Ezekiel 28
1 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto 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 unto the prince of Tyre, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Whereas thy heart was lifted up, and thou saidst, A god am I, on the seat of the gods do I dwell, in the heart of the seas; yet thou art but a man, and not God, while thou esteemest thy mind equal to the mind of God;
3 You even think you're wiser than Daniel and there's no secret that's hidden from you!
Behold, thou wast wiser than Daniel; no secret was obscure to thee;
4 Yes, you have used your wisdom and cleverness to make yourself rich, collecting plenty of gold and silver for your treasury.
With thy wisdom and with thy understanding hadst thou gotten thee riches, and hadst gotten gold and silver into thy treasuries;
5 You became wealthy through your superb trading skills, but your wealth only made you proud.
By the abundance of thy wisdom in thy traffic hadst thou increased thy riches; and thy heart was lifted up because of thy riches:
6 So this is what the Lord God says: Because you think that you're a god,
Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Because thou hast esteemed thy mind equal to the mind 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.
Therefore, behold, will I bring over thee strangers, the fiercest • of nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall profane thy elegance.
8 They will drag you down into the grave. You will die horribly out there in the sea.
Down to the grave will they cast thee, and thou shalt die the deaths of the slain in the heart of the seas.
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.
Wilt thou then say, I am God, before him that slayeth thee? when thou art but a man, and no God, in the hand of him that fatally wounded thee.
10 You will be killed like some vile person by these foreigners. I myself have spoken, declares the Lord God.”
The deaths of the uncircumcised shalt thou die by the hand of strangers; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Eternal.
11 Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
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.
Son of man, take up a lamentation concerning the king of Tyre, and say unto him, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Thou wast complete in outline, 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.
In 'Eden the garden of God didst thou abide; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the chrysolite, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold; thy tabrets and thy flutes of artificial workmanship were prepared in thee on the day thou wast created.
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.
Thou wast a cherub with outspread covering [wings]; and I had set thee upon the holy mountain of God [as] thou wast; in the midst of the stones of fire didst thou wander.
15 You were innocent in everything you did from the day you were created until you were found to be doing evil.
Perfect wast thou in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till wickedness was found in thee.
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 abundance of thy commerce thou wast filled to thy centre with violence, and thou didst sin: therefore I degraded thee out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of 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.
Thy heart was lifted up through thy beauty, thou didst corrupt thy wisdom by reason of thy elegance: [therefore] I cast thee down to the ground, before kings did I set thee that they might gaze on thee.
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.
Through the abundance of thy iniquities, through the wickedness of thy commerce didst thou profane thy sanctuaries: therefore brought I forth fire from the midst of thee, this devoured thee, and I changed thee to ashes upon the earth before the eyes of all those that saw thee.
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 that know thee among the people are astonished concerning thee: thou art as though thou hadst not been, and thou shalt not be any more for ever.
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 thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against 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 thou shalt say, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon, and I will be honored in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I execute judgments on her, and will be sanctified on 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 out against her pestilence, and blood-[shedding] into her streets; and the deadly wounded shall be felled in the midst of her by the sword [that is] against her from every side: 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 there shall be no more unto the house of Israel a pricking brier, nor painful thorn from all that are round about them, that despoil them: and they shall know that I am the Lord Eternal.
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 hath said the Lord Eternal, When I gather the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified on them before the eyes of the nations: then shall they dwell in their land that I have given 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 dwell thereupon in safety, and they shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell in safety; when I execute judgments on all those that despoiled them from round about them: and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.
