The Prophet Ezekiel

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 28 -

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

“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:

Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is concealed from you.(a)

By your wisdom and prudence, you have made yourself strong, and you have acquired gold and silver for your storehouses.

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.

Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because your heart has been exalted as if it were the heart of God,

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.

They will destroy you and pull you down. And you will die the death of those slain in the heart of the sea.

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?

You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hand of foreigners. For I have spoken, says the Lord God.”

A Lament for the King of Tyre

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre,

and you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of similitudes, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.(b)

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.(c)

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.(d)

(e)

You were perfect in your ways, from the day of your formation, until iniquity was found in you.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

A Prophecy against Sidon

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

“Son of man, set your face against Sidon, and you shall prophesy about it.

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.

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.

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.”

The Restoration of Israel

(Jeremiah 30:1–17)

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.

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.”

Footnotes

(a)28:3 You are wiser than Daniel:Viz., in thy own conceit. The wisdom of Daniel was so much celebrated in his days, that it became a proverb amongst the Chaldeans, when any one would express an extraordinary wisdom, to say he was as wise as Daniel.(Challoner)

(b)28:12 You were the seal of resemblance:The king of Tyre, by his dignity and his natural perfections, bore in himself a certain resemblance to God, by reason of which he might be called the seal of resemblance, etc. But what is here said to him is commonly understood of Lucifer, the king over all the children of pride.(Challoner)

(c)28:13 The term ‘foramina’ refers to openings or to fissures. In this context, it refers to the veins of gold and of precious stones found in the earth, referred to earlier in the same verse. So, during the time when you were being formed in the womb, these precious stones and also gold, was waiting for you in the fissures of the earth.(Conte)

(d)28:14 A cherub stretched out:That is, thy wings extended. This alludes to the figure of the cherubims in the sanctuary, which with stretched out wings covered the ark.(Challoner)

(e)28:14 The stones of fire:That is, bright and precious stones which sparkle like fire.(Challoner)

The LORD’s word came again to me, saying,

“Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the middle of the seas;’ yet you are man, and no god, though you set your heart as the heart of a god—

behold, you are wiser than Daniel. There is no secret that is hidden from you.

By your wisdom and by your understanding you have gotten yourself riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasuries.

By your great wisdom and by your trading you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches—”

“‘therefore the Lord GOD says: “Because you have set your heart as the heart of God,

therefore, behold, I will bring strangers on you, the terrible of the nations. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom. They will defile your brightness.

They will bring you down to the pit. You will die the death of those who are slain in the heart of the seas.

Will you yet say before him who kills you, ‘I am God’? But you are man, and not God, in the hand of him who wounds you.

You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers; for I have spoken it,” says the Lord GOD.’”

A Lament for the King of Tyre

Moreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

“Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, ‘The Lord GOD says: “You were the seal of full measure, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire,(a) turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. They were prepared in the day that you were created.

You were the anointed cherub who covers. Then I set you up on the holy mountain of God. You have walked up and down in the middle of the stones of fire.

You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.

By the abundance of your commerce, your insides were filled with violence, and you have sinned. Therefore I have cast you as profane out of God’s mountain. I have destroyed you, covering cherub, from the middle of the stones of fire.

Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I have cast you to the ground. I have laid you before kings, that they may see you.

By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your commerce, you have profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought out a fire from the middle of you. It has devoured you. I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all those who see you.

All those who know you among the peoples will be astonished at you. You have become a terror, and you will exist no more.”’”

A Prophecy against Sidon

The LORD’s word came to me, saying,

“Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against it,

and say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against you, Sidon. I will be glorified among you. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have executed judgments in her, and am sanctified in her.

For I will send pestilence into her, and blood into her streets. The wounded will fall within her, with the sword on her on every side. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

“‘“There will no longer be a pricking brier to the house of Israel, nor a hurting thorn of any that are around them that scorned them. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”

The Restoration of Israel

(Jeremiah 30:1–17)

“‘The Lord GOD says: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am shown as holy among them in the sight of the nations, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to my servant Jacob.

They will dwell in it securely. Yes, they will build houses, plant vineyards, and will dwell securely when I have executed judgments on all those around them who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.”’”

Footnotes

(a)28:13 or, lapis lazuli