Bible Commentaries

Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy heart [is] lifted up, and thou hast said, ^a 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 settest thy heart as the heart of God:

(a) I am safe as God is safe in the heavens and no one can hurt me.

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

(b) Thus he speaks by derision: for Daniel had declared notable signs of his wisdom in Babylon, when Ezekiel wrote this.

Thou shalt die the deaths of the ^c uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD.

(c) Like the rest of the heathen and infidels who are God's enemies.

Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of ^d wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

(d) He derides the vain opinion and confidence that the Tyrians had in their riches, strength and pleasures.

Thou [art] ^e the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee ^f [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the ^g stones of fire.

(e) He means the royal state of Tyre, which for the excellency and glory of it he compares to the cherubim which covered the Ark, and by "anointed" he signifies the same.

(f) I did you this honour to make you one of the builders of my temple, which was when Hiram sent to Solomon things necessary for the work.

(g) That is, among my people Israel, which shined as precious stones.

Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast ^h created, till iniquity was found in thee.

(h) Which was when I first called you to this dignity.

By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the ⁱ mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

(i) You will have no part among my people.

Thou hast defiled thy ^k sanctuaries by the multitude of thy iniquities, by the iniquity of thy merchandise; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

(k) That is, the honour to which I called them.

And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Zidon; and I will be ^l glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.

(l) By executing my judgments against your wickedness.

For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her ^m by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.

(m) That is Nebuchadnezzar.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be ⁿ sanctified in them in the sight of the nations, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.

(n) He shows why God will assemble his Church and preserve it, though he destroy his enemies: that is, that they should praise him, and give thanks for his great mercies.