Ezekiel 28

Prophecy against the King of Tyre

28The Lord spoke to me. ²“Mortal man,” he said, “tell the ruler of Tyre what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to him: puffed up with pride, you claim to be a god. You say that like a god you sit on a throne, surrounded by the seas. You may pretend to be a god, but, no, you are mortal, not divine. ³You think you are wiser than Danel,^m that no secret can be kept from you. ⁴Your wisdom and skill made you rich with treasures of gold and silver. ⁵You made clever business deals and kept on making profits. How proud you are of your wealth!

⁶“Now then, this is what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: because you think you are as wise as a god, ⁷I will bring ruthless enemies to attack you. They will destroy all the beautiful things you have acquired by your skill and wisdom. ⁸They will kill you and send you to a watery grave. ⁹When they come to kill you, will you still claim that you are a god? When you face your murderers, you will be mortal and not at all divine. ¹⁰You will die like a dog at the hand of godless foreigners. I, the Sovereign Lord, have given the command.”

The Fall of the King of Tyre

¹¹The Lord spoke to me again. ¹²“Mortal man,” he said, “grieve for the fate that is waiting for the king of Tyre. Tell him what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: you were once an example of perfection. How wise and handsome you were! ¹³You lived in Eden, the garden of God, and wore gems of every kind: rubies and diamonds; topaz, beryl, carnelian, and jasper; sapphires, emeralds, and garnets. You had ornaments of gold. They were made for youⁿ on the day you were created. ¹⁴I put a terrifying angel there to guard you.^o You lived on my holy mountain and walked among sparkling gems. ¹⁵Your conduct was perfect from the day you were created until you began to do evil. ¹⁶You were busy buying and selling, and this led you to violence and sin. So I forced you to leave my holy mountain, and the angel who guarded you drove you away from the sparkling gems. ¹⁷You were proud of being handsome, and your fame made you act like a fool. Because of this I hurled you to the ground and left you as a warning to other kings. ¹⁸You did such evil in buying and selling that your places of worship were corrupted. So I set fire to the city and burnt it to the ground. All who look at you now see you reduced to ashes. ¹⁹You are gone, gone for ever, and all the nations that had come to know you are terrified, afraid that they will share your fate.”

Prophecy against Sidon

^20*The Lord said to me, ^21*“Mortal man, denounce the city of Sidon. ^22*Tell the people there what I, the Sovereign Lord, say about them: I am your enemy, Sidon; people will praise me because of what I do to you. They will know that I am the Lord, when I show how holy I am by punishing those who live in you. ^23*I will send diseases on you and make blood flow in your streets. You will be attacked from every side, and your people will be killed. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

Israel Will Be Blessed

^24*The Lord said, “None of the surrounding nations that treated Israel with scorn will ever again be like thorns and briars to hurt Israel. And they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”

^25*The Sovereign Lord said, “I will bring back the people of Israel from the nations where I scattered them, and all the nations will know that I am holy. The people of Israel will live in their own land, the land that I gave to my servant Jacob. ^26*They will live there in safety. They will build houses and plant vineyards. I will punish all their neighbours who treated them with scorn, and Israel will be secure. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”