Add parallel Print Page Options

“Son of man, say to the prince[a] of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Your heart is proud[b] and you said, “I am a god;[c]
I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas”—
yet you are a man and not a god,
though you think you are godlike.[d]
Look, you are wiser than Daniel;[e]
no secret is hidden from you.[f]
By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;
you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.
By your great skill[g] in trade you have increased your wealth,
and your heart is proud because of your wealth.
“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

Because you think you are godlike,[h]
I am about to bring foreigners[i] against you, the most terrifying of nations.
They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom,[j]
and they will defile your splendor.
They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die violently[k] in the heart of the seas.
Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you—
though you are a man and not a god—
when you are in the power of those who wound you?

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 28:2 tn Or “ruler” (NIV, NCV).
  2. Ezekiel 28:2 tn Heb “lifted up.” sn See Prov 16:5.
  3. Ezekiel 28:2 tn Or “I am divine.”
  4. Ezekiel 28:2 tn Heb “and you made your heart/mind (לֵב, lev) like the heart/mind of gods.”
  5. Ezekiel 28:3 sn Or perhaps “Danel” (so TEV), referring to a ruler known from Canaanite legend. See the note on “Daniel” in 14:14. A reference to Danel (preserved in legend at Ugarit, near the northern end of the Phoenician coast) makes more sense here when addressing Tyre than in 14:14.
  6. Ezekiel 28:3 sn The tone here is sarcastic, reflecting the ruler’s view of himself.
  7. Ezekiel 28:5 tn Or “wisdom.”
  8. Ezekiel 28:6 tn Heb “because of your making your heart like the heart of gods.”
  9. Ezekiel 28:7 sn This is probably a reference to the Babylonians.
  10. Ezekiel 28:7 tn Heb “they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom.”
  11. Ezekiel 28:8 tn Heb “you will die the death of the slain.”

“Son of man(A), say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘In the pride of your heart
    you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne(B) of a god
    in the heart of the seas.”(C)
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
    though you think you are as wise as a god.(D)
Are you wiser than Daniel[a]?(E)
    Is no secret hidden from you?
By your wisdom and understanding
    you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
    in your treasuries.(F)
By your great skill in trading(G)
    you have increased your wealth,(H)
and because of your wealth
    your heart has grown proud.(I)

“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Because you think you are wise,
    as wise as a god,
I am going to bring foreigners against you,
    the most ruthless of nations;(J)
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom(K)
    and pierce your shining splendor.(L)
They will bring you down to the pit,(M)
    and you will die a violent death(N)
    in the heart of the seas.(O)
Will you then say, “I am a god,”
    in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,(P)
    in the hands of those who slay you.(Q)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 28:3 Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature

Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:

Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:

With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:

By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;

Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.

They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.

Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.

Read full chapter