Jezekiel 28
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
2 And you, son of man, say to the prince of Tyrus, Thus says the Lord; Because your heart has been exalted, and you have said, I am God, I have inhabited the dwelling of God in the heart of the sea; yet you are man and not God, though you have set your heart as the heart of God:
“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre this is what the Lord God says: You are so proud of yourself, saying, ‘I'm a god! I sit on my throne like a god in the middle of the sea.’ But you're only a man. You're not a god, even though you think you are one.
3 are you wiser than Daniel? or have not the wise instructed you with their knowledge?
You even think you're wiser than Daniel and there's no secret that's hidden from you!
4 Hast you gained power for yourself by your [own] knowledge or your [own] prudence, and [gotten] gold and silver in your treasures?
Yes, you have used your wisdom and cleverness to make yourself rich, collecting plenty of gold and silver for your treasury.
5 By your abundant knowledge and your traffic you have multiplied your power; your heart has been lifted up by your power.
You became wealthy through your superb trading skills, but your wealth only made you proud.
6 Therefore thus says the Lord; Since you have set your heart as the hart of God;
So this is what the Lord God says: Because you think that you're a god,
7 because of this, behold, I [will] bring on you strange plagues from the nations; and they shall draw their swords against you, and against the beauty of your knowledge,
watch as I bring foreigners to attack you. They are more cruel than any other nation. They will use their swords to destroy you and your wonderful wisdom; they will humble your proud glory.
8 and they shall bring down your beauty to destruction. And they shall bring you down; and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the sea.
They will drag you down into the grave. You will die horribly out there in the sea.
9 Will you indeed say, I am God, before them that kill you? whereas you are man, and not God.
Are you still going to claim, ‘I'm a god,’ to those who are killing you? You'll just be another human victim, not a god, in the eyes of your attackers.
10 You shall perish by the hands of strangers amongst the multitude of the uncircumcised: for I have spoken it, says the Lord.
You will be killed like some vile person by these foreigners. I myself have spoken, declares the Lord God.”
11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation for the prince of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God; You are a seal of resemblance, and crown of beauty.
“Son of man, sing a funeral song for the king of Tyre and tell him this is what the Lord God says: Once you were complete and perfect, full of wisdom and flawless in beauty.
13 You were in the delight of the paradise of God; you have bound upon you every precious stone, the sardius, and topaz, and emerald, and carbuncle, and sapphire, and jasper, and silver, and gold, and ligure, and agate, and amethyst, and chrysolite, and beryl, and onyx: and you have filled your treasures and your stores in you with gold.
You were there in Eden, God's garden. You wore all kinds of precious stones: carnelian, topaz, and amethyst; beryl, onyx, and jasper; lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald. They were placed in gold mountings and settings using skilled craftsmanship, and were made on the day when you were created.
14 From the day that you were created you [was] with the cherub: I set you on the holy mount of God; you were in the midst of the stones of fire.
I gave you the position of guardian cherub, and I anointed you. You lived on God's holy mountain and you walked among the stones of fire.
15 You were faultless in your days, from the day that you were created, until iniquity was found in you.
You were innocent in everything you did from the day you were created until you were found to be doing evil.
16 Of the abundance of your merchandise you have filled your storehouses with iniquity, and have sinned: therefore you have been cast down wounded from the mount of God, and the cherub has brought you out of the midst of the stones of fire.
You were so busy with all your trading schemes that they destroyed you inside, leading you to sin and filling you with violence. So I sent you away in disgrace from God's mountain, and I removed you from your position as guardian cherub from your place among the stones of fire.
17 Your heart has been lifted up because of your beauty; your knowledge has been corrupted with your beauty: because of the multitude of your sins I have cast you to the ground, I have caused you to be put to open shame before kings.
You became proud because of your beauty, you ruined your wisdom because you thought you were so wonderful. So I threw you down to the ground and I made sure kings saw what happened to you.
18 Because of the multitude of your sins and the iniquities of your merchandise, I have profaned your sacred things; and I will bring fire out of the midst of you, this shall devour you; and I will make you [to be] ashes upon your land before all that see you.
By all your sins and your dishonest trading you have made your sanctuaries unclean. So I had fire come from inside you, and it burned you up. I turned you into ashes on the ground as everybody there watched.
19 And all that know you amongst the nations shall groan over you: you are gone to destruction, and you shall not exist any more.
All who know you among the nations are horrified at what happened to you. Disaster has brought you down and you're finished forever.”
20 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
21 Son of man, set your face against Sidon, and prophesy against it,
“Son of man, face towards Sidon and prophesy against her.
22 and say, Thus says the Lord; Behold, I am against you, O Sidon; and I will be glorified in you; and you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought judgements in you, and I will be sanctified in you.
Tell them this is what the Lord God says: Watch out, Sidon, for I'm condemning you, and I will be vindicated by what happens to you. People will know that I am the Lord when I punish her and show my holy character through her experience.
23 Blood and death [shall be] in your streets; and [men] wounded with swords shall fall in you and on every side of you; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
I'm going to send a disease to plague her, and have people killed in her streets. Those who are killed will fall inside the city as the enemy attacks with swords from every side. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
24 And there shall no more be in the house of Israel a thorn of bitterness and a pricking briar proceeding from them that are round about them, who dishonoured them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
The people of Israel will no longer have to put up with these people who are thorns in their side, painful brambles and sharp thorns who treat Israel with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.
25 Thus says the Lord God; I will also gather Israel from the nations, amongst whom they have been scattered, and I will be sanctified amongst them, and before the peoples and nations: and they shall dwell upon their land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.
This is what the Lord God says: When I bring back the people of Israel from the nations where they've been scattered. I will show my holy character through them as everyone watches. Then they will live in their own country, which I gave to my servant Jacob.
26 Yes, they shall dwell upon it safely, and they shall build houses, and plant vineyards, and dwell securely, when I shall execute judgement on all that have dishonoured them, [even] on those [that are] round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God, and the God of their fathers.
They will live there in safety, building houses and planting vineyards. They will live there in safety when I punish all those around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”
