Tyre’s King Overthrown

28 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, “Son of man, say to the [a]leader of Tyre, ‘The Lord [b]God says this:

“Because your heart is haughty
And you have said, ‘(A)I am a god,
I sit in the seat of [c]gods
In the heart of the seas’;
Yet you are a (B)mortal 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)riches for yourself
And have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries.
By your great wisdom, by your (E)trade
You have increased your riches,
And your (F)heart is haughty because of your riches—

Therefore this is what the Lord God says:

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

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 28:2 Or ruler, prince
  2. Ezekiel 28:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  3. Ezekiel 28:2 Or God

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.”

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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