Ezekiel26
King James Version · Public Domain
1And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:
3Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.
4And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
5It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.
6And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
7For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
8He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.
9And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.
10By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.
11With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.
12And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.
13And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.
14And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
15Thus saith the Lord God to Tyre; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?
16Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.
17And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!
18Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.
19For thus saith the Lord God; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;
20When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;
21I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 26.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: A prophecy against Tyre. (1-21).
vv1-14
To be secretly pleased with the death or decay of others, when we are likely to get by it; or with their fall, when we may thrive upon it, is a sin that easily besets us, yet is not thought so bad as really it is. But it comes from a selfish, covetous principle, and from that love of the world as our happiness, which the love of God expressly forbids. He often blasts the projects of those who would raise themselves on the ruin of others. The maxims most current in the trading world, are directly opposed to the law of God. But he will show himself against the money-loving, selfish traders, whose hearts, like those of Tyre, are hardened by the love of riches. Men have little cause to glory in things which stir up the envy and rapacity of others, and which are continually shifting from one to another; and in getting, keeping, and spending which, men provoke that God whose wrath turns joyous cities into ruinous heaps.
vv15-21
See how high, how great Tyre had been. See how low Tyre is made. The fall of others should awaken us out of security. Every discovery of the fulfilment of a Scripture prophecy, is like a miracle to confirm our faith. All that is earthly is vanity and vexation. Those who now have the most established prosperity, will soon be out of sight and forgotten.
Key Words
שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)
אֶחָד: properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first
חֹדֶשׁ: the new moon; by implication, a month
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
אָדָם: ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)
צֹר: Tsor, a place in Palestine
עַל: above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם: Jerushalaim or Jerushalem, the capital city of Palestine
Cross References
Ezekiel 26Nebuchadnezzar's title 'king of kings' reflects the authority delegated to him by God.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Tyre's mocking 'Aha!' against ruined Jerusalem is the typical language of spiteful enemies.
Supported by JFB
Jeremiah's cup of wrath for Tyre parallels Ezekiel's judgment prophecy.
Supported by JFB
Ezekiel later details Nebuchadnezzar's actual thirteen-year arduous siege against Tyre.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The fall of mystical Babylon in Revelation draws heavily on Tyre's lost merchandise.
Supported by JFB
The cessation of songs and harps in judged Tyre prefigures Babylon's quietness.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The finality of Tyre's destruction is echoed in the violent throwing down of Babylon.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Identifies Tyre historically as the strong, ancient fortified city near Israel's border.
Supported by JFB
Isaiah's burden against Tyre mirrors the same themes of commercial pride and fall.
Supported by JFB
Ezekiel's standard imagery of proud nations brought down to the pit of the underworld.
Supported by JFB
Ezekiel's expanded lamentation on the same destruction of Tyre in the sea.
Supported by JFB
Historical confirmation of the captive kings held under Nebuchadnezzar's sovereign rule.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Repeats and emphasizes the decree of Tyre becoming a bare rock for drying nets.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Describes the terrifying swiftness and power of the Chaldean cavalry.
Supported by Matthew Poole