Ezekiel 26:19

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 26:19 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and the great waters shall cover thee;” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and the great waters shall cover thee;
Ezekiel 26:19 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 26

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
19For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and the great waters shall cover thee;

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“For thus saith the Lord God, &c.] Both to the terror of Tyre, and for the comfort of his people: when I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; whose trade is ruined, whose inhabitants are destroyed, and whose walls are broken down, and become a mere waste and desert; where no person or anything of value are to be seen: when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and the great waters shall cover thee: the waters of the sea shall rush in and overflow the city, the walls of it being broken down; just as the old world, and the cities of it, were overflowed with the deluge, to which the allusion may be; whether this was literally accomplished on Tyre is not…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“great waters--appropriate metaphor of the Babylonian hosts, which literally, by breaking down insular Tyre's ramparts, caused the sea to "cover" part of her.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The effect of the fall of Tyre. Ezekiel 26:16 Clothe themselves with trembling - Mourners change their bright robes for sad garments. Ezekiel 26:17 Of seafaring men - literally, “from the seas,” i. e., occupied by men who come from the seas. Tyre was an inhabited city rising from out of the sea. Ezekiel 26:20 Compare Isaiah 14:9. The image used by Isaiah and Jeremiah of Babylon is by Ezekiel applied to Tyre, as if to show that Tyre and Babylon alike represent the world-power. So, in the Book of Revelation, Babylon is the kingdom of Antichrist. The land of the living - The land of the true God, as opposed to the land of the dead, to which is gathered the glory of the world. Here then,…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“The deep - Nebuchadnezzar's army. Great waters - Great afflictions. Ezekiel 26:20”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“26:19-21 God would demonstrate his sovereign power by utterly destroying Tyre. It would be as though that great city had sunk into the depths of the chaotic ocean waves, with its inhabitants condemned to the pit where the unrighteous dead reside, never to return.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“bring: Eze 26:3; Isa 8:7, Isa 8:8; Dan 9:26, Dan 11:40; Rev 17:15 Ezekiel 26:20”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“Thus will Tyre, covered by the waves of the sea, sink into the region of the dead, and vanish for ever from the earth. - Eze 26:19. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, When I make thee a desolate city, like the cities which are no longer inhabited, when I cause the deep to rise over thee, so that the many waters cover thee, Eze 26:20. I cast thee down to those who have gone into the grave, to the people of olden time, and cause thee to dwell in the land of the lower regions, in the ruins from the olden time, with those who have gone into the grave, that thou mayest be no longer inhabited, and I create that which is glorious in the land of the living. Eze 26:21. I make thee a terror, and thou…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification