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A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre

28 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, “Son of man, speak to Ethbaal. He is the ruler of Tyre. Tell him, ‘The Lord and King says,

“ ‘ “In your proud heart
    you say, ‘I am a god.
I sit on the throne of a god
    in the Mediterranean Sea.’
But you are only a human being. You are not a god.
    In spite of that, you think you are as wise as a god.
Are you wiser than Daniel?
    Isn’t even one secret hidden from you?
You are wise and understanding.
    So you have become very wealthy.
You have piled up gold and silver
    among your treasures.
You have used your great skill in trading
    to increase your wealth.
You are very rich.
    So your heart has become proud.” ’ ”

The Lord and King says,

“You think you are wise.
    In fact, you claim to be as wise as a god.
So I am going to bring outsiders against you.
    They will not show you any pity at all.
They will use their swords against your beauty and wisdom.
    They will strike down your shining glory.
They will bring you down to the grave.
    You will die a horrible death
    in the middle of the sea.
Then will you say, ‘I am a god’?
    Will you say that to those who kill you?
You will be only a human being to those who kill you.
    You will not be a god to them.
10 You will die just like those who have not been circumcised.
    Outsiders will kill you.

I have spoken,” announces the Lord and King.

11 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 12 “Son of man, sing a song of sadness about the king of Tyre. Tell him, ‘The Lord and King says,

“ ‘ “You were the model of perfection.
    You were full of wisdom.
    You were perfect and beautiful.
13 You were in Eden.
    It was my garden.
All kinds of jewels decorated you.
Here is a list of them:
    carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
    topaz, onyx and jasper,
    lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made out of gold.
    On the day you were created,
    they were prepared.
14 I appointed you to be like a guardian angel.
    I anointed you for that purpose.
You were on my holy mountain.
    You walked among the gleaming jewels.
15 Your conduct was without blame
    from the day you were created.
    But soon you began to sin.
16 You traded with many nations.
    You harmed people everywhere.
    And you sinned.
So I sent you away from my mountain in shame.
    Guardian angel, I drove you away
    from among the gleaming jewels.
17 You thought you were so handsome
    that it made your heart proud.
You thought you were so glorious
    that it spoiled your wisdom.
So I threw you down to the earth.
    I made an example out of you in front of kings.
18 Your many sins and dishonest trade
    made your holy places impure.
So I made you go up in flames.
    I turned you into nothing but ashes on the ground.
    I let everyone see it.
19 All the nations that knew you
    are shocked because of what happened to you.
You have come to a horrible end.
    And you will be gone forever.” ’ ”

A Prophecy Against Sidon

20 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 21 “Son of man, turn your attention to the city of Sidon. Prophesy against it. 22 Say, ‘The Lord and King says,

“ ‘ “Sidon, I am against your people.
    Among you I will display my glory.
I will punish your people.
    Among you I will prove that I am holy.
    Then you will know that I am the Lord.
23 I will send a plague on you.
    I will make blood flow in your streets.
Those who are killed will fall inside you.
    Swords will strike your people on every side.
    Then they will know that I am the Lord.

24 “ ‘ “The people of Israel will no longer have neighbors who hate them. Those neighbors will not be like sharp and painful thorns anymore. Then Israel will know that I am the Lord and King.” ’ ”

25 The Lord and King says, “I will gather the people of Israel together from the nations where they have been scattered. That will prove that I am holy. I will let the nations see it. Then Israel will live in their own land. I gave it to my servant Jacob. 26 My people will live there in safety. They will build houses. They will plant vineyards. They will live in safety. I will punish all their neighbors who told lies about them. Then Israel will know that I am the Lord their God.”

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.