8 They shall bring thee down H3381 to the pit, H7845 and thou shalt die H4191 the deaths H4463 of them that are slain H2491 in the midst H3820 of the seas. H3220
Thy rowers H7751 have brought H935 thee into great H7227 waters: H4325 the east H6921 wind H7307 hath broken H7665 thee in the midst H3820 of the seas. H3220 Thy riches, H1952 and thy fairs, H5801 thy merchandise, H4627 thy mariners, H4419 and thy pilots, H2259 thy calkers, H919 H2388 and the occupiers H6148 of thy merchandise, H4627 and all thy men H582 of war, H4421 that are in thee, and in all thy company H6951 which is in the midst H8432 of thee, shall fall H5307 into the midst H3820 of the seas H3220 in the day H3117 of thy ruin. H4658
I am counted H2803 with them that go down H3381 into the pit: H953 I am as a man H1397 that hath no strength: H353 Free H2670 among the dead, H4191 like the slain H2491 that lie H7901 in the grave, H6913 whom thou rememberest H2142 no more: and they are cut off H1504 from thy hand. H3027
Son H1121 of man, H120 wail H5091 for the multitude H1995 of Egypt, H4714 and cast them down, H3381 even her, and the daughters H1323 of the famous H117 nations, H1471 unto the nether parts H8482 of the earth, H776 with them that go down H3381 into the pit. H953 Whom dost thou pass in beauty? H5276 go down, H3381 and be thou laid H7901 with the uncircumcised. H6189 They shall fall H5307 in the midst H8432 of them that are slain H2491 by the sword: H2719 she is delivered H5414 to the sword: H2719 draw H4900 her and all her multitudes. H1995 The strong H410 among the mighty H1368 shall speak H1696 to him out of the midst H8432 of hell H7585 with them that help H5826 him: they are gone down, H3381 they lie H7901 uncircumcised, H6189 slain H2491 by the sword. H2719 Asshur H804 is there and all her company: H6951 his graves H6913 are about H5439 him: all of them slain, H2491 fallen H5307 by the sword: H2719 Whose graves H6913 are set H5414 in the sides H3411 of the pit, H953 and her company H6951 is round about H5439 her grave: H6900 all of them slain, H2491 fallen H5307 by the sword, H2719 which caused H5414 terror H2851 in the land H776 of the living. H2416 There is Elam H5867 and all her multitude H1995 round about H5439 her grave, H6900 all of them slain, H2491 fallen H5307 by the sword, H2719 which are gone down H3381 uncircumcised H6189 into the nether parts H8482 of the earth, H776 which caused H5414 their terror H2851 in the land H776 of the living; H2416 yet have they borne H5375 their shame H3639 with them that go down H3381 to the pit. H953 They have set H5414 her a bed H4904 in the midst H8432 of the slain H2491 with all her multitude: H1995 her graves H6913 are round about H5439 him: all of them uncircumcised, H6189 slain H2491 by the sword: H2719 though their terror H2851 was caused H5414 in the land H776 of the living, H2416 yet have they borne H5375 their shame H3639 with them that go down H3381 to the pit: H953 he is put H5414 in the midst H8432 of them that be slain. H2491 There is Meshech, H4902 Tubal, H8422 and all her multitude: H1995 her graves H6913 are round about H5439 him: all of them uncircumcised, H6189 slain H2490 by the sword, H2719 though they caused H5414 their terror H2851 in the land H776 of the living. H2416 And they shall not lie H7901 with the mighty H1368 that are fallen H5307 of the uncircumcised, H6189 which are gone down H3381 to hell H7585 with their weapons H3627 of war: H4421 and they have laid H5414 their swords H2719 under their heads, H7218 but their iniquities H5771 shall be upon their bones, H6106 though they were the terror H2851 of the mighty H1368 in the land H776 of the living. H2416 Yea, thou shalt be broken H7665 in the midst H8432 of the uncircumcised, H6189 and shalt lie H7901 with them that are slain H2491 with the sword. H2719 There is Edom, H123 her kings, H4428 and all her princes, H5387 which with their might H1369 are laid H5414 by them that were slain H2491 by the sword: H2719 they shall lie H7901 with the uncircumcised, H6189 and with them that go down H3381 to the pit. H953 There be the princes H5257 of the north, H6828 all of them, and all the Zidonians, H6722 which are gone down H3381 with the slain; H2491 with their terror H2851 they are ashamed H954 of their might; H1369 and they lie H7901 uncircumcised H6189 with them that be slain H2491 by the sword, H2719 and bear H5375 their shame H3639 with them that go down H3381 to the pit. H953
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ezekiel 28
Commentary on Ezekiel 28 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 28
Eze 28:1-26. Prophetical Dirge on the King of Tyre, as the Culmination and Embodiment of the Spirit of Carnal Pride and Self-sufficiency of the Whole State. The Fall of Zidon, the Mother City. The Restoration of Israel in Contrast with Tyre and Zidon.
2. Because, &c.—repeated resumptively in Eze 28:6. The apodosis begins at Eze 28:7. "The prince of Tyrus" at the time was Ithobal, or Ithbaal II; the name implying his close connection with Baal, the Phœnician supreme god, whose representative he was.
I am a god, I sit in … seat of God … the seas—As God sits enthroned in His heavenly citadel exempt from all injury, so I sit secure in my impregnable stronghold amidst the stormiest elements, able to control them at will, and make them subserve my interests. The language, though primarily here applied to the king of Tyre, as similar language is to the king of Babylon (Isa 14:13, 14), yet has an ulterior and fuller accomplishment in Satan and his embodiment in Antichrist (Da 7:25; 11:36, 37; 2Th 2:4; Re 13:6). This feeling of superhuman elevation in the king of Tyre was fostered by the fact that the island on which Tyre stood was called "the holy island" [Sanconiathon], being sacred to Hercules, so much so that the colonies looked up to Tyre as the mother city of their religion, as well as of their political existence. The Hebrew for "God" is El, that is, "the Mighty One."
yet, &c.—keen irony.
set thine heart as … heart of God—Thou thinkest of thyself as if thou wert God.
3. Ezekiel ironically alludes to Ithbaal's overweening opinion of the wisdom of himself and the Tyrians, as though superior to that of Daniel, whose fame had reached even Tyre as eclipsing the Chaldean sages. "Thou art wiser," namely, in thine own opinion (Zec 9:2).
no secret—namely, forgetting riches (Eze 28:4).
that they can hide—that is, that can be hidden.
5. (Ps 62:10).
6. Because, &c.—resumptive of Eze 28:2.
7. therefore—apodosis.
strangers … terrible of the nations—the Chaldean foreigners noted for their ferocity (Eze 30:11; 31:12).
against the beauty of thy wisdom—that is, against thy beautiful possessions acquired by thy wisdom on which thou pridest thyself (Eze 28:3-5).
defile thy brightness—obscure the brightness of thy kingdom.
8. the pit—that is, the bottom of the sea; the image being that of one conquered in a sea-fight.
the deaths—plural, as various kinds of deaths are meant (Jer 16:4).
of them … slain—literally, "pierced through." Such deaths as those pierced with many wounds die.
9. yet say—that is, still say; referring to Eze 28:2.
but, &c.—But thy blasphemous boastings shall be falsified, and thou shalt be shown to be but man, and not God, in the hand (at the mercy) of Him.
10. deaths of … uncircumcised—that is, such a death as the uncircumcised or godless heathen deserve; and perhaps, also, such as the uncircumcised inflict, a great ignominy in the eyes of a Jew (1Sa 31:4); a fit retribution on him who had scoffed at the circumcised Jews.
12. sealest up the sum—literally, "Thou art the one sealing the sum of perfection." A thing is sealed when completed (Da 9:24). "The sum" implies the full measure of beauty, from a Hebrew root, "to measure." The normal man—one formed after accurate rule.
13. in Eden—The king of Tyre is represented in his former high state (contrasted with his subsequent downfall), under images drawn from the primeval man in Eden, the type of humanity in its most Godlike form.
garden of God—the model of ideal loveliness (Eze 31:8, 9; 36:35). In the person of the king of Tyre a new trial was made of humanity with the greatest earthly advantages. But as in the case of Adam, the good gifts of God were only turned into ministers to pride and self.
every precious stone—so in Eden (Ge 2:12), "gold, bdellium, and the onyx stone." So the king of Tyre was arrayed in jewel-bespangled robes after the fashion of Oriental monarchs. The nine precious stones here mentioned answer to nine of the twelve (representing the twelve tribes) in the high priest's breastplate (Ex 39:10-13; Re 21:14, 19-21). Of the four rows of three in each, the third is omitted in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the Septuagint. In this, too, there is an ulterior reference to Antichrist, who is blasphemously to arrogate the office of our divine High Priest (Zec 6:13).
tabrets—tambourines.
pipes—literally, "holes" in musical pipes or flutes.
created—that is, in the day of thine accession to the throne. Tambourines and all the marks of joy were ready prepared for thee ("in thee," that is, "with and for thee"). Thou hadst not, like others, to work thy way to the throne through arduous struggles. No sooner created than, like Adam, thou wast surrounded with the gratifications of Eden. Fairbairn, for "pipes," translates, "females" (having reference to Ge 1:27), that is, musician-women. Maurer explains the Hebrew not as to music, but as to the setting and mounting of the gems previously mentioned.
14. anointed cherub—Gesenius translates from an Aramaic root, "extended cherub." English Version, from a Hebrew root, is better. "The cherub consecrated to the Lord by the anointing oil" [Fairbairn].
covereth—The imagery employed by Ezekiel as a priest is from the Jewish temple, wherein the cherubim overshadowed the mercy seat, as the king of Tyre, a demi-god in his own esteem, extended his protection over the interests of Tyre. The cherub—an ideal compound of the highest kinds of animal existence and the type of redeemed man in his ultimate state of perfection—is made the image of the king of Tyre, as if the beau ideal of humanity. The pretensions of Antichrist are the ulterior reference, of whom the king of Tyre is a type. Compare "As God … in the temple of God" (2Th 2:4).
I have set thee—not thou set thyself (Pr 8:16; Ro 13:1).
upon the holy mountain of God—Zion, following up the image.
in … midst of … stones of fire—In ambitious imagination he stood in the place of God, "under whose feet was, as it were, a pavement of sapphire," while His glory was like "devouring fire" (Ex 24:10, 17).
15. perfect—prosperous [Grotius], and having no defect. So Hiram was a sample of the Tyrian monarch in his early days of wisdom and prosperity (1Ki 5:7, &c.).
till iniquity … in thee—Like the primeval man thou hast fallen by abusing God's gifts, and so hast provoked God's wrath.
16. filled the midst of thee—that is, they have filled the midst of the city; he as the head of the state being involved in the guilt of the state, which he did not check, but fostered.
cast thee as profane—no longer treated as sacred, but driven out of the place of sanctity (see Eze 28:14) which thou hast occupied (compare Ps 89:39).
17. brightness—thy splendor.
lay thee before kings—as an example of God's wrath against presumptuous pride.
18. thy sanctuaries—that is, the holy places, attributed to the king of Tyre in Eze 28:14, as his ideal position. As he "profaned" it, so God will "profane" him (Eze 28:16).
fire … devour—As he abused his supposed elevation amidst "the stones of fire" (Eze 28:16), so God will make His "fire" to "devour" him.
21. Zidon—famous for its fishery (from a root, Zud, "to fish"); and afterwards for its wide extended commerce; its artistic elegance was proverbial. Founded by Canaan's first-born (Ge 10:15). Tyre was an offshoot from it, so that it was involved in the same overthrow by the Chaldeans as Tyre. It is mentioned separately, because its idolatry (Ashtaroth, Tammuz, or Adonis) infected Israel more than that of Tyre did (Eze 8:14; Jud 10:6; 1Ki 11:33). The notorious Jezebel was a daughter of the Zidonian king.
22. shall be sanctified in her—when all nations shall see that I am the Holy Judge in the vengeance that I will inflict on her for sin.
24. no more … brier … unto … Israel—as the idolatrous nations left in Canaan (among which Zidon is expressly specified in the limits of Asher, Jud 1:31) had been (Nu 33:55; Jos 23:13). "A brier," first ensnaring the Israelites in sin, and then being made the instrument of punishing them.
pricking—literally, "causing bitterness." The same Hebrew is translated "fretting" (Le 13:51, 52). The wicked are often called "thorns" (2Sa 23:6).
25, 26. Fulfilled in part at the restoration from Babylon, when Judaism, so far from being merged in heathenism, made inroads by conversions on the idolatry of surrounding nations. The full accomplishment is yet future, when Israel, under Christ, shall be the center of Christendom; of which an earnest was given in the woman from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon who sought the Saviour (Mt 15:21, 24, 26-28; compare Isa 11:12).
dwell safely—(Jer 23:6).