Ezekiel 28
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus saith the Lord God: Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said: I am God, and I sit in the chair of God in the heart of the sea: whereas thou art a man, and not God: and hast set thy heart as if it were 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 Behold thou art wiser than Daniel: no secret is hid from thee.
You even think you're wiser than Daniel and there's no secret that's hidden from you!
4 In thy wisdom and thy understanding thou hast made thyself strong: and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures.
Yes, you have used your wisdom and cleverness to make yourself rich, collecting plenty of gold and silver for your treasury.
5 By the greatness of thy wisdom, and by thy traffic thou hast increased thy strength: and thy heart is lifted up with thy strength.
You became wealthy through your superb trading skills, but your wealth only made you proud.
6 Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Because thy heart is lifted up as the heart of God:
So this is what the Lord God says: Because you think that you're a god,
7 Therefore behold, I will bring upon thee strangers the strongest of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy beauty.
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 They shall kill thee, and bring thee down: and thou shalt die the death of them that are 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 Wilt thou yet say before them that slay thee: I am God; whereas thou art a man, and not God, in the hand of them that slay thee?
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 Thou shalt die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
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: Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyre:
Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
12 And say to him: Thus saith the Lord God: Thou wast the seal of resemblance, full of wisdom, and perfect in 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 Thou wast in the pleasures of the paradise of God: every precious stone teas thy covering: the sardius, the topaz, and the jasper, the chrysolite, and the onyx, and the beryl, the sapphire, and the carbuncle, and the emerald: gold the work of thy beauty: and thy pipes were prepared in the day that thou wast created.
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 Thou a cherub stretched out, and protecting, and I set thee in the holy mountain of God, thou hast walked 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 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day of thy creation, until iniquity was found in thee.
You were innocent in everything you did from the day you were created until you were found to be doing evil.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise, thy inner parts were filled with iniquity, and thou hast sinned: and I cast thee out from the mountain of God, and destroyed thee, O covering cherub, 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 And thy heart was lifted up with thy beauty: thou best lost thy wisdom in thy beauty, I have cast thee to the ground: I have set thee before the face of kings, that they might behold thee.
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 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thy iniquities, and by the iniquity of thy traffic: therefore I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, to devour thee, and I will make thee as ashes upon the earth in the sight of all that see thee.
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 All that shall see thee among the nations, shall be astonished at thee: thou art brought to nothing, and thou shalt never be 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 thy face against Sidon: and thou shalt prophesy of it,
“Son of man, face towards Sidon and prophesy against her.
22 And shalt say: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I come against thee, Sidon, and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall execute judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
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 And I will send into her pestilence, and blood in her streets: and they shall fall being slain by the sword on all sides in the midst thereof: 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 the house of Israel shall have no more a stumblingblock of bitterness, nor a thorn causing pain on every side round about them, of them that are against them: and they shall know that I am the Lord God.
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 saith the Lord God: When I shall have gathered together the house of Israel out of the people among whom they are scattered: I will be sanctified in them before the Gentiles: and they shall dwell in their own 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 And they shall dwell therein secure, and they shall build houses, and shall plant vineyards, and shall dwell with confidence, when I shall have executed judgments upon all that are their enemies round about: and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.
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.”
