Ezekiel 28:11-19

Common English Bible

¹¹The Lord’s word came to me: ¹²Human one, sing a lament for the king of Tyre. Say to him, The Lord God proclaims: You were full of wisdom and beauty, the image of perfection. ¹³You were in Eden, God’s garden. You were covered with gold and every precious stone: carnelian, topaz, and moonstone; beryl, onyx, and jasper; lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald. On the day that you were created, finely crafted pendants and engravings were prepared. ¹⁴You, a winged creature, were installed as a guardian. I placed you in God’s holy mountain where you walked among the stones of fire. ¹⁵From the day you were created until injustice was found in you, your ways were assured. ¹⁶But because of your trade, your oppressive business practices piled up, and you became impure. So I expelled you from God’s mountain. I removed you, winged creature, guardian, from among the stones of fire. ¹⁷You exalted yourself because of your beauty and corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I will cast you down to the earth in the sight of kings, and I will make a spectacle of you. ¹⁸Because of your corrupt trade, which surpassed your many other sins, you made your sanctuaries impure. Therefore, I will bring fire from your midst. When it has consumed you, I will turn you into dust on the earth in the sight of all who see you. ¹⁹Everyone among the peoples who knows you will be appalled because of you. You will become a terror. From that time on, you will be nothing.

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Ezekiel 28:11-19

Contemporary English Version

A Funeral Song for the King of Tyre

¹¹The Lord said:

¹²Ezekiel, son of man, sing a funeral song for the king of Tyre^[a] and tell him I am saying:

At one time, you were perfect,^[b] intelligent, and good-looking. ¹³You lived in the garden of Eden and wore jewelry made of brightly colored gems and precious stones. They were all set in gold^[c] and were ready for you on the day you were born. ¹⁴I appointed a winged creature to guard your home^[d] on my holy mountain, where you walked among gems that dazzled like fire.

¹⁵You were truly good from the time of your birth, but later you started doing wicked things. ¹⁶You traded with other nations and became more and more cruel and evil. So I forced you to leave my mountain, and the creature that had been your protector now chased you away from the jewels.

¹⁷It was your good looks that made you arrogant, and you were so famous that you started acting like a fool. That's why I threw you to the ground and let other kings sneer at you. ¹⁸You have cheated so many other merchants that your places of worship are corrupt. So I set your city on fire and burned it down. Now everyone sees only ashes where your city once stood, ¹⁹and the people of other nations are shocked. Your punishment was horrible, and you are gone forever.

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Footnotes

28.12 Tyre: See the note at 26.2.
28.12 you were perfect: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
28.13 They were all set in gold: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
28.14 I appointed a winged creature to guard your home: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

Ezekiel 28:11-19

New Life Version

Song of Sorrow for the King of Tyre

¹¹The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹²“Son of man, sing a song of sorrow for the king of Tyre, and tell him, ‘The Lord God says, “You were once the mark of what is perfect, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. ¹³You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every stone of great worth covered you: ruby, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, chrysolite, turquoise, and emerald. And you had beautiful objects of gold. They were made for you when you were made. ¹⁴You were the cherub who kept watch, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked among the stones of fire. ¹⁵You were without blame in your ways from the day you were made until sin was found in you. ¹⁶Through all your trading you were filled with bad ways, and you sinned. So I have sent you away in shame from the mountain of God and I have destroyed you and driven you out from the stones of fire, O cherub who kept watch. ¹⁷Your heart was proud because of your beauty. You made your wisdom sinful because of your beauty. So I threw you to the ground. I laid you in front of kings for them to see you. ¹⁸By all your wrong-doing and sinful trading you made your holy places sinful. So I made a fire come out from you, and it has destroyed you. I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you. ¹⁹All the nations who know you are filled with wonder and fear because of you. You have come to a bad end, and you will be no more forever.”’”

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Ezekiel 28:11-19

Easy-to-Read Version

¹¹The word of the Lord came to me. He said, ¹²“Son of man, sing this sad song about the king of Tyre. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

“‘You were the perfect man—
    so full of wisdom and perfectly handsome.
¹³You were in Eden, the garden of God.
You had every precious stone—
    rubies, topaz, and diamonds,
    beryls, onyx, and jasper,
    sapphires, turquoise, and emeralds.
And each of these stones was set in gold.
    You were given this beauty on the day you were created.
    God made you strong.
¹⁴You were one of the chosen Cherubs
    who spread your wings over my throne.
I put you on the holy mountain of God.
    You walked among the jewels that sparkled like fire.
¹⁵You were good and honest when I created you,
    but then you became evil.
¹⁶Your business brought you many riches.
    But they also put cruelty inside you, and you sinned.
So I treated you like something unclean
    and threw you off the mountain of God.
You were one of the chosen Cherubs
    who spread your wings over my throne.
But I forced you to leave the jewels
    that sparkled like fire.
¹⁷Your beauty made you proud.
    Your glory ruined your wisdom.
So I threw you down to the ground,
    and now other kings stare at you.
¹⁸You did many wrong things.
You were a very crooked merchant.
    In this way you made the holy places unclean.
So I brought fire from inside you.
    It burned you!
You burned to ashes on the ground.
    Now everyone can see your shame.

¹⁹“‘All the people in other nations
were shocked about what happened to you.
What happened to you will make people very afraid.
You are finished!’”

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Ezekiel 28:11-19

New King James Version

Lamentation for the King of Tyre

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

^(B)“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
¹³You were in ^(C)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 ^(D)your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

¹⁴“You were the anointed ^(E)cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on ^(F)the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
¹⁵You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till ^(G)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, ^(H)O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.

¹⁷“Your ^(I)heart was ^[a]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.
¹⁹All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
^(J)You have become a horror,
And shall be no ^(K)more forever.” ’ ”