Prophecy against Tyre
28 This message came to me from the Lord: 2 “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…
3 Look! You’re wiser than Daniel, aren’t you?
No secret is too mysterious for you!
4 Your wisdom and understanding
brought you phenomenal wealth.
You’ve brought gold and silver
into your treasuries.
5 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.”
6 Therefore this is what the Lord God says:
“Because you’ve made your heart
like that of God
7 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.
8 They’ll send you down to the Pit,[f]
and you’ll die defiled in the depths of the sea.
9 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
- Ezekiel 28:2 Lit. Nagid; i.e. a senior officer entrusted with dual roles of operational oversight and administrative authority
- Ezekiel 28:2 Lit. tall
- Ezekiel 28:2 Lit. heart
- Ezekiel 28:2 I.e., an allusion to Tyre’s location on an island off the coast of Lebanon
- Ezekiel 28:7 Lit. swords
- Ezekiel 28:8 I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife
- Ezekiel 28:9 Lit. you’re in the hand
- Ezekiel 28:12 The Heb. lacks my
- Ezekiel 28:13 Lit. red
- Ezekiel 28:13 Or emerald
- Ezekiel 28:13 Lit. Tarshish; i.e. a yellow stone
- Ezekiel 28:13 Or lapis lazuli; a bright blue stone
- Ezekiel 28:15 Lit. ways
- Ezekiel 28:16 Or merchandizing
- Ezekiel 28:16 Lit. with violence
- Ezekiel 28:16 Lit. in your midst
- Ezekiel 28:18 Or merchandizing
- Ezekiel 28:21 Lit. face
- Ezekiel 28:21 I.e., the city personified as a woman
- Ezekiel 28:23 Lit. disease into her
- Ezekiel 28:23 Lit. the sword brought against
- Ezekiel 28:26 Lit. in her