Ezekiel 28WEB
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Ezekiel28

World English Bible · Public Domain

1Yahweh’s word came again to me, saying,

2“Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the middle of the seas;’ yet you are man, and no god, though you set your heart as the heart of a god—

3behold, you are wiser than Daniel. There is no secret that is hidden from you.

4By your wisdom and by your understanding you have gotten yourself riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasuries.

5By your great wisdom and by your trading you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches—”

6“‘therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “Because you have set your heart as the heart of God,

7therefore, behold, I will bring strangers on you, the terrible of the nations. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom. They will defile your brightness.

8They will bring you down to the pit. You will die the death of those who are slain in the heart of the seas.

9Will you yet say before him who kills you, ‘I am God’? But you are man, and not God, in the hand of him who wounds you.

10You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers; for I have spoken it,” says the Lord Yahweh.’”

11Moreover Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,

12“Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “You were the seal of full measure, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

13You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. They were prepared in the day that you were created.

14You were the anointed cherub who covers. Then I set you up on the holy mountain of God. You have walked up and down in the middle of the stones of fire.

15You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.

16By the abundance of your commerce, your insides were filled with violence, and you have sinned. Therefore I have cast you as profane out of God’s mountain. I have destroyed you, covering cherub, from the middle of the stones of fire.

17Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I have cast you to the ground. I have laid you before kings, that they may see you.

18By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your commerce, you have profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought out a fire from the middle of you. It has devoured you. I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all those who see you.

19All those who know you among the peoples will be astonished at you. You have become a terror, and you will exist no more.”’”

20Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,

21“Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against it,

22and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against you, Sidon. I will be glorified among you. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I have executed judgments in her, and am sanctified in her.

23For I will send pestilence into her, and blood into her streets. The wounded will fall within her, with the sword on her on every side. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.

24“‘“There will no longer be a pricking brier to the house of Israel, nor a hurting thorn of any that are around them that scorned them. Then they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.”

25“‘The Lord Yahweh says: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am shown as holy among them in the sight of the nations, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to my servant Jacob.

26They will dwell in it securely. Yes, they will build houses, plant vineyards, and will dwell securely when I have executed judgments on all those around them who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am Yahweh 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