, (T)O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.

17 “Your (U)heart was [b]lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you.

18 “You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading;
Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth
In the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
(V)You have become a horror,
And shall be no (W)more forever.” ’ ”

Proclamation Against Sidon

20 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, (X)set your face (Y)toward Sidon, and prophesy against her, 22 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

(Z)“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon;
I will be glorified in your midst;
And (AA)they shall know that I am the Lord,
When I execute judgments in her and am (AB)hallowed in her.
23 (AC)For I will send pestilence upon her,
And blood in her streets;
The wounded shall be judged in her midst
By the sword against her on every side;
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

24 “And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or (AD)a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who (AE)despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.”

Israel’s Future Blessing

25 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “When I have (AF)gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am (AG)hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. 26 And they will (AH)dwell [c]safely there, (AI)build houses, and (AJ)plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.” ’ ”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 28:2 Proud
  2. Ezekiel 28:17 Proud
  3. Ezekiel 28:26 securely

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