Ezekiel 28

1 [Then] Yahweh gave me another message. [He said]:

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

2 “You human, give to the king of Tyre this message from [me], Yahweh the Lord: ‘You have very proudly claimed, “I am a god! I sit on a throne of a god [in a city on an island] in the sea!” You boast that you are a god; but you are only a man, not a god.

“Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Your heart is arrogant! You have said, “I am a god! I will sit in the seat of the gods in the heart of the seas!” Even though you are a man and not a god, you make your heart like the heart of a god;

3 [You think that] you are wiser than Daniel was, [and you think that] you can understand every secret.

you think that you are wiser than Daniel, and that no secret amazes you!

4 By being wise and understanding [a lot], you have become [very] rich; you have acquired much gold and silver for your treasuries.

You have made yourself wealthy with wisdom and skill, and obtained gold and silver in your treasuries!

5 [Yes, it is true that] by trading wisely, you have been enabled to become very rich, and because you are rich, you have become very proud.

By great wisdom and by your trading, you have multiplied your wealth, so your heart is arrogant because of your wealth.

6 Therefore, this is what Yahweh the Lord says: “Because you think that you are as wise as a god,

Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says this: Because you have made your heart like the heart of a god,

7 I will [now] bring a foreign [army] to attack your [country], an army that causes other nations to be terrified. They will pull out their swords to strike you, [you who think that] [IRO] you have marvelous/great wisdom, and they will destroy all your beautiful things.

I will therefore bring foreigners against you, terrifying men from other nations. They will bring their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and they will profane your splendor.

8 They will bring you down to your grave; you will die violently like [MET] those who died in the sea.

They will send you down to the pit, and you will die the death of those who die in the heart of the seas.

9 Then you will certainly not [RHQ] say to those who are killing you, 'I am a god!' [because they will know that] you are not a god; you are only a man.

Will you truly say, “I am a god” to the face of one who kills you? You are a man and not God, and you will be in the hand of the one who pierces you.

10 You will die like other people who are unacceptable to me die, killed by foreigners.” [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.’”

You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners, for I have declared it—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'”

11 Yahweh also gave me this message:

The word of Yahweh came again to me, saying,

12 “You human, sing a sad/funeral song about the king of Tyre. Say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: [“You thought that] [IRO] you were completely perfect, extremely wise and handsome.

“Son of man, lift up a lament for the king of Tyre and say to him, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

13 You [had a wonderful life, as though] you were in my [beautiful] garden in Eden. Your [clothes] were decorated with many [HYP] kinds of very valuable stones— ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, turquoise, and beryl [stones]. Those stones were set/placed in gold [mountings]. They were prepared for you on the day that you were born.

You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone covered you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made from gold. It was on the day you were created that they were prepared.

14 I appointed [DOU] you to be like [MET] a strong angel to guard the people. [It was as though I put] you on my holy mountain, and you walked among fiery stones.

I placed you on the holy mountain of God as the cherub I anointed to guard mankind. You were in the midst of the fiery stones where you walked about.

15 You were completely good in all that you did, from the day that you were created/born, until you [started to] do wicked things.

You had integrity in your ways from the day you were created until injustice was found within you.

16 [Then] you became busy trading things, and you started to act violently, and you sinned. So I caused you to be disgraced; and the angel who was guarding you forced you to leave my holy mountain, forced you to leave your place among those fiery stones.

Through your great trade you were filled with violence, and so you sinned. So I threw you out of the mountain of God, as a one who was defiled, and I destroyed you, guardian cherub, and drove you from among the fiery stones.

17 You were extremely proud because you were very handsome. Because you loved beautiful things, you did things that wise people do not do. [So] I threw you to the ground, and allowed [other] kings who saw you to laugh at you.

Your heart was arrogant with your beauty; you ruined your wisdom because of your splendor. I have sent you down to the earth. I have placed you before kings so they may see you.

18 By committing many sins and by trading things dishonestly, you caused your places of worship to become unacceptable to me. So I caused a fire [to burn down your city]. [Your city] was burned completely; the people who were watching it saw that only ashes remained on the ground.

Because of your many sins and your dishonest trade, you have defiled your holy places. So I have made fire come out from you; it will consume you. I will turn you into ashes on the earth in the sight of all who look at you.

19 All the people who knew what your [city was like previously] were appalled. Now [your city] has disappeared, and it will not exist any more.”’”

All the ones who knew you among the peoples will shudder at you; they will be horrified, and you will be no more forever.'”

20 [Then] Yahweh gave me another message. [He said],

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

21 “You human, turn toward Sidon [city], and declare the terrible things that will happen to it.

“Son of man, set your face against Sidon and prophesy against her.

22 Give [the people of Sidon] this message from [me], Yahweh the Lord: ‘I am your enemy, [you people of] Sidon, and by what I do to you, I will reveal that I am very great/glorious. When I punish you and reveal that I am holy, everyone who is watching that will know that it is I, Yahweh, [who have the power to do what I say that I will do].

Say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Behold! I am against you, Sidon! For I will be glorified in your midst so your people will know that I am Yahweh when I execute justice within you. I will be shown to be holy in you.

23 I will send a plague upon you, and I will send [enemies to come and] kill [MTY] you in your streets. They will attack you from every direction, and your people will be slaughtered inside the walls of your city. Then everyone will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].'

I will send out a plague in you and blood in your streets, and the slain will fall in your midst. When the sword comes against you from all around, then you will know that I am Yahweh.

24 No longer will those who live near you people of Israel [hurt you] like [MET] painful briers and sharp thorns [hurt people]. And then the Israeli people will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].”

Then there will no longer be pricking briars and painful thorns for the house of Israel from all those around her who despise her people, so they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh!'

25 And this is [also] what Yahweh the Lord says: “Some day the people of Israel will live in their own land [again], the land that I gave to Jacob, who [also] served me. I will gather them from [distant] countries where I have scattered them. And I will reveal to the nations that I am holy among my people.

The Lord Yahweh says this, 'When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they were scattered, and when I am set apart among them, so the nations may see, then they will make their homes in the land I will give to my servant Jacob.

26 My people will live safely in Israel; they will build houses and plant vineyards. And when I punish the nearby nations that despised them, they will know that it is I, Yahweh their God, [who has done it].”

Then they will live securely within her and build houses, plant vineyards, and live securely when I execute justice on all the ones who now despise them from all around; so they will know that I am Yahweh their God!'”