Ezekiel

The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

1The LORD's message came to me again. He said:

2Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:

2"Son of man, speak to the ruler of Tyre. This is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud. You have said, 'I am a god. I sit on a god's throne out in the middle of the sea.' But you are a man, not a god, even though you think your heart is like a god's heart."

Note"Son of man" is how God speaks to Ezekiel all through this book. It simply means "human being."

3Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:

3"Yes, you are wiser than Daniel. No secret is hidden from you."

4With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:

4"With your wisdom and understanding you made yourself rich. You piled up gold and silver in your treasure rooms."

5By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:

5"Your great skill at trading made you richer and richer. And your riches have made you proud."

6Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;

6"So this is what the Lord GOD says: You think your heart is like the heart of a god."

7Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.

7"So I will bring foreigners against you, the cruelest of all nations. They will draw their swords against your fine wisdom and ruin your splendor."

8They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.

8"They will bring you down to the pit. You will die a violent death out in the middle of the sea."

Note"The pit" means the grave, the place of the dead. Dying "in the middle of the sea" points to a violent death, like sailors killed far from land.

9Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.

9"Will you still say 'I am a god' to the ones who are killing you? In their hands you will be only a man, not a god."

10Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

10"Foreigners will kill you, and you will die the death of the uncircumcised. I have spoken, says the Lord GOD."

Note"Uncircumcised" described a person from outside Israel, who did not carry the mark of God's agreement with Israel. To die that death meant to die in shame, like an outsider.

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

11The LORD's message came to me again. He said:

12Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

12"Son of man, sing a funeral song about the king of Tyre. Tell him this is what the Lord GOD says: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty."

13Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

13"You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone covered you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. The gold settings that held them were made for you on the day you were created."

NoteThe KJV's "tabrets and pipes" sounds like musical instruments. The Hebrew words are unclear, and most translators think they mean the gold settings that held the jewels in place.

14Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

14"You were an anointed cherub, a guardian, for I placed you there. Cherubs are mighty winged creatures who guard God's holy places. You were on God's holy mountain and walked among the stones of fire."

15Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

15"From the day you were created you did nothing wrong — until evil was found in you."

16By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

16"Your huge trade filled you with violence, and you sinned. So I threw you off God's mountain in disgrace. I drove you out from among the stones of fire, guardian cherub."

17Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

17"Your beauty made you proud. Your splendor ruined your wisdom. So I threw you down to the ground and made kings stare at you."

18Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

18"Your many sins and your dishonest trading made your holy places unclean. So I brought fire out of you, and it burned you up. I turned you to ashes on the ground while everyone watched."

19All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

19"All the nations who knew you are shocked at you. You have come to a terrible end, and you will be gone forever."

20Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

20The LORD's message came to me again. He said:

21Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it,

21"Son of man, turn toward the city of Sidon and speak against her."

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

22"Say this: The Lord GOD says, I am against you, Sidon. I will show my glory among you. People will know I am the LORD when I punish her and show how holy I am through her."

23For 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.

23"I will send a deadly sickness on her and spill blood in her streets. The dead will fall inside her, with swords all around. Then they will know that I am the LORD."

24And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

24"Israel's neighbors have been like a sharp brier and a stabbing thorn to them, treating them with scorn. That will happen no more. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD."

25Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.

25"This is what the Lord GOD says: I will gather the people of Israel from the nations where they were scattered. I will show how holy I am among them while the nations watch. Then they will live in their own land, the land I gave to my servant Jacob."

26And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.

26"They will live there safely. They will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live without fear when I punish all the neighbors who treated them with scorn. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God."