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Ezequiel 28

BLIVRE · Chapter 28/48

1E veio a mim a palavra do SENHOR, dizendo:

2Filho do homem, dize ao príncipe de Tiro: Assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Dado que teu coração se exalta, e dizes: Eu sou um deus; no trono de de Deus me sento no meio dos mares (sendo tu homem e não Deus); e consideras teu coração como coração de Deus;

3(Eis que tu és mais sábio que Daniel; não há segredo algum que possa se esconder de ti;

4Com tua sabedoria e teu entendimento obtiveste riquezas, e adquiriste ouro e prata em teus tesouros;

5Com a tua grande sabedoria aumentaste tuas riquezas em teu comércio; e por causa de tuas riquezas teu coração tem se exaltado).

6Portanto assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Dado que consideras teu coração como coração [se fosse] de Deus,

7Por isso eis que eu trarei sobre ti estrangeiros, os mais violentos das nações, os quais desembainharão suas espadas contra a beleza de tua sabedoria, e contaminarão o teu resplendor.

8À cova te farão descer, e morrerás da morte dos que morrem no meio dos mares.

9Por acaso dirás: Eu sou Deus, diante de teu matador? Tu és homem, e não Deus, nas mãos de quem te matar.

10De morte de incircuncisos morrerás, pela mão de estrangeiros; porque [assim] eu falei, diz o Senhor DEUS.

11E veio a mim a palavra do SENHOR, dizendo:

12Filho do homem, levanta uma lamentação sobre o rei de Tiro, e dize-lhe: Assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Tu eras o carimbo da perfeição, cheio de sabedoria, e perfeito em formosura.

13Estiveste no Éden, o jardim de Deus; toda pedra preciosa era tua cobertura; sárdio, topázio, diamante, turquesa, ônix, jaspe, safira, carbúnculo, e esmeralda; e [de] ouro era a obra de tuas molduras e de teus engastes em ti; no dia em que foste criado estavam preparados.

14Tu eras querubim ungido, cobridor; e eu te estabeleci, no santo monte de Deus estavas; no meio de pedras de fogo tu andavas.

15Íntegro eras em teus caminhos, desde o dia em que foste criado, até que se achou maldade em ti.

16Pela abundância de teu comércio encheram o meio de ti de violência; por isso eu te expulsei como profanado do monte de Deus, e te farei perecer, ó querubim cobridor, do meio das pedras de fogo.

17Teu coração se exaltou por causa de tua formosura, corrompeste tua sabedoria por causa de teu resplendor; eu te lancei por terra; diante dos reis eu te pus, para que olhem para ti.

18Por causa da multidão de tuas maldades e da perversidade de teu comércio, profanaste teus santuários; por isso eu fiz sair um fogo do meio de ti, o qual te consumiu; e te tornei em cinza sobre a terra, diante dos olhos de todos quantos te veem.

19Todos os que te conhecem entre os povos estão espantados por causa de ti; em grande horror te tornaste, e nunca mais voltarás a existir.

20E veio a mim a palavra do SENHOR, dizendo:

21Filho do homem, dirige teu rosto contra Sidom, e profetiza contra ela;

22E dize: Assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Eis que eu sou contra ti, ó Sidom, e serei glorificado no meio de ti; e saberão que eu sou o SENHOR, quando nela fizer juízos, e nela me santificar.

23Pois enviarei a ela pestilência e sangue em suas ruas; e mortos cairão no meio dela pela espada que está contra ela ao redor; e saberão que eu sou o SENHOR.

24E a casa de Israel nunca mais terá espinho que a fira, nem abrolho que cause dor, de todos os que desprezam ao redor deles; e saberão que eu sou o Senhor DEUS.

25Assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Quando eu ajuntar a casa de Israel dos povos entre os quais estão dispersos, e eu me santificar entre eles diante dos olhos das nações, então habitarão em sua terra, que dei a meu servo Jacó.

26E habitarão nela em segurança, edificarão casas, e plantarão vinhas; e habitarão em segurança, quando eu fizer juízos contra todos os que os desprezam ao redor deles; e saberão que eu sou o SENHOR, o Deus deles.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God condemns the pride of the prince of Tyre, who considered himself a god, and then delivers a poetic lament over the 'king of Tyre' described in language that evokes Eden itself and a cherub who fell because of pride.

Explanation

The first part (vv. 1-10) deals with the actual human ruler of Tyre, condemned for commercial arrogance. The second part (vv. 11-19), however, with its language about being 'in Eden, the garden of God' and an 'anointed cherub,' goes far beyond any human king — which is why many scholars see here a poetic description that also points symbolically to the fall of a proud spiritual being, using the exalted language of prophetic poetry to describe the spiritual root behind human pride. Regardless of the exact interpretation, the central theme is clear: beauty and success, when they breed pride and the illusion of divine self-sufficiency, lead to a fall.

Fun facts

  • The list of nine precious stones that covered the 'king of Tyre' (v. 13) is nearly identical to the list of stones on the high priest's breastplate in Exodus 28, symbolically linking this being to a position of extreme closeness to God before his fall.
  • This passage, together with Isaiah 14 (about the fall of the 'king of Babylon'), is one of the historical foundations of the later tradition about the fall of Satan, although Ezekiel's original text is formally addressed to the ruler of Tyre.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezequiel 28:1The formula that opens a new oracle, now against the ‘prince’ (ruler) of Tyre — different from the lament over the ‘king’ of Tyre that comes later in the same chapter.
  2. Ezequiel 28:2‘I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas’ is the central accusation against the prince of Tyre: pride to the point of thinking himself divine because of his commercial success and the strategic position of a city surrounded by water.
  3. Ezequiel 28:3‘Wiser than Daniel’ is another reference to that wise and righteous name also found in 14:14 — many scholars think Ezekiel is citing here a legendary wisdom figure known from ancient Near Eastern texts, not necessarily the young Daniel then living at the Babylonian court.
  4. Ezequiel 28:4The ruler of Tyre’s wealth came from his commercial wisdom, not from a divine gift — the text lays the groundwork to accuse him of thinking himself more than he is.
  5. Ezequiel 28:5Business success is pointed to as the root of the pride: the richer the ruler became, the more his heart ‘was lifted up’ — biblical language for arrogance.
  6. Ezequiel 28:6It repeats the oracle’s central accusation — treating his own heart as though it were ‘the heart of God’ — right before announcing the punishment that follows.
  7. Ezequiel 28:7The announced punishment is a foreign invasion (probably Babylon), which would strike at exactly what the ruler was proudest of: his wisdom and his splendor.
  8. Ezequiel 28:8‘To the pit’ is death-language: no matter how far above others he thought himself, the ruler of Tyre would die like any mortal, in the midst of the sea he had dominated.
  9. Ezequiel 28:9An ironic question closes the argument: will he still say ‘I am God’ at the moment of death, at the hand of the one killing him?
  10. Ezequiel 28:10‘The deaths of the uncircumcised’ was considered a shameful death, without honor — the opposite of the respect a powerful ruler expected to receive.
  11. Ezequiel 28:11A second introductory formula within the same chapter: it separates the direct oracle against the ‘prince’ (vv.1–10) from the poetic lament over the ‘king’ of Tyre that begins next.
  12. Ezequiel 28:12The description of the king of Tyre in the garden of Eden, covered with precious stones, like a cherub guarding the place until ‘iniquity was found in thee,’ is poetic language about pride and downfall — later traditions read this passage as a reference to a fallen heavenly being, but in the chapter’s own context the lament’s direct target is the human ruler of Tyre.
  13. Ezequiel 28:13The poem describes the king of Tyre as though he had lived in Eden, covered with precious stones — exaggerated language describing the original splendor of the city and its monarchy.
  14. Ezequiel 28:14‘The anointed cherub that covereth’ and ‘the holy mountain of God’ are images of a guardian being in an exceedingly exalted position — the poetry uses heavenly figures to speak of the king’s pride.
  15. Ezequiel 28:15‘Perfect… till iniquity was found in thee’ marks the poem’s turning point: from original perfection to the corruption that follows.
  16. Ezequiel 28:16The cause of the downfall is identified: trade itself, full of violence and injustice — tying this lament back to the practical criticism of Tyre in the previous chapter.
  17. Ezequiel 28:17Pride in his own beauty corrupted the king’s wisdom; the result is public humiliation, exposed before other kings as a warning.
  18. Ezequiel 28:18‘Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries’ links commercial injustice to a religious offense; the fire that consumes everything down to ashes shows destruction that is both total and visible.
  19. Ezequiel 28:19It repeats the same refrain used for Tyre in the previous chapters — general astonishment and definitive disappearance — reinforcing that this fate has no return.
  20. Ezequiel 28:20The introductory formula of a new oracle, much shorter, now against Zidon — another Phoenician city, a neighbor and somewhat less important than Tyre.
  21. Ezequiel 28:21The order to prophesy against Zidon, following the same pattern used in the earlier oracles against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the Philistines.
  22. Ezequiel 28:22Zidon would suffer so that everyone would recognize ‘that I am the Lord’ — the same refrain repeated throughout this whole block of judgments against the nations.
  23. Ezequiel 28:23Pestilence and violence in the streets are the specific form of Zidon’s punishment, following the same logic of war and death already seen in the earlier oracles.
  24. Ezequiel 28:24‘No more a pricking brier’ promises the end of the constant harassment of Israel by its neighbors — a counterpoint of hope placed right in the middle of this sequence of judgment oracles against the nations.
  25. Ezequiel 28:25After judging the neighboring nations, the tone shifts: God promises to gather scattered Israel and bring it back to the land — linking the judgments on the nations to the hope of restoration.
  26. Ezequiel 28:26Details of the promised safe life — houses built, vineyards planted, no more threat from the neighbors — a direct contrast with the chaos the earlier oracles described.

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