American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Ezekiel 28
1
The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
2
Son of man, say to the prince of Tyrus, Thus said the Lord GOD; 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 a man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God:
Reference
Parallel theme
Proverbs 16:18
Proverbs 18:12
1 Timothy 3:6
References God
Ezekiel 28:9
2 Thessalonians 2:4
Isaiah 31:3
Genesis 3:5
Deuteronomy 8:14
References Lord
Psalm 9:20
Isaiah 2:12
4
With your wisdom and with your understanding you have gotten you riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasures:
Reference
Parallel theme
Proverbs 18:11
5
By your great wisdom and by your traffic have you increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches:
Reference
7
Behold, therefore I will bring strangers on you, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and they shall defile your brightness.
Reference
8
They shall bring you down to the pit, and you shall die the deaths of them that are slain in the middle of the seas.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 27:34
9
Will you yet say before him that slays you, I am God? but you shall be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slays you.
Reference
10
You shall die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, said the Lord GOD.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 32:19
Ezekiel 32:21
References God
Ezekiel 31:18
1 Samuel 17:26
1 Samuel 17:36
Philippians 3:3
11
Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
12
Son of man, take up a lamentation on the king of Tyrus, and say to him, Thus said the Lord GOD; You seal up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
Reference
13
You have been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was your 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 your tabrets and of your pipes was prepared in you in the day that you were created.
Reference
Creation
Ezekiel 28:15
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 27:16
Isaiah 51:3
Isaiah 30:32
Isaiah 23:16
Isaiah 14:11
Ezekiel 36:35
References God
Genesis 2:8
14
You are the anointed cherub that covers; and I have set you so: you were on the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the middle of the stones of fire.
Reference
Holy
Exodus 40:9
Ezekiel 20:40
Parallel theme
Exodus 30:26
Exodus 9:16
Revelation 18:16
References God
Ezekiel 28:13
15
You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, till iniquity was found in you.
Reference
Creation
Ecclesiastes 7:29
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 28:12
Isaiah 14:12
Sin
2 Peter 2:4
Romans 7:9
Lamentations 5:16
Proverbs 14:34
16
By the multitude of your merchandise they have filled the middle 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 middle of the stones of fire.
Reference
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, that they may behold you.
Reference
18
You have defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the middle of you, it shall devour you, and I will bring you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all them that behold you.
Reference
19
All they that know you among the people shall be astonished at you: you shall be a terror, and never shall you be any more.
Reference
20
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
22
And say, Thus said the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against you, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the middle of you: and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
Reference
23
For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the middle of her by the sword on her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Reference
Blood
Ezekiel 38:22
24
And there shall be no more a pricking brier to 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.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 33:55
2 Corinthians 12:7
Ezekiel 2:6
References God
Joshua 23:13
References Lord
Isaiah 55:13
25
Thus said 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.
Reference
Holy
Ezekiel 20:41
Psalm 106:47
Ezekiel 28:22
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 32:37
Ezekiel 37:25
References God
Ezekiel 11:17
Ezekiel 36:28
References Israel
Ezekiel 34:13
References Lord
Jeremiah 23:8
Jeremiah 30:18
26
And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments on all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.
Reference
Judgment
Ezekiel 28:22
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 38:8
Isaiah 17:14
Zechariah 1:15
References God
Ezekiel 28:24
Jeremiah 32:15
Exodus 29:46
Deuteronomy 12:10
Ezekiel 39:10
References Lord
Proverbs 14:26
Summary of Ezekiel 28
Ezekiel 28 continues the judgment against Tyre but moves from the city's commercial greatness to the pride of its ruler, presenting a powerful warning about what happens when extraordinary wealth, intelligence, beauty, political authority, and commercial success cause a human ruler to believe that he has become almost divine.
The chapter begins by confronting the prince of Tyre, who is accused of saying in his heart that he is a god while sitting in the heart of the seas.
This statement captures the central problem: the ruler has confused his extraordinary position with divine status.
His wealth and commercial success have convinced him that he possesses wisdom and security beyond ordinary human limitations.
God therefore reminds him that, despite his intelligence and wealth, he is still a human being.
The ruler's wisdom has enabled him to accumulate enormous wealth through international commerce, but instead of responding with humility, his wealth has produced pride.
The prophecy then announces that foreign nations will come against Tyre and that the ruler who considers himself godlike will eventually be brought down into the pit and killed.
The contrast is deliberate: the man who thinks he is divine will discover his mortality.
The chapter then becomes more poetic and mysterious as Ezekiel addresses the king of Tyre through imagery of Eden, precious stones, the holy mountain of God, and an anointed guardian cherub.
The language is far more elevated than a normal description of a human king, and this has led to considerable discussion about whether the passage describes only the king of Tyre symbolically or also points beyond him toward a deeper spiritual reality associated with pride and rebellion.
Within the immediate context, the imagery portrays the ruler as occupying an extraordinarily privileged position.
He is associated with beauty, wisdom, precious stones, holiness, and divine proximity, yet corruption eventually appears within him.
The chapter explains that his commercial success and abundance became associated with violence and wrongdoing, while his beauty caused his heart to become proud and his splendor corrupted his wisdom.
This establishes an important biblical principle: the problem is not beauty, wisdom, or wealth themselves, but what happens when these gifts become reasons for pride and self-exaltation.
The ruler's downfall is therefore presented as a reversal of his former glory.
The one who seemed exceptionally beautiful becomes disgraced.
The one who seemed extraordinarily wise becomes corrupted.
The one who believed himself almost divine is brought down to death.
The one surrounded by wealth becomes an example of destruction.
The prophecy then turns toward Sidon, another important Phoenician city located near Tyre.
God declares that He is against Sidon and will demonstrate His holiness through judgment, using disease, warfare, and bloodshed to bring the city low.
The judgment against Sidon fits into the broader pattern of Ezekiel 25–32, where surrounding nations are shown to be accountable to God even while Judah itself is experiencing judgment.
The chapter concludes on a noticeably different note by turning from judgment toward Israel's future restoration.
God promises to gather Israel from the nations where the people have been scattered and to demonstrate His holiness among them.
The restored people will return to their land, build homes, plant vineyards, and live securely without the hostile nations that previously surrounded and mocked them.
This creates a major contrast with the opening part of the chapter.
Tyre's pride leads to destruction, while Israel's restoration leads to security.
The chapter therefore moves from arrogance and judgment toward humility, restoration, and peace.
Historically, the passage belongs to the period surrounding the Babylonian campaigns of the sixth century BC.
Tyre and Sidon were important Phoenician maritime cities, and Tyre's wealth came from extensive international trade.
Nebuchadnezzar II conducted a prolonged campaign against Tyre, while the city later experienced further changes under Persian, Greek, and other imperial powers.
The passage's historical background is therefore closely connected with the collapse of Phoenician political independence under the great empires of the ancient Near East.
The central message is that Ezekiel 28 warns against the destructive pride that can arise when wealth, intelligence, beauty, commercial success, and political authority become reasons for believing that human beings are invulnerable or godlike, with the ruler of Tyre portrayed as someone whose extraordinary wisdom and commercial success brought immense wealth but whose wealth produced pride and whose pride ultimately led to judgment, while the remarkable imagery of Eden, precious stones, the holy mountain, and the guardian cherub presents his privileged position in almost heavenly terms before showing how corruption and violence transformed that greatness into ruin, and the judgment against Sidon extends the warning to another powerful Phoenician city, demonstrating that neither Tyre nor its neighbors can escape accountability simply because of their wealth or influence, while the chapter's final movement toward the restoration of Israel provides a deliberate contrast between the downfall of proud nations and the future security of God's people, who will eventually be gathered from exile, return to their land, build homes, plant vineyards, and live in peace, making the chapter a broader warning that human greatness becomes destructive when it produces self-exaltation and forgetfulness of God, while true security ultimately depends not upon wealth, military strength, commercial influence, or political power but upon God's sovereignty and restoration.
The chapter begins by confronting the prince of Tyre, who is accused of saying in his heart that he is a god while sitting in the heart of the seas.
This statement captures the central problem: the ruler has confused his extraordinary position with divine status.
His wealth and commercial success have convinced him that he possesses wisdom and security beyond ordinary human limitations.
God therefore reminds him that, despite his intelligence and wealth, he is still a human being.
The ruler's wisdom has enabled him to accumulate enormous wealth through international commerce, but instead of responding with humility, his wealth has produced pride.
The prophecy then announces that foreign nations will come against Tyre and that the ruler who considers himself godlike will eventually be brought down into the pit and killed.
The contrast is deliberate: the man who thinks he is divine will discover his mortality.
The chapter then becomes more poetic and mysterious as Ezekiel addresses the king of Tyre through imagery of Eden, precious stones, the holy mountain of God, and an anointed guardian cherub.
The language is far more elevated than a normal description of a human king, and this has led to considerable discussion about whether the passage describes only the king of Tyre symbolically or also points beyond him toward a deeper spiritual reality associated with pride and rebellion.
Within the immediate context, the imagery portrays the ruler as occupying an extraordinarily privileged position.
He is associated with beauty, wisdom, precious stones, holiness, and divine proximity, yet corruption eventually appears within him.
The chapter explains that his commercial success and abundance became associated with violence and wrongdoing, while his beauty caused his heart to become proud and his splendor corrupted his wisdom.
This establishes an important biblical principle: the problem is not beauty, wisdom, or wealth themselves, but what happens when these gifts become reasons for pride and self-exaltation.
The ruler's downfall is therefore presented as a reversal of his former glory.
The one who seemed exceptionally beautiful becomes disgraced.
The one who seemed extraordinarily wise becomes corrupted.
The one who believed himself almost divine is brought down to death.
The one surrounded by wealth becomes an example of destruction.
The prophecy then turns toward Sidon, another important Phoenician city located near Tyre.
God declares that He is against Sidon and will demonstrate His holiness through judgment, using disease, warfare, and bloodshed to bring the city low.
The judgment against Sidon fits into the broader pattern of Ezekiel 25–32, where surrounding nations are shown to be accountable to God even while Judah itself is experiencing judgment.
The chapter concludes on a noticeably different note by turning from judgment toward Israel's future restoration.
God promises to gather Israel from the nations where the people have been scattered and to demonstrate His holiness among them.
The restored people will return to their land, build homes, plant vineyards, and live securely without the hostile nations that previously surrounded and mocked them.
This creates a major contrast with the opening part of the chapter.
Tyre's pride leads to destruction, while Israel's restoration leads to security.
The chapter therefore moves from arrogance and judgment toward humility, restoration, and peace.
Historically, the passage belongs to the period surrounding the Babylonian campaigns of the sixth century BC.
Tyre and Sidon were important Phoenician maritime cities, and Tyre's wealth came from extensive international trade.
Nebuchadnezzar II conducted a prolonged campaign against Tyre, while the city later experienced further changes under Persian, Greek, and other imperial powers.
The passage's historical background is therefore closely connected with the collapse of Phoenician political independence under the great empires of the ancient Near East.
The central message is that Ezekiel 28 warns against the destructive pride that can arise when wealth, intelligence, beauty, commercial success, and political authority become reasons for believing that human beings are invulnerable or godlike, with the ruler of Tyre portrayed as someone whose extraordinary wisdom and commercial success brought immense wealth but whose wealth produced pride and whose pride ultimately led to judgment, while the remarkable imagery of Eden, precious stones, the holy mountain, and the guardian cherub presents his privileged position in almost heavenly terms before showing how corruption and violence transformed that greatness into ruin, and the judgment against Sidon extends the warning to another powerful Phoenician city, demonstrating that neither Tyre nor its neighbors can escape accountability simply because of their wealth or influence, while the chapter's final movement toward the restoration of Israel provides a deliberate contrast between the downfall of proud nations and the future security of God's people, who will eventually be gathered from exile, return to their land, build homes, plant vineyards, and live in peace, making the chapter a broader warning that human greatness becomes destructive when it produces self-exaltation and forgetfulness of God, while true security ultimately depends not upon wealth, military strength, commercial influence, or political power but upon God's sovereignty and restoration.