“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Because you think you are wise,
    as wise as a god,
I am going to bring foreigners against you,
    the most ruthless of nations;(A)
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom(B)
    and pierce your shining splendor.(C)
They will bring you down to the pit,(D)
    and you will die a violent death(E)
    in the heart of the seas.(F)
Will you then say, “I am a god,”
    in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,(G)
    in the hands of those who slay you.(H)
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised(I)
    at the hands of foreigners.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

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Therefore thus says the Lord God,

‘Because you have imagined your mind [to be]
Like the mind of God [having thoughts and plans like God Himself],(A)

Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers (Babylonians) upon you,
The most ruthless and violent of the nations.
And they will draw their swords
Against the beauty of your wisdom [O Tyre]
And defile your splendor.

‘They will bring you down to the pit [of destruction],
And you will die the death of all those who die
In the heart of the seas.

‘Will you still say, “I am a god,”
In the presence of him who kills you?
But you are [only] a man [made of earth] and not God,
In the hands of those who wound and profane you.
10 
‘You will die the death of the uncircumcised [barbarian]
By the hand of strangers,
For I have spoken!’ says the Lord God.”’”

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“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Because you think you are as wise as a god,
    I will now bring against you a foreign army,
    the terror of the nations.
They will draw their swords against your marvelous wisdom
    and defile your splendor!
They will bring you down to the pit,
    and you will die in the heart of the sea,
    pierced with many wounds.
Will you then boast, ‘I am a god!’
    to those who kill you?
To them you will be no god
    but merely a man!
10 You will die like an outcast[a]
    at the hands of foreigners.
    I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

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Footnotes

  1. 28:10 Hebrew will die the death of the uncircumcised.

6-11 “‘Therefore, God, the Master, says:

“‘Because you’re acting like a god,
    pretending to be a god,
I’m giving fair warning: I’m bringing strangers down on you,
    the most vicious of all nations.
They’ll pull their swords and make hash
    of your reputation for knowing it all.
They’ll puncture the balloon
    of your god-pretensions.
They’ll bring you down from your self-made pedestal
    and bury you in the deep blue sea.
Will you protest to your assassins,
    “You can’t do that! I’m a god”?
To them you’re a mere mortal.
    They’re killing a man, not a god.
You’ll die like a stray dog,
    killed by strangers—
Because I said so.
    Decree of God, the Master.’”

11-19 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, raise a funeral song over the king of Tyre. Tell him, A Message from God, the Master:

“You had everything going for you.
    You were in Eden, God’s garden.
You were dressed in splendor,
    your robe studded with jewels:
Carnelian, peridot, and moonstone,
    beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald,
    all in settings of engraved gold.
A robe was prepared for you
    the same day you were created.
You were the anointed cherub.
    I placed you on the mountain of God.
You strolled in magnificence
    among the stones of fire.
From the day of your creation
    you were sheer perfection . . . 
    and then imperfection—evil!—was detected in you.
In much buying and selling
    you turned violent, you sinned!
I threw you, disgraced, off the mountain of God.
    I threw you out—you, the anointed angel-cherub.
    No more strolling among the gems of fire for you!
Your beauty went to your head.
    You corrupted wisdom
    by using it to get worldly fame.
I threw you to the ground,
    sent you sprawling before an audience of kings
    and let them gloat over your demise.
By sin after sin after sin,
    by your corrupt ways of doing business,
    you defiled your holy places of worship.
So I set a fire around and within you.
    It burned you up. I reduced you to ashes.
All anyone sees now
    when they look for you is ashes,
    a pitiful mound of ashes.
All who once knew you
    now throw up their hands:
‘This can’t have happened!
    This has happened!’”

* * *

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Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;

Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.

They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.

Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.

10 Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.

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