Ezekiel Chapter 28
1 The LORD's word came again to me, saying,
2 "Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, 'The Lord GOD 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 not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God-
3 behold, you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is hidden from you;
4 by your wisdom and by your understanding you have gotten yourself riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasures;
5 by 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 GOD says: "Because you have set your heart as the heart of God,
7 therefore, 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.
8 They will bring you down to the pit. You will die the death of those who are slain in the heart of the seas.
9 Will 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.
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers; for I have spoken it," says the Lord GOD.' "
11 Moreover the LORD's word came to me, saying,
12 "Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, 'The Lord GOD says: "You were the seal of full measure, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 You 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.
14 You 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.
15 You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.
16 By 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.
17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendour. I have cast you to the ground. I have laid you before kings, that they may see you.
18 By 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.
19 All those who know you amongst the peoples will be astonished at you. You have become a terror, and you will exist no more." ' "
20 The LORD's word came to me, saying,
21 "Son of man, set your face towards Sidon, and prophesy against it,
22 and say, 'The Lord GOD says: "Behold, I am against you, Sidon. I will be glorified amongst you. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have executed judgements in her, and am sanctified in her.
23 For 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 the LORD.
24 " ' "There will be no more 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 GOD."
25 " 'The Lord GOD says: "When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples amongst whom they are scattered, and am sanctified in them in the sight of the nations, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to my servant Jacob.
26 They will dwell in it securely. Yes, they will build houses, plant vineyards, and will dwell securely, when I have executed judgements on all those who scorn them all around. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God." ' "
Footnotes
- Verse 13 (sapphire)
- or, lapis lazuli
Version: World English Bible
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Ezekiel Chapter 28 Guide
The prophecy concerning Tyre ended with a message to its prince and a lamentation for its king. A distinction must be drawn between these two. Most evidently the prince was the then reigning king, Ithobal. Great difficulty has been felt with regard to the remarkable description of the king which follows. It is most likely that from his height of inspired vision the prophet saw behind the actually reigning prince the awful personality of Satan, whose instrument Ithobal was. All the language used in reference to the king perfectly falls in with this interpretation of the prophet's meaning. Ezekiel declared that the sin of the prince was pride of heart, expressing itself finally in that he thought of himself as a god, and boasted accordingly. That he was a remarkable person is revealed by Ezekiel's declaration that he was wiser than Daniel. By this wisdom he had achieved the successes already described, and on account of it his heart had become lifted up. His judgment was to be that by humiliation and destruction, even to the pit, he would learn that he was a "man, and not God."
The prophet then took up his lamentation over the king of Tyre, of whom he declared that he sealed up the sum, being full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. He described his original appointment by God in poetic language full of suggestiveness. He then declared that his sin began in the day when unrighteousness was found in him, and violence became his method. On account of this unrighteousness he was cast out of the mountain of God. Because of his pride he was cast down in the presence of kings. For the multitude of his iniquities a fire devoured him, and he was burnt to ashes.
In this passage we have the prophet's message to Satan, and a brief parenthesis in which he declared the ultimate restoration of Israel. Satan would be involved in the overthrow of Tyre, and in the midst of her Jehovah would be glorified. All this was in order that there should be no more "a pricking brier" to the house of Israel.
This final declaration led the prophet to utter the brief word concerning the ultimate restoration of Israel. He declared in the name of Jehovah that the scattered ones would be gathered and set apart in the midst of the nations, dwelling securely there, and that in order that the people should know that Jehovah was their God.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Ezekiel Chapter 28 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- The sentence against the prince or king of Tyre. -- (1-19)
- The fall of Zidon. -- (20-23)
- The restoration of Israel. -- (24-26)
Verses 1-19
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.
Verses 20-26
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.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.