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Ezekiel Chapter 28

Old Testament Major Prophet 26 Verses

What is Ezekiel 28 about?

Dramatic visions of God's glory, Israel's corporate restoration, and the eschatological Temple given to the exiled priest-prophet. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.

Text — American Standard Version (1901)

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying,
2Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thy 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 man, and not God, though thou didst set thy heart as the heart of God;-
3behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is hidden from thee;
4by thy wisdom and by thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures;
5by thy great wisdom [and] by thy traffic hast thou increased thy riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of thy riches;-
6therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast set thy heart as the heart of God,
7therefore, behold, 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.
8They shall bring thee down to the pit; and thou shalt die the death of them that are slain, in the heart of the seas.
9Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou art man, and not God, in the hand of him that woundeth thee.
10Thou shalt die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah.
11Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
12Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the 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 in thee; in the day that thou wast created they were prepared.
14Thou wast the anointed cherub that covereth: and I set thee, [so that] thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till unrighteousness was found in thee.
16By the abundance of thy traffic they filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I have cast thee to the ground; I have laid thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18By the multitude of thine iniquities, in the unrighteousness of thy traffic, thou hast profaned thy sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of thee; it hath devoured thee, and I have turned thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19All they that know thee among the peoples shall be astonished at thee: thou art become a terror, and thou shalt nevermore have any being.
20And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
21Son of man, set thy face toward Sidon, and prophesy against it,
22and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O Sidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
23For I will send pestilence into her, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall fall in the midst of her, with the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
24And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor a hurting thorn of any that are round about them, that did despite unto them; and they shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.
25Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the nations, then shall they dwell in their own land which I gave to my servant Jacob.
26And they shall dwell securely therein; yea, they shall build houses, and plant vineyards, and shall dwell securely, when I have executed judgments upon all those that do them despite round about them; and they shall know that I am Jehovah their God.
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What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
“The word of the Lord came again unto me, &c.] With another prophecy; as before against the city of Tyre, now against the king of Tyre: saying; as follows:”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“PROPHETICAL DIRGE ON THE KING OF TYRE, AS THE CULMINATION AND EMBODIMENT OF THE SPIRIT OF CARNAL PRIDE AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF THE WHOLE STATE. THE FALL OF ZIDON, THE MOTHER CITY. THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL IN CONTRAST WITH TYRE AND ZIDON. (Eze. 28:1-26) Because, &c.--repeated resumptively in Eze 28:6. The apodosis begins at Eze 28:7. "The prince of Tyrus" at the time was Ithobal, or Ithbaal II; the name implying his close connection with Baal, the PhÅ“nician supreme god, whose representative he was. I am a god, I sit in . . . seat of God . . . the seas--As God sits enthroned in His heavenly citadel exempt from…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“The prophecy against the prince of Tyre. Throughout the east the majesty and glory of a people were collected in the person of their monarch, who in some nations was worshipped as a god. The prince is here the embodiment of the community. Their glory is his glory, their pride his pride. The doom of Tyre could not be complete without denunciation of the prince of Tyre. Idolatrous nations and idolatrous kings were, in the eyes of the prophet, antagonists to the true God. In them was embodied the principle of evil opposing itself to the divine government of the world. Hence, some of the fathers saw upon the throne,…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · on verse 2
“Hast said - In thy heart. In the seat of God - Safe and impregnable as heaven itself. A man - Subject to casualties, sorrows, and distresses. Set thine heart - Thou hast entertained thoughts, which become none but God. Ezekiel 28:3”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 1
“28:1-19 The third panel against Tyre (see study note on 26:1–28:19) addresses and condemns its ruler, the prince of Tyre, for his pride. He personifies the city of Tyre, so his fate represents Tyre’s fate. In his arrogance, the prince of Tyre laid claim to divinity and the power that goes with it, asserting that he sat on a divine throne, ruling the chaotic, untamable seas. The reality, however, was otherwise; he was only a man. • This chapter and Isa 14 (about the king of Babylon) have often been interpreted as referring to the heavenly conflict between God and Satan, “the prince of demons” (Matt 12:24).…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · on verse 2
“the prince: Josephus states, on the authority of Menander, who translated the Phoenician annals into Greek, and Philostratus, that this prince was Ithobal. Because: Eze 28:5, Eze 28:17, Eze 31:10; Deu 8:14; Ch2 26:16; Pro 16:18, Pro 18:12; Isa 2:12; Dan 5:22; Dan 5:23; Hab 2:4; Ti1 3:6; Pe1 5:5 I am: Eze 28:6, Eze 28:9; Gen 3:5; Act 12:22, Act 12:23; Rev 17:3 I sit: Eze 28:12-14; Isa 14:13, Isa 14:14; Dan 4:30, Dan 4:31; Th2 2:4 in the midst: Heb. in the heart, Eze 27:3, Eze 27:4, Eze 27:26, Eze 27:27 \*marg. yet: Eze 28:9; Psa 9:20, Psa 72:6, Psa 72:7; Isa 31:3 thou set: Eze 28:6; Th2 2:4 Ezekiel 28:3”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · on verse 1
“Fall of the Prince of Tyre Eze 28:1. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 28:2. Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy heart has lifted itself up, and thou sayest, "I am a God, I sit upon a seat of Gods, in the heart of the seas," when thou art a man and not God, and cherishest a mind like a God's mind, Eze 28:3. Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; nothing secret is obscure to thee; Eze 28:4. Through thy wisdom and thy understanding hast thou acquired might, and put gold and silver in thy treasuries; Eze 28:5. Through the greatness of thy wisdom hast thou…”
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