Ezekiel 28

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

1The LORD spoke to Ezekiel again. This is what 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, that is what God calls Ezekiel, speak to the ruler of the city of Tyre. Tell him what the Lord GOD says. Your heart is proud. You said, 'I am a god. I sit on a god's throne out in the sea.' But you are only a man. You are not a god. Still you think your heart is like a god's heart.

NoteTyre was a wealthy city on the coast, built partly on an island in the sea. It grew rich from ships and trading.

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

3Look, you think you are wiser than Daniel, a man known for being wise. You think no secret can be kept from you.

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

4You were clever and wise, so you became rich. You filled your storerooms with gold and silver.

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

5You were very good at trading, so you grew richer and richer. Now your money has made your heart proud.

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

6So this is what the Lord GOD says. You think your heart is like a god's heart.

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.

7So I will bring strangers to attack you. They are the cruelest people of all the nations. They will pull out their swords against your fine wisdom. They will ruin your shining beauty.

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.

8They will bring you down to the pit, the place of the dead. You will die a violent death out in the sea.

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.

9Will 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.

10Strangers will kill you. You will die the way foreigners die, far from God's people. I have said it, says the Lord GOD."

Note"The death of the uncircumcised" meant dying like someone outside God's people. To the people hearing this, it was a shameful way to die.

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

11The LORD spoke to Ezekiel again. This is what 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 sad song about the king of Tyre. Tell him what the Lord GOD says. You were the perfect example of everything good. You were full of wisdom. You were perfectly beautiful.

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.

13You were in Eden, God's garden. Every kind of jewel covered you. There were ruby, topaz, and diamond. There were beryl, onyx, and jasper. There were sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Gold held the stones in place. All of it was made ready the day you were made.

NoteThe KJV says "tabrets and pipes," which sound like musical instruments. The Hebrew word most likely means the gold settings that held the jewels.

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.

14I chose you to be a guardian cherub, an angel who watches over holy things. I placed you on God's holy mountain. You walked among stones of fire.

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

15From the day you were made, you did nothing wrong. Then 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.

16You traded so much that you became full of cruel violence, and you sinned. So I sent you away from God's mountain in shame. I drove you out from 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.

17Your beauty made your heart proud. Your shining glory spoiled your wisdom. So I threw you down to the ground. I put you where kings could 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.

18You did many wrong things, and you cheated when you traded. That made your holy places dirty. So I made fire come out from inside you. The fire burned you up. I turned you to ashes on the ground, and 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.

19All the people who knew you are shocked at what happened. You came to a terrible end. You will never exist again."

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

20The LORD spoke to Ezekiel again. This is what he said.

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

21"Son of man, turn and face the city of Sidon. Speak my message against it.

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.

22Say this. The Lord GOD says, 'I am against you, Sidon. People will see how great I am by what I do to you. I will punish Sidon and show that I am holy. Then people will know that I am the LORD.

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.

23I will send a deadly sickness into the city. Blood will run in her streets. Enemies with swords will come from every side. People will fall dead inside her. 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.

24The nations around Israel looked down on God's people. They were like sharp thorns that poked and hurt them. That hurting will stop. Then Israel 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.

25This is what the Lord GOD says. 'My people Israel are scattered among many nations. I will gather them back home. The other nations will see that I am holy. Then Israel will live in their own land. I gave that land 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.

26They will live there safely. They will build houses and plant grapevines. They will feel safe when I punish the neighbors who looked down on them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.'"