Ezekiel 28

God speaks against the proud ruler of Tyre, who thought himself a god because of his wisdom and wealth. A second message, a lament over the king of Tyre, uses the picture of a gloriously made being in Eden’s garden who is cast down by pride. The chapter ends with a judgment on Sidon and a promise that Israel will one day live safely in her own land.

Ezekiel 28:1

Another message comes to Ezekiel from the LORD. The prophet does not invent it. He receives it and passes it on. The chapter continues the judgments on the nations that began earlier, here aimed at the island city of Tyre.

Ezekiel 28:2

Tyre’s ruler claims to be divine, sitting like a god on a throne in the middle of the sea. Tyre stood on a fortified island, and its safety fed his pride. God answers plainly: he is a man, however much he thinks of himself.

BSA: proud (“lifted up”): Pride is the heart raised above its proper place, as if it were higher than God.

Hebrew: גָּבַהּ (gavah, H1361) — “to be high, to be lifted up.” The same word describes a tall tree or a high place. Here the ruler’s heart has lifted itself up until it imagines it sits where God sits.

See also: Isaiah 14:13-14.

Ezekiel 28:3

God speaks with irony. The ruler believes he is wiser than Daniel, who was famous for wisdom and for knowing hidden things. Real wisdom humbles a person. This man’s cleverness only made him think nothing was beyond him.

BSA: Daniel (“a wise and righteous man”): Daniel’s wisdom came with righteousness, which the ruler of Tyre lacked.

See also: Ezekiel 14:14; Daniel 2:28.

Ezekiel 28:4-5

Tyre’s skill and trade did make it rich. It gathered gold and silver into its storehouses. But success fed the heart’s pride. Wealth is not condemned here. The trouble is forgetting that wisdom and abilities are gifts from God.

BSA: wealth (“riches, power”): Riches in this world bring power, which tempts a person to trust himself instead of God.

See also: Deuteronomy 8:17-18.

Ezekiel 28:6-7

Because he thinks he has a god’s mind, God will bring foreign armies against him. The nations are called ruthless. Babylon was the one God used. Their swords will strike the very things he prized, his wisdom’s beauty and his splendor.

BSA: defile (“profane, desecrate”): What he took as glory will be treated as common and dishonored.

Ezekiel 28:8

The proud ruler will go down to the Pit and die a violent death in the sea he trusted. The sea was his protection. Now it becomes the place of his fall.

BSA: Pit (“a place of grave, corruption”): The Pit is the grave, the dark place where the dead go.

Hebrew: שַׁחַת (shachat, H7845) — “pit, grave, place of decay.” It paints death as a hole one is lowered into. The would-be god ends in the lowest place.

See also: Psalm 30:3.

Ezekiel 28:9

God asks a pointed question: will he still say he is a god when his killers stand over him? Once the sword is in his body, the claim is exposed. He is a mortal in the hands of those who wound him.

BSA: hands (“power, control”): He who thought himself in control will be fully in another’s power.

Ezekiel 28:10

To die like the uncircumcised means a shameful death outside God’s covenant people, at the hands of outsiders. It is the opposite of the glory he sought. The verse ends with God’s own seal: he has spoken, and it will happen.

BSA: uncircumcised (“those without a covenant relationship with God”): The word marks someone outside God’s covenant, without his promises or protection.

Hebrew: עֲרֵלִים (arelim, H6189) — “the uncircumcised.” Israel used the word of those outside the covenant. To die this death meant dying without any claim on God’s protection.

Ezekiel 28:11-12

A second message follows, this time a lament, a funeral song for the king of Tyre. He is described as the seal of perfection, a finished masterpiece full of wisdom and beauty. The language reaches beyond an ordinary man. Some Christians see the king alone, some see a deeper picture of Satan behind him.

BSA: lament (“a song of grief, a dirge”): This is a mourning song, so God’s judgment is spoken with sorrow over what was lost. seal (“a mark of authentication, a stamp of perfection”): A seal marks the finished work. The king was like a signet stamped with excellence.

Hebrew: חוֹתֵם (chotem, H2856) — “seal, signet.” A signet ring marks something as authentic and owned. The king looked like the finished work of a master craftsman.

Ezekiel 28:13

The lament now places him in Eden, the garden of God, covered in jewels of every color and fitted with gold settings. Everything about him was given. His beauty was a gift from his Maker, prepared on the day he was created, not something he earned.

BSA: Eden (“the garden of delight, paradise”): Eden means delight. It is the place of God’s presence where all was good. creation (“the act of bringing into existence, formation”): His glory was received, because he was made.

See also: Genesis 2:8; Exodus 28:17-20.

Ezekiel 28:14

He was appointed a guardian cherub, set apart and placed on God’s holy mountain among the fiery stones. This was a high place of nearness to God. Cherubim guard God’s holy presence elsewhere in Scripture. Whatever his exact identity, his position was a gift.

BSA: anointed (“set apart, consecrated”): He was set apart by God for a sacred task, not by his own claim.

Hebrew: כְּרוּב (kerub, H3742) — “cherub, an angelic guardian.” Cherubim stand near God’s throne and guard what is holy. This was an office of closeness and trust.

See also: Genesis 3:24; Exodus 25:18-20.

Ezekiel 28:15

From the day he was created he was blameless, until wickedness was found in him. Nothing flawed came from God’s hand. Evil arose from within, a choice that spoiled a good creation.

BSA: blameless (“perfect, unblemished”): He began without fault, which shows the fall was his own doing.

Hebrew: תָּמִים (tamim, H8549) — “whole, complete, without defect.” The word is often used for sacrifices without blemish. He was whole and fit for God’s presence.

Ezekiel 28:16

His trade grew vast, and violence and wrong came with it. So God drove him out in disgrace from the holy mountain. Greed and cruelty often grow where gain becomes the highest aim. Even a high place near God is lost when sin is held onto.

BSA: sinned (“missed the mark”): To sin is to fall short of the target God set.

Hebrew: חָמָס (chamas, H2555) — “violence, cruelty, wrong done to others.” The word means more than fighting. It means injustice that harms the weak, here arising from commerce.

Ezekiel 28:17

Pride in his own beauty ruined his wisdom. Wisdom is spoiled when it is used to admire oneself. So God threw him to the ground and made him a public spectacle before kings. The mighty become an example to others.

BSA: corrupted (“ruined, destroyed”): His wisdom did not just fade. He wrecked it himself.

See also: Proverbs 16:18.

Ezekiel 28:18

His many sins and dishonest dealing defiled his holy places. Then fire came out of him and consumed him. His own sin became the fire that destroyed him. He ended as ashes, seen by everyone.

BSA: profaned (“defiled, desecrated”): What was holy was made common by his corruption.

Ezekiel 28:19

The nations who knew him are shocked at his ending. He is gone for good. The lament shows that no beauty, wisdom or wealth can stand against God’s judgment on pride. Humility before God is the one safe place.

BSA: appalled (“horrified, astonished”): People who once admired him are stunned that one so high could fall.

Ezekiel 28:20-21

A new message turns to Sidon, Tyre’s neighbor and sister city on the Phoenician coast. Ezekiel is told to set his face against it, meaning to look at it with firm resolve and speak God’s judgment.

BSA: prophesy (“speak under divine influence”): The prophet speaks what God puts in his mouth.

Ezekiel 28:22

God declares he is against Sidon. Through the judgment he will be glorified and shown holy. People will know that he is the LORD when he acts against the city. His justice reveals who he is.

BSA: glorified (“honored, exalted”): God’s honor is displayed even through judgment. holiness (“set-apart nature, sanctity”): Holiness means God stands apart from sin and cannot be treated lightly.

See also: Exodus 14:4.

Ezekiel 28:23

Plague, bloodshed and swords on every side will fall on the city. No mention is made of the instrument here, only the result. The purpose is again that they will know he is the LORD.

Ezekiel 28:24

Judgment on neighbors who scorned Israel means Israel will no longer be pricked by them like briers and thorns. God’s people are not forgotten. He deals with those who harm them, and Israel will know he is the Lord GOD.

BSA: contempt (“despise, scorn, or hate them”): These nations looked down on Israel, and God notices that scorn.

See also: Numbers 33:55.

Ezekiel 28:25

God promises to gather Israel from the nations where they were scattered. In doing so he shows himself holy before everyone. They will live again in the land he gave to his servant Jacob. The promise rests on God’s faithfulness, not Israel’s record.

BSA: gather (“collect, assemble”): God himself brings his scattered people together, as a shepherd gathers a flock.

See also: Ezekiel 37:25.

Ezekiel 28:26

In the land they will live securely, build houses and plant vineyards. These are everyday signs of peace. Their safety comes when God judges those who despised them. The chapter ends not in ruin but in settled rest, with God known as their God.

BSA: securely (“in safety”): The word means safe and unafraid, with no enemy to dread.

Hebrew: בֶּטַח (betach, H983) — “security, confident safety.” It comes from the verb for trusting. Real safety is resting confidently in someone trustworthy, here the LORD.

See also: Micah 4:4.