Ezekiel 28

A Prophecy against the Ruler of Tyre

¹And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord Yahweh says:

Your heart is proud,

and you have said,

‘I am a god;

I sit in the seat of gods

in the heart of the sea.’

Yet you are a man and not a god,

though you have regarded your heart

as that of a god.

• EZK 28:2[NOTE]I AM DIVINE. Tyre's ruler thought his wealth made him divine. Herod heard the same praise and fell, Acts 12:21 to 23.

³Behold, you are wiser than Daniel;

no secret is hidden from you!

• EZK 28:3[NOTE]WISER THAN DANIEL. A jab at the king. Many read Daniel as the prophet, famous in Babylon for wisdom, Daniel 1:20. Others think of Danel, a wise king in old stories from Ugarit, north of Tyre. See the 14:14 note.

⁴By your wisdom and understanding

you have gained your wealth

and amassed gold and silver

for your treasuries.

⁵By your great skill in trading

you have increased your wealth,

but your heart has grown proud

because of it.

⁶Therefore this is what the Lord Yahweh says:

Because you regard your heart

as the heart of a god,

⁷behold, I will bring foreigners against you,

the most ruthless of nations.

They will draw their swords

against the beauty of your wisdom

and will defile your splendor.

• EZK 28:7[PROPHECY]Foreign nations would bring the proud ruler of Tyre down to a violent death → HISTORY: Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre about 586 to 573 BC, and Alexander took it in 332 BC. Recorded by Josephus and Arrian.MEDIUM

⁸They will bring you down to the Pit,

and you will die a violent death

in the heart of the seas.

⁹Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’

in the presence of those who slay you?

You will be only a man, not a god,

in the hands of those who wound you.

¹⁰You will die the death of the uncircumcised

at the hands of foreigners.

For I have spoken,

declares the Lord Yahweh.”

A Lament for the King of Tyre

¹¹Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹²“Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord Yahweh says:

‘You were the seal of perfection,

full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

• EZK 28:12[NOTE]THE KING OF TYRE. Now a lament full of Eden language: perfect, beautiful, a guardian cherub, until wickedness was found in him. See Who Is the Prince of Tyre?

¹³You were in Eden,

the garden of God.

Every kind of precious stone adorned you:

ruby, topaz, and diamond,

beryl, onyx, and jasper,

sapphire, turquoise, and emerald.

Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold,

prepared on the day of your creation.

• EZK 28:13[NOTE]THE STONES. They are almost the same as stones on the high priest's breastplate, Exodus 28:17 to 20.

¹⁴You were anointed as a guardian cherub,

for I had ordained you.

You were on the holy mountain of God;

you walked among the fiery stones.

¹⁵From the day you were created

you were blameless in your ways—

until wickedness was found in you.

¹⁶By the vastness of your trade,

you were filled with violence, and you sinned.

So I drove you in disgrace

from the mountain of God,

and I banished you, O guardian cherub,

from among the fiery stones.

¹⁷Your heart grew proud of your beauty;

you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor;

so I cast you to the earth;

I made you a spectacle before kings.

¹⁸By the multitude of your iniquities

and the dishonesty of your trading

you have profaned your sanctuaries.

So I made fire come from within you,

and it consumed you.

I reduced you to ashes on the ground

in the eyes of all who saw you.

¹⁹All the nations who know you

are appalled over you.

You have come to a horrible end

and will be no more.’”

A Prophecy against Sidon

²⁰Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ²¹“Son of man, set your face against Sidon and prophesy against her. ²²And you are to declare that this is what the Lord Yahweh says:

• EZK 28:20[PROPHECY]Against Sidon → HISTORY: When Persia's Artaxerxes III took Sidon about 345 BC, the people burned the city and over 40,000 died. Recorded by Diodorus 16.45.MEDIUM

‘Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,

and I will be glorified within you.

They will know that I am Yahweh

when I execute judgments against her

and demonstrate My holiness through her.

²³I will send a plague against her

and shed blood in her streets;

the slain will fall within her,

while the sword is against her on every side.

Then they will know that I am Yahweh.

²⁴For the people of Israel will no longer face a pricking brier or a painful thorn from all around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.’

The Restoration of Israel// Jeremiah 30:1–17

²⁵This is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they have been scattered, I will show Myself holy among them in the sight of the nations.

Then they will dwell in their own land, which I have given to My servant Jacob. ²⁶And there they will dwell securely, build houses, and plant vineyards. They will dwell securely when I execute judgments against all those around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am Yahweh their God.’”