Ezekiel

Against the King of Tyre

The word of the Lord came to me:

“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre:You are very proud and self-satisfied:‘I am a god, I sit like a god in the heart of the sea.’Yet you are a man and not a god;would you think of yourself as wise as God?

You consider yourself wiser than Daniel;no secret is hidden from you.

Your wisdom and skills have made you rich, gold and silver poured into your treasury.

Clever in trade, you grew wealthy, and as your fortune grew, your pride increased.

But now, the Lord has spoken to you, to the one who pretends to be like God:

I am bringing foreigners against you, the most feared of all nations. Their sword will challenge your wisdom and diminish your refined culture.

They will bring you down to the pit, and you will diein the depths of the sea.

Will you still be able to say ‘I am a god’ when your murderers are killing you? You are a man, not a god.

You will die the death of the uncircumcised and perish at the hands of aliens, for I have spoken—word of the Lord.”

The word of the Lord came to me:

“Son of man, sing a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him: This is what the Lord says: You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

You dwelled in Eden, the garden of God; every kind of precious stone was your adornment—ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. The ornaments on your robe were made of gold, prepared for you on the day you were created.

I anointed you as a guardian angel, on the holy mountain of God, where you walked among the spirits of God.

You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until wickedness was found in you.

Because of your extensive trade, you were filled with violence and sinned; I then took away your dignity, driving you away from the mountain of God and expelling you from among the guardian angels.

Your heart was proud because of your beauty. As your splendor corrupted your wisdom, I cast you down to the ground and made you a spectacle before kings in their sight.

Your many sins and dishonest trade have filled and polluted your sanctuaries. Then I caused a fire to ignite within you, reducing you to ashes on the ground in full view of all who watched.

The nations that knew you are shocked. You have become an object of terror; you are gone forever.

Against Sidon

The word of the Lord came to me:

“Look toward Sidon and prophesy against her. You will say:

Thus says the Lord: I am coming against you, Sidon; and I will be glorified in you. When I punish her and reveal my holiness, they will know I am the Lord.

I will send pestilence against her and shed blood in her streets. The sword is circling her from all sides; and they will realize I am the Lord when the victims fall.

No longer will thornbushes that wound or briers that prick be present among the people of Israel’s neighbors. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Thus says the Lord: When I gather Israel from among the nations where she has been scattered, I will use them, to show the nations my holiness; and they will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob.

They will live safely, build houses and plant vineyards. They will live in safety when I punish all those neighbors who treated them with contempt; and they will know that I am the Lord, their God.”