The Word of the Lord to Ezekiel

Chapter 28

God's judgment upon the prince of Tyre for his sacrilegious pride, 1-10. A lamentation of his great glory corrupted by sin, 11-19. The judgment of Zidon, 20-23. The restoration of Israel, 24-26.

1 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,

2 "Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because your heart is lifted up, you have said, 'I am a god. I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas,' yet you are a 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 they can hide from you.

4 With your wisdom and with your understanding you have gained riches for yourself and have gained gold and silver into your treasures.

5 By your great wisdom and by your traffic you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches.

6 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have set your heart as the heart of God,

7 Therefore behold, I will bring strangers upon you, the terrible of the nations. And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and they shall defile your brightness.

8 They shall bring you down to the pit, and you shall die the deaths of those who are slain in the midst of the seas.

9 Will you yet say before him who slays you, "I am God"? But you shall be a man and no god in the hand of him who slays you.

10 You shall die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers. For I have spoken it,' says the Lord GOD."'"

11 Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

12 "Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "You seal up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

13 You have been in Eden the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, the carbuncle, and gold. The workmanship of your tambourines and of your pipes was prepared in you in the day that you were created.

14 You are the anointed cherub who covers, and I have set you so. You were upon the holy mountain of God. You have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

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

16 By the multitude of your merchandise they have filled the midst of you with violence, and you have sinned; therefore, I will cast you as profane out of the mountain of God. And I will destroy you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness. I will cast you to the ground, I will lay you before kings, so that they may behold you.

18 You have defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your traffic; therefore, I will bring forth a fire from the midst of you. It shall devour you, and I will bring you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all those who behold you.

19 All those who know you among the people shall be astonished at you. You shall be a terror and never shall you be anymore."'"

20 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 21 "Son of man, set your face against Zidon and prophesy against it,

22 And say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Zidon, and I will be glorified in the midst of you. And they shall know that I am the LORD when I have executed judgments in her and have been sanctified in her.

23 For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets, and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side. And they shall know that I am the LORD.

24 And there shall no more be a pricking brier to the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all who are around them who despised them. And they shall know that I am the Lord GOD."

25 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "When I have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered and have been sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, they shall dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. 26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall even dwell with confidence when I have executed judgments upon all those around them who despise them. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God."'"

Commentary

Matthew Henry Commentary - Ezekiel, Chapter 28[➚]

Notes

John Gill's Chapter Summary:

This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of the prince of Tyre; a lamentation for the king of Tyre; a denunciation of judgments on Zidon, and a promise of peace and safety to Israel. The order given to the prophet to prophesy of the ruin of the prince of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:1-2); the cause of his ruin, his pride on account of his wisdom and riches, which rose to such a pitch, as to make himself God (Ezekiel 28:2-6); the manner in which his destruction shall be accomplished (Ezekiel 28:7-10); the lamentation for the king of Tyre begins (Ezekiel 28:11-12); setting forth his former grandeur and dignity (Ezekiel 28:13-15); his fall, and the cause of it, injustice and violence in merchandise, pride because of beauty and wisdom, and profanation of sanctuaries (Ezekiel 28:16-19); next follow the judgments on Zidon (Ezekiel 28:20-23); and the chapter is concluded with a promise of the restoration of the Jews to their own land, and of great tranquillity and safety in it (Ezekiel 28:24-26).

[v.2] - "the prince of Tyre" - From John Gill's Exposition: "Whose name was Ethbaal, or Ithobalus, as he is called in Josephus; for that this was Hiram that was in the days of Solomon, and lived a thousand years, is a fable of the Jewish Rabbins, as Jerom relates: this prince of Tyre is thought by some to be an emblem of the devil; but rather of antichrist; and between them there is a great agreement, and it seems to have a prophetic respect to him."

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