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Prophesy Against the King of Tyre

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

“Because your heart is lofty
And you have said, ‘(A)I am a god;
I sit enthroned in the seat of [a]gods
In the heart of the seas’;
Yet you are a (B)man and not God,
Although you make your heart like the heart of God—
Behold, you are wiser than (C)Daniel;
There is no secret that is a match for you.
By your wisdom and understanding
You have acquired (D)wealth for yourself
And have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries.
By your great wisdom, by your (E)trade
You have increased your wealth,
And your (F)heart is lofty because of your wealth—

Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh,

‘Because you have (G)made your heart
Like the heart of God,
Therefore, behold, I will bring (H)strangers upon you,
The (I)most ruthless of the nations.
And they will draw their swords
Against the beauty of your wisdom
And defile your splendor.
They will bring you down to the pit,
And you will die the (J)death of those who are slain
In the heart of the seas.
Will you still say, “I am a god,”
In the presence of the one who kills you,
Though you are a man and not God,
In the hands of those who slay you?
10 You will die the death of the (K)uncircumcised
By the hand of strangers,
For I have spoken!’ declares Lord Yahweh!”’”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 28:2 Or God

A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre

28 The Lord’s message came to me: “Son of man, say to the prince[a] of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Your heart is proud[b] and you said, “I am a god;[c]
I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas”—
yet you are a man and not a god,
though you think you are godlike.[d]
Look, you are wiser than Daniel;[e]
no secret is hidden from you.[f]
By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;
you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.
By your great skill[g] in trade you have increased your wealth,
and your heart is proud because of your wealth.
“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

Because you think you are godlike,[h]
I am about to bring foreigners[i] against you, the most terrifying of nations.
They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom,[j]
and they will defile your splendor.
They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die violently[k] in the heart of the seas.
Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you—
though you are a man and not a god—
when you are in the power of those who wound you?
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised[l] by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 28:2 tn Or “ruler” (NIV, NCV).
  2. Ezekiel 28:2 tn Heb “lifted up.” sn See Prov 16:5.
  3. Ezekiel 28:2 tn Or “I am divine.”
  4. Ezekiel 28:2 tn Heb “and you made your heart/mind (לֵב, lev) like the heart/mind of gods.”
  5. Ezekiel 28:3 sn Or perhaps “Danel” (so TEV), referring to a ruler known from Canaanite legend. See the note on “Daniel” in 14:14. A reference to Danel (preserved in legend at Ugarit, near the northern end of the Phoenician coast) makes more sense here when addressing Tyre than in 14:14.
  6. Ezekiel 28:3 sn The tone here is sarcastic, reflecting the ruler’s view of himself.
  7. Ezekiel 28:5 tn Or “wisdom.”
  8. Ezekiel 28:6 tn Heb “because of your making your heart like the heart of gods.”
  9. Ezekiel 28:7 sn This is probably a reference to the Babylonians.
  10. Ezekiel 28:7 tn Heb “they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom.”
  11. Ezekiel 28:8 tn Heb “you will die the death of the slain.”
  12. Ezekiel 28:10 sn The Phoenicians practiced circumcision, so the language here must be figurative, indicating that they would be treated in a disgraceful manner. Uncircumcised peoples were viewed as inferior and unclean. See 31:18 and 32:17-32, as well as the discussion in D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:99.