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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

A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre

28 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man(A), say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘In the pride of your heart
    you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne(B) of a god
    in the heart of the seas.”(C)
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
    though you think you are as wise as a god.(D)
Are you wiser than Daniel[a]?(E)
    Is no secret hidden from you?
By your wisdom and understanding
    you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
    in your treasuries.(F)
By your great skill in trading(G)
    you have increased your wealth,(H)
and because of your wealth
    your heart has grown proud.(I)

“‘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;(J)
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom(K)
    and pierce your shining splendor.(L)
They will bring you down to the pit,(M)
    and you will die a violent death(N)
    in the heart of the seas.(O)
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,(P)
    in the hands of those who slay you.(Q)
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised(R)
    at the hands of foreigners.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament(S) concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the seal of perfection,
    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.(T)
13 You were in Eden,(U)
    the garden of God;(V)
every precious stone(W) adorned you:
    carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
    topaz, onyx and jasper,
    lapis lazuli, turquoise(X) and beryl.[b]
Your settings and mountings[c] were made of gold;
    on the day you were created they were prepared.(Y)
14 You were anointed(Z) as a guardian cherub,(AA)
    for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
    you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created
    till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
    you were filled with violence,(AB)
    and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
    and I expelled you, guardian cherub,(AC)
    from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud(AD)
    on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
    because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
    I made a spectacle of you before kings.(AE)
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
    you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire(AF) come out from you,
    and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes(AG) on the ground
    in the sight of all who were watching.(AH)
19 All the nations who knew you
    are appalled(AI) at you;
you have come to a horrible end
    and will be no more.(AJ)’”

A Prophecy Against Sidon

20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 “Son of man, set your face against(AK) Sidon;(AL) prophesy against her 22 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I am against you, Sidon,
    and among you I will display my glory.(AM)
You will know that I am the Lord,
    when I inflict punishment(AN) on you
    and within you am proved to be holy.(AO)
23 I will send a plague upon you
    and make blood flow in your streets.
The slain will fall within you,
    with the sword against you on every side.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.(AP)

24 “‘No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns.(AQ) Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

25 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I gather(AR) the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered,(AS) I will be proved holy(AT) through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.(AU) 26 They will live there in safety(AV) and will build houses and plant(AW) vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment(AX) on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.(AY)’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 28:3 Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature
  2. Ezekiel 28:13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
  3. Ezekiel 28:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

28 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,

Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:

Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:

With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:

By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:

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.

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

20 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

21 Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it,

22 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.

23 For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

24 And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord God.

25 Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.

26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.