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Chapter 28

The Prince of Tyre. [a]The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God:

Because you are haughty of heart,
    you say, “I am a god!
I sit on a god’s throne
    in the heart of the sea!”
But you are a man, not a god;
    yet you pretend
    you are a god at heart!
Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,[b]
    nothing secret is too obscure for you!(A)
By your wisdom and intelligence
    you made yourself rich,
    filling your treasuries with gold and silver.
Through your great wisdom in trading
    you heaped up riches for yourself—
    your heart is haughty because of your riches.
    Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Because you pretend you are a god at heart,
Therefore, I will bring against you
    strangers, the most bloodthirsty of nations.
They shall draw their swords
    against your splendid wisdom,
    and violate your radiance.(B)
They shall thrust you down into the pit:
    you shall die a violent death
    in the heart of the sea.
Then, face to face with your killers,
    will you still say, “I am a god”?
No, you are a man, not a god,
    handed over to those who slay you.
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
    handed over to strangers,
    for I have spoken—oracle of the Lord God.(C)

11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 Son of man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord God:

[c] You were a seal of perfection,
    full of wisdom, perfect in beauty.(D)
13 In Eden, the garden of God, you lived;
    precious stones of every kind were your covering:
Carnelian, topaz, and beryl,
    chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,
    sapphire, garnet, and emerald.
Their mounts and settings
    were wrought in gold,
    fashioned for you the day you were created.(E)
14 With a cherub I placed you;
    I put you on the holy mountain of God,[d]
    where you walked among fiery stones.
15 Blameless were you in your ways
    from the day you were created,
Until evil was found in you.
16     Your commerce was full of lawlessness, and you sinned.
Therefore I banished you from the mountain of God;
    the cherub drove you out
    from among the fiery stones.(F)
17 Your heart had grown haughty
    because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom
    because of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground,
    I made you a spectacle
    in the sight of kings.(G)
18 Because of the enormity of your guilt,
    and the perversity of your trade,
    you defiled your sanctuary.
I brought fire out of you;
    it devoured you;
I made you ashes on the ground
    in the eyes of all who see you.(H)
19 All the nations who knew you
    are appalled on account of you;
You have become a horror,
    never to be again.(I)

Against Sidon. 20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 Son of man, turn your face toward Sidon and prophesy against it. 22 Thus says the Lord God:

Watch out! I am against you, Sidon;
    I will win glory for myself in your midst.
They shall know that I am the Lord,
    when I deliver judgment upon it
    and manifest my holiness in it.
23 I will send disease into it;
    blood will fill its streets,
Within it shall fall
    those slain by the sword
    raised against it on every side.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
24 No longer will there be a thorn that tears
    or a brier that scratches for the house of Israel
From the surrounding neighbors
    who despise them;
    thus they shall know that I am the Lord.(J)

25 Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and I manifest my holiness through them in the sight of the nations, then they shall live on the land I gave my servant Jacob.(K) 26 They shall dwell on it securely, building houses and planting vineyards. They shall dwell securely while I execute judgment on all their neighbors who treated them with contempt; then they shall know that I, the Lord, am their God.(L)

Footnotes

  1. 28:1–10 Ezekiel mocks the arrogance of Tyre’s leader, who mistakes the city’s commercial success for evidence of his divinity. At the hands of a foreign army, commissioned by the only God worthy of the name, this leader dies a humiliating, unceremonious death.
  2. 28:3 Wiser than Daniel: see note on 14:14.
  3. 28:12–19 Ezekiel describes the leader of Tyre in language that recalls the imagery of Gn 2–3.
  4. 28:14 The holy mountain of God: the residence of gods in Israelite and non-Israelite myth; cf. Is 14:13. Fiery stones: associated with the divine presence; cf. Ez 1:13; Ps 18:13.

A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre

28 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man(A), say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘In the pride of your heart
    you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne(B) of a god
    in the heart of the seas.”(C)
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
    though you think you are as wise as a god.(D)
Are you wiser than Daniel[a]?(E)
    Is no secret hidden from you?
By your wisdom and understanding
    you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
    in your treasuries.(F)
By your great skill in trading(G)
    you have increased your wealth,(H)
and because of your wealth
    your heart has grown proud.(I)

“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Because you think you are wise,
    as wise as a god,
I am going to bring foreigners against you,
    the most ruthless of nations;(J)
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom(K)
    and pierce your shining splendor.(L)
They will bring you down to the pit,(M)
    and you will die a violent death(N)
    in the heart of the seas.(O)
Will you then say, “I am a god,”
    in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,(P)
    in the hands of those who slay you.(Q)
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised(R)
    at the hands of foreigners.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament(S) concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the seal of perfection,
    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.(T)
13 You were in Eden,(U)
    the garden of God;(V)
every precious stone(W) adorned you:
    carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
    topaz, onyx and jasper,
    lapis lazuli, turquoise(X) and beryl.[b]
Your settings and mountings[c] were made of gold;
    on the day you were created they were prepared.(Y)
14 You were anointed(Z) as a guardian cherub,(AA)
    for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
    you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created
    till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
    you were filled with violence,(AB)
    and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
    and I expelled you, guardian cherub,(AC)
    from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud(AD)
    on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
    because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
    I made a spectacle of you before kings.(AE)
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
    you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire(AF) come out from you,
    and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes(AG) on the ground
    in the sight of all who were watching.(AH)
19 All the nations who knew you
    are appalled(AI) at you;
you have come to a horrible end
    and will be no more.(AJ)’”

A Prophecy Against Sidon

20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 “Son of man, set your face against(AK) Sidon;(AL) prophesy against her 22 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘I am against you, Sidon,
    and among you I will display my glory.(AM)
You will know that I am the Lord,
    when I inflict punishment(AN) on you
    and within you am proved to be holy.(AO)
23 I will send a plague upon you
    and make blood flow in your streets.
The slain will fall within you,
    with the sword against you on every side.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.(AP)

24 “‘No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns.(AQ) Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

25 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I gather(AR) the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered,(AS) I will be proved holy(AT) through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.(AU) 26 They will live there in safety(AV) and will build houses and plant(AW) vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment(AX) on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.(AY)’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 28:3 Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature
  2. Ezekiel 28:13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
  3. Ezekiel 28:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.