CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Ezekiel 26
Chapter 26 of 48
Chapter Overview
What happens in Ezekiel 26
God prophesies the destruction of the great coastal city of Tyre, which celebrated Jerusalem's fall because it expected to gain more trade. God would bring many nations against Tyre like waves of the sea, and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon would lay siege to it.
Scripture
Ezekiel 26
Tyre Celebrates Jerusalem's Fall
Study note
Tyre was one of the greatest trading cities in the ancient world, located on the coast of modern-day Lebanon. When Jerusalem fell, Tyre saw a business opportunity: with the gate to the trade routes broken, more wealth would flow to Tyre. God promised that many nations would come against Tyre like ocean waves, destroying its walls and towers. Even its dust would be scraped away, leaving bare rock.
1 During the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the Lord spoke to me. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 "Son of man, the city of Tyre has gloated over Jerusalem, saying, 'Ha! The gateway of trade between nations is shattered! All that business will flow to me now. I will get rich from Jerusalem's ruins!'" Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:
3 So the Lord God says: "I am coming against you, Tyre! I will send wave after wave of nations crashing against you, like the sea pounding the shore." Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.
4 "They will demolish your walls and knock down your towers. I will scrape away every trace of dirt and leave you as nothing but bare rock." And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
5 "You will become nothing more than a flat rock in the ocean where fishermen spread their nets. I have spoken, says the Lord God. You will be picked apart by the nations." It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.
6 "Your villages on the mainland will be destroyed by the sword. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord." And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Nebuchadnezzar's Siege
Study note
God specifically named Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon as the instrument of judgment. He would bring a massive army with horses, chariots, and battering rams against Tyre. The city's walls would be broken, its towers torn down, and its wealth plundered. The city would be reduced to a bare rock where fishermen spread their nets. Nebuchadnezzar did indeed lay siege to mainland Tyre for 13 years (585-573 BC).
7 "The Lord God says: I am bringing Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, against Tyre from the north. He is the king of kings, arriving with horses, war chariots, cavalry, and a massive army." For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
8 "He will wipe out your mainland settlements with the sword. He will construct siege works, build ramps against your walls, and advance behind a wall of shields." He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.
9 "He will aim his battering rams at your walls and use his tools to tear apart your towers." And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.
10 "He will bring so many horses that their dust will blot out the sky. Your walls will shake from the thundering noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots as he storms through your gates like an army entering a city whose walls have been smashed." By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.
11 "His horses' hooves will trample every street. He will slaughter your citizens with the sword, and your mighty pillars will topple to the ground." With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.
12 "His army will seize your wealth and haul away your merchandise. They will smash your walls and demolish your beautiful homes. They will dump your stones, timber, and rubble into the sea." And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.
13 "I will silence your music forever. Your songs and the melody of your harps will never be heard again." And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.
14 "I will leave you as nothing but bare rock -- just a spot where fishermen dry their nets. You will never be rebuilt, because I, the Lord, have decreed it, says the Lord God." And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
Tyre's Fall Shakes the Nations
Study note
The fall of Tyre would cause all the coastal rulers and trading nations to tremble with fear. They would come down from their thrones, take off their royal robes, and sit on the ground in shock. They would sing a lament over Tyre, amazed that such a famous and powerful city could be destroyed. Tyre would sink into the pit of death and never be rebuilt or found again.
15 The Lord God says to Tyre: "Will not the coastlands tremble when you collapse, when the wounded groan and the massacre fills your streets?" Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?
16 "Every ruler along the coast will step down from their thrones. They will take off their royal robes and fancy clothing. They will wrap themselves in fear and sit on the bare ground, shaking and horrified at what has happened to you." Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.
17 "They will chant a funeral song over you: 'How you are destroyed, legendary city! You once dominated the sea! You and your people terrorized everyone around you. Now you are utterly destroyed!'" And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!
18 "The coastlands shake on the day you fall. The islands out at sea are terrified by your downfall." Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.
19 "The Lord God says: I will turn you into an empty ruin, a city where no one lives. I will bring the deep ocean up to drown you. The great waters will swallow you." For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;
20 "I will send you down to join the dead of long ago in the underworld. I will make you dwell in those ancient ruins below the earth, alongside everyone who has descended into the grave. You will never again be inhabited or hold a place in the land of the living." When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;
21 "I will bring you to a horrifying end, and you will vanish forever. People will look for you but never find you again, says the Lord God." I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.
Key Themes
Themes in Ezekiel 26
Pride of nationsTyre's fallProfiting from others' sufferingNo earthly power lasts forever
Apply This Today
Living Ezekiel 26
Tyre saw Jerusalem's fall as a business opportunity. Profiting from others' pain is something God notices and judges. This challenges us to respond to others' misfortune with generosity rather than self-interest.
Go Deeper
Study Ezekiel in Covenant Path
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