New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Ezekiel 28
1
A message came to me from the Lord. He said,
2
"Son of man, speak to Ethbaal. He is the ruler of Tyre. Tell him, 'The Lord and King says, " ' "In your proud heart you say, 'I am a god. I sit on the throne of a god in the Mediterranean Sea.' But you are only a man. You are not a god. In spite of that, you think you are as wise as a 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
You are wise and understanding. So you have become very wealthy. You have piled up gold and silver among your treasures.
Reference
Parallel theme
Proverbs 18:11
5
You have used your great skill in trading to increase your wealth. You are very rich. So your heart has become proud." ' "
Reference
6
The Lord and King says, "You think you are wise. In fact, you claim to be as wise as a god.
Reference
7
So I am going to bring strangers against you. They will not show you any pity at all. They will use their swords against your beauty and wisdom. They will strike down your shining glory.
Reference
8
They will bring you down to the grave. You will die a horrible death in the middle of the sea.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 27:34
9
Then will you say, 'I am a god'? Will you say that to those who kill you? You will be only a man to those who kill you. You will not be a god to them.
Reference
10
You will die just like those who have not been circumcised. Strangers will kill you. I have spoken," announces the Lord and King.
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
A message came to me from the Lord. He said,
12
"Son of man, sing a song of sadness about the king of Tyre. Tell him, 'The Lord and King says, " ' "You were the model of perfection. You were full of wisdom. You were perfect and beautiful.
Reference
13
You were in Eden. It was my garden. All kinds of jewels decorated you. Here is a list of them. ruby, topaz and emerald chrysolite, onyx and jasper sapphire, turquoise and beryl Your settings and mountings were made out of gold. On the day you were created, they were prepared.
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
I appointed you to be like a guardian cherub. I anointed you for that purpose. You were on my holy mountain. You walked among the gleaming jewels.
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
Your conduct was without blame from the day you were created. But soon you began to sin.
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
You traded with many nations. You harmed people everywhere. And you sinned. So I sent you away from my mountain in shame. Guardian cherub, I drove you away from among the gleaming jewels.
Reference
17
You thought you were so handsome that it made your heart proud. You thought you were so glorious that it spoiled your wisdom. So I threw you down to the earth. I made an example out of you in front of kings.
Reference
18
Your many sins and dishonest trade polluted your temple. So I made you go up in flames. I turned you into nothing but ashes on the ground. I let everyone see it.
Reference
19
All of the nations that knew you are shocked because of what happened to you. You have come to a horrible end. And you will be gone forever." ' "
Reference
20
A message came to me from the Lord. He said,
22
Say, 'The Lord and King says, " ' "Sidon, I am against your people. I will gain glory for myself inside your city walls. I will punish your people. I will show that I am holy among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Reference
23
I will send a plague on them. I will make blood flow in your streets. Those who are killed will fall inside you. Swords will strike your people on every side. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Reference
Blood
Ezekiel 38:22
24
" ' "The people of Israel will no longer have neighbors who hate them. Those neighbors will not be like sharp and painful thorns anymore. Then Israel will know that I am the Lord and King." ' "
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 33:55
2 Corinthians 12:7
Ezekiel 2:6
References God
Joshua 23:13
References Lord
Isaiah 55:13
25
The Lord and King says, "I will gather the people of Israel together from the nations where they have been scattered. I will show that I am holy among them. I will let the nations see it. Then Israel will live in their own land. I gave it 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
My people will live there in safety. They will build houses. They will plant vineyards. They will live in safety. I will punish all of their neighbors who told lies about them. Then Israel will 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.