Ezekiel 28NLT
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Ezekiel28

New Living Translation

1Then this message came to me from the Lord:

2“Son of man, give the prince of Tyre this message from the Sovereign Lord: “In your great pride you claim, ‘I am a god! I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.’ But you are only a man and not a god, though you boast that you are a god.

3You regard yourself as wiser than Daniel and think no secret is hidden from you.

4With your wisdom and understanding you have amassed great wealth— gold and silver for your treasuries.

5Yes, your wisdom has made you very rich, and your riches have made you very proud.

6“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you think you are as wise as a god,

7I will now bring against you a foreign army, the terror of the nations. They will draw their swords against your marvelous wisdom and defile your splendor!

8They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die in the heart of the sea, pierced with many wounds.

9Will you then boast, ‘I am a god!’ to those who kill you? To them you will be no god but merely a man!

10You will die like an outcast at the hands of foreigners. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

11Then this further message came to me from the Lord:

12“Son of man, sing this funeral song for the king of Tyre. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty.

13You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone— red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper, blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald— all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created.

14I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire.

15“You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you.

16Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you sinned. So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire.

17Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor. So I threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings.

18You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade. So I brought fire out from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.

19All who knew you are appalled at your fate. You have come to a terrible end, and you will exist no more.”

20Then another message came to me from the Lord:

21“Son of man, turn and face the city of Sidon and prophesy against it.

22Give the people of Sidon this message from the Sovereign Lord: “I am your enemy, O Sidon, and I will reveal my glory by what I do to you. When I bring judgment against you and reveal my holiness among you, everyone watching will know that I am the Lord.

23I will send a plague against you, and blood will be spilled in your streets. The attack will come from every direction, and your people will lie slaughtered within your walls. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord.

24No longer will Israel’s scornful neighbors prick and tear at her like briers and thorns. For then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

25“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Israel will again live in their own land, the land I gave my servant Jacob. For I will gather them from the distant lands where I have scattered them. I will reveal to the nations of the world my holiness among my people.

26They will live safely in Israel and build homes and plant vineyards. And when I punish the neighboring nations that treated them with contempt, they will know that I am the Lord their God.”

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 28.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: The sentence against the prince or king of Tyre. (1-19). The fall of Zidon. (20-23). The restoration of Israel. (24-26).

vv1-19

Ethbaal, or Ithobal, was the prince or king of Tyre; and being lifted up with excessive pride, he claimed Divine honours. Pride is peculiarly the sin of our fallen nature. Nor can any wisdom, except that which the Lord gives, lead to happiness in this world or in that which is to come. The haughty prince of Tyre thought he was able to protect his people by his own power, and considered himself as equal to the inhabitants of heaven. If it were possible to dwell in the garden of Eden, or even to enter heaven, no solid happiness could be enjoyed without a humble, holy, and spiritual mind. Especially all spiritual pride is of the devil. Those who indulge therein must expect to perish.

vv20-26

The Zidonians were borderers upon the land of Israel, and they might have learned to glorify the Lord; but, instead of that, they seduced Israel to the worship of their idols. War and pestilence are God's messengers; but he will be glorified in the restoring his people to their former safety and prosperity. God will cure them of their sins, and ease them of their troubles. This promise will at length fully come to pass in the heavenly Canaan: when all the saints shall be gathered together, every thing that offends shall be removed, all griefs and fears for ever banished. Happy, then, is the church of God, and every living member of it, though poor, afflicted, and despised; for the Lord will display his truth, power, and mercy, in the salvation and happiness of his redeemed people.

Cross References

Ezekiel 28

Antichrist's pride in claiming to sit as God in the temple mirrors the King of Tyre's self-deification.

Supported by JFB

v2Isaiah 14:13thematic

Matches the king of Babylon's boast to exalt his throne above the stars of God.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v3Daniel 1:20thematic

Daniel's historic wisdom, celebrated throughout the East, used here as an ironic standard of comparison.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v13Genesis 3:24allusion

Imagery of Eden and the protective cherubim guards who keep the way of life.

Supported by JFB

v13Exodus 28:17-20allusion

The list of nine precious stones matches the breastplate of the high priest.

Supported by JFB

v14Isaiah 14:12thematic

Parallel lament over a fallen majestic figure (Lucifer/Day Star) cast down for pride.

Supported by JFB

v24Numbers 33:55allusion

Israel's hostile neighbors historically acted as pricking briars and thorns in their sides.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v2Acts 12:22thematic

Herod Agrippa accepts divine honors, saying, 'the voice of a god,' and is instantly judged.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v3Daniel 2:48thematic

Daniel's public elevation in Babylon because of his God-given ability to reveal secrets.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v3Zechariah 9:2thematic

Zechariah notes that Tyre and Sidon were indeed very wise, though physically ruined.

Supported by JFB

v5Psalms 62:10thematic

Warning against setting one's heart upon riches when they increase, matching Tyre's sin.

Supported by JFB

v9Ezekiel 28:2thematic

Direct contrast to the prince's initial claim of deity when facing executioners.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v13Ezekiel 31:8thematic

Eden as the standard of ideal beauty and peerless majesty in Ezekiel's descriptions.

Supported by JFB

v22Leviticus 10:3thematic

God declares He will be sanctified and glorified in those who come near Him.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v24Joshua 23:13allusion

Joshua warns that Canaanite remnants will become scourges in Israel's sides and thorns.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v2Daniel 4:30thematic

Nebuchadnezzar's proud boast of building great Babylon by his own power and majesty.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v7Ezekiel 30:11thematic

Identifies the 'terrible of the nations' as the conquering Babylonian forces of Nebuchadnezzar.

Supported by JFB

v10Ezekiel 32:21thematic

The uncircumcised slain by the sword lie in the depths of Sheol.

Supported by JFB

v12Ezekiel 28:15thematic

Connects the King's initial perfection to his subsequent moral fall.

Supported by JFB

v22Ezekiel 36:23thematic

God sanctifying His great name before the nations through judgments and restoration.

Supported by Matthew Henry