Ezekiel 28
1 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 “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.
“Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart has been exalted, and you have said, ‘I am God, and I sit in the chair of God, in the heart of the sea,’ though you are a man, and not God, and because you have presented your heart as if it were the heart of God:
3 You even think you're wiser than Daniel and there's no secret that's hidden from you!
Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is concealed from you.
4 Yes, you have used your wisdom and cleverness to make yourself rich, collecting plenty of gold and silver for your treasury.
By your wisdom and prudence, you have made yourself strong, and you have acquired gold and silver for your storehouses.
5 You became wealthy through your superb trading skills, but your wealth only made you proud.
By the multitude of your wisdom, and by your business dealings, you have multiplied strength for yourself. And your heart has been exalted by your strength.
6 So this is what the Lord God says: Because you think that you're a god,
Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because your heart has been exalted as if it were the heart of God,
7 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.
for this reason, behold, I will lead over you foreigners, the most robust among the Gentiles. And they will bare their swords over the beauty of your wisdom, and they will defile your beauty.
8 They will drag you down into the grave. You will die horribly out there in the sea.
They will destroy you and pull you down. And you will die the death of those slain in the heart of the sea.
9 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.
So then, will you speak, in the presence of those who are destroying you, before the hand of those who are killing you, saying, ‘I am God,’ though you are a man, and not God?
10 You will be killed like some vile person by these foreigners. I myself have spoken, declares the Lord God.”
You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hand of foreigners. For I have spoken, says the Lord God.”
11 Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre,
12 “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.
and you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of similitudes, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 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.
You were with the delights of the Paradise of God. Every precious stone was your covering: sardius, topaz, and jasper, chrysolite, and onyx, and beryl, sapphire, and garnet, and emerald. The work of your beauty was of gold, and your fissures were ready in the day when you were formed.
14 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.
You were a cherub, stretched out and protecting, and I stationed you on the holy mountain of God. You have walked in the midst of stones containing fire.
15 You were innocent in everything you did from the day you were created until you were found to be doing evil.
You were perfect in your ways, from the day of your formation, until iniquity was found in you.
16 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.
By the multitude of your business dealings, your interior was filled with iniquity, and you sinned. And I cast you away from the mountain of God, and I perished you, O protecting cherub, from the midst of the stones containing fire.
17 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.
And your heart was exalted by your beauty; you have destroyed your own wisdom by your beauty. I have cast you to the ground. I have presented you before the face of kings, so that they may examine you.
18 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.
You have defiled your sanctuaries, by the multitude of your iniquities and by the iniquity of your business dealings. Therefore, I will produce a fire from your midst, which will consume you, and I will make you into ashes upon the earth, in the sight of all who are watching you.
19 All who know you among the nations are horrified at what happened to you. Disaster has brought you down and you're finished forever.”
All who gaze upon you among the Gentiles will be stupefied over you. You were made out of nothing, and you shall not be, forever.”
20 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
21 “Son of man, face towards Sidon and prophesy against her.
“Son of man, set your face against Sidon, and you shall prophesy about it.
22 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.
And you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Sidon, and I will be glorified in your midst. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have executed judgments in her, and when I will have been sanctified in her.
23 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.
And I will send a pestilence upon her, and there will be blood in her streets. And they will fall, slain by the sword, on every side in her midst. And they shall know that I am the Lord.
24 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.
And the house of Israel will no longer be a stumbling block of bitterness, nor a thorn bringing pain everywhere around them, to those who turn against them. And they shall know that I am the Lord God.”
25 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.
Thus says the Lord God: “When I will have gathered together the house of Israel, from the peoples among whom they have been dispersed, I shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the Gentiles. And they shall live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.
26 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.”
And they shall live within it securely. And they shall build houses and plant vineyards. And they shall live in confidence, when I will have executed judgments upon all those who turn against them on every side. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God.”
