Ezekiel26
New International Version
1In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
2“Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’
3therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves.
4They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock.
5Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations,
6and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army.
8He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you.
9He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons.
10His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the warhorses, wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through.
11The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground.
12They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea.
13I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more.
14I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.
15“This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you?
16Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you.
17Then they will take up a lament concerning you and say to you: “‘How you are destroyed, city of renown, peopled by men of the sea! You were a power on the seas, you and your citizens; you put your terror on all who lived there.
18Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the islands in the sea are terrified at your collapse.’
19“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters cover you,
20then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place in the land of the living.
21I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
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