Old Testament · Prophecy

Ezekiel 28

The King of Tyre

You were in Eden, the garden of God. You were the sighing seal of perfection — until wickedness was found in you. The language reaches past any human king.

Berean Standard Bible BSB KJV

1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.

3Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you!

4By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries.

5By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.

6Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you regard your heart as the heart of a god,

7behold, I will bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and will defile your splendor.

8They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas.

9Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who slay you? You will be only a man, not a god, in the hands of those who wound you.

10You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners. For I have spoken,

11Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

12“Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

13You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.

14You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for I had ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

15From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways— until wickedness was found in you.

16By the vastness of your trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and I banished you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.

17Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.

18By the multitude of your iniquities and the dishonesty of your trading you have profaned your sanctuaries. So I made fire come from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the eyes of all who saw you.

19All the nations who know you are appalled over you. You have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”

20Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

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

22And you are to declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, and I will be glorified within you. They will know that I am the LORD when I execute judgments against her and demonstrate My holiness through her.

23I will send a plague against her and shed blood in her streets; the slain will fall within her, while the sword is against her on every side. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

24For the people of Israel will no longer face a pricking brier or a painful thorn from all around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.’

25This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they have been scattered, I will show Myself holy among them in the sight of the nations.

26And there they will dwell securely, build houses, and plant vineyards. They will dwell securely when I execute judgments against all those around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.’”

Understand This

Ezekiel 28, explained

What Ezekiel 28 is saying

Ezekiel addresses the king of Tyre, who claims to be a god. The prophet describes him as once in Eden, adorned with precious stones, a guardian cherub on God's holy mountain—before pride led to his fall. A brief oracle against Sidon and a promise of Israel's restoration follow.

The background behind it

The 'Eden' and 'guardian cherub' language has generated extensive debate: it may reflect Tyrian royal mythology, an Adamic typology, or angelological tradition. Many Christian interpreters have read it as a reference to Satan's fall, though this reading goes beyond the text's primary historical referent.

Themes running underneath

Pride—the self-deification of human wisdom and beauty—is the quintessential sin that precipitates catastrophic fall. The Eden imagery universalizes the pattern: from the garden to the king of Tyre, the claim to divine status leads to ruin.

Why it still matters

The temptation to self-sufficiency grows with success. This chapter warns that the greater the gifts and achievements, the greater the danger of the pride that claims credit for what was given by God.

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Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible — used by permission, Bible Hub.