2“Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the middle of the seas;’ yet you are man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God—
3behold, you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is hidden from you;
4by your wisdom and by your understanding you have gotten yourself riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasures;
5by your great wisdom and by your trading you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches—”
6“ ‘therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “Because you have set your heart as the heart of God,
2 “Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the middle of the seas;’ yet you are man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God—
3 behold, you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is hidden from you;
4 by your wisdom and by your understanding you have gotten yourself riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasures;
5 by your great wisdom and by your trading you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches—”
6 “ ‘therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “Because you have set your heart as the heart of God,
KJVKing James Version
2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
2 'Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said: I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the heart of the seas; yet thou art man, and not God, though thou didst set thy heart as the heart of God —
3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel! there is no secret that they can hide from thee!
4 By thy wisdom and by thy discernment thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures;
5 In thy great wisdom by thy traffic hast thou increased thy riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of thy riches —
6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thou hast set thy heart as the heart of God;
Ezekiel 28:9(v2)Will you yet say before him who kills you, ‘I am God’? But you are man, and not God, in the hand of him who wounds you.
2 Thessalonians 2:4(vv2, 6)he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting…
Isaiah 14:13-14(v2)You said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly,…
Psalms 9:20(v2)Put them in fear, Yahweh. Let the nations know that they are only men.
Psalms 52:7(v5)“Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his…
Show all 74 cross-references
Psalms 62:10(v5)Don’t trust in oppression. Don’t become vain in robbery. If riches increase, don’t set your heart on them.
Proverbs 16:18(v2)Pride goes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.
Isaiah 31:3(v2)Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When Yahweh stretches out his hand, both he who helps shall…
Daniel 1:20(v3)In every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the…
Ezekiel 28:2(vv5–6)“Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the…
Daniel 2:22(v3)He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.
Hosea 13:6(v5)According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted. Therefore they have forgotten me.
Acts 12:22-23(v2)The people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the…
Deuteronomy 8:17-18(v4)and lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.” But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for…
Proverbs 11:28(v5)He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.
Proverbs 18:11(v4)The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, like an unscalable wall in his own imagination.
Proverbs 23:4-5(v4)Don’t weary yourself to be rich. In your wisdom, show restraint. Why do you set your eyes on that which is not? For it certainly sprouts…
Isaiah 2:12(v2)For there will be a day of Yahweh of Armies for all that is proud and arrogant, and for all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low:
Daniel 2:27-28(v3)Daniel answered before the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded can’t be shown to the king by wise men, enchanters,…
Hosea 12:7-8(v5)A merchant has dishonest scales in his hand. He loves to defraud. Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich, I have found myself wealth. In…
James 4:13-14(v5)Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.” Whereas you don’t…
Genesis 3:5(v2)for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Exodus 9:17(v6)because you still exalt yourself against my people, that you won’t let them go.
Deuteronomy 6:11-12(v5)and houses full of all good things which you didn’t fill, and cisterns dug out which you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive trees which you…
Deuteronomy 8:13-14(v5)and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; then your…
Deuteronomy 8:14(v2)then your heart might be lifted up, and you forget Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;
1 Kings 4:29-32(v3)God gave Solomon abundant wisdom and understanding, and very great understanding, even as the sand that is on the seashore. Solomon’s…
1 Kings 10:3(v3)Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything hidden from the king which he didn’t tell her.
2 Chronicles 26:16(v2)But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up, so that he did corruptly, and he trespassed against Yahweh his God; for he went into…
Job 15:8(v3)Have you heard the secret counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
Job 31:24-25(v5)“If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’ If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and…
Proverbs 18:12(v2)Before destruction the heart of man is proud, but before honor is humility.
Proverbs 26:12(v5)Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Ecclesiastes 9:11(v4)I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet…
Isaiah 5:21(v5)Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Ezekiel 27:3-4(v2)and tell Tyre, ‘You who dwell at the entry of the sea, who are the merchant of the peoples to many islands, the Lord Yahweh says: “You,…
Ezekiel 27:26-27(v2)Your rowers have brought you into great waters. The east wind has broken you in the heart of the seas. Your riches, your wares, your…
Ezekiel 28:5-6(v2)by your great wisdom and by your trading you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches—” “ ‘therefore…
Ezekiel 28:12-14(v2)“Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “You were the seal of full measure, full of…
Ezekiel 28:17(v2)Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I have cast you to the ground.…
Ezekiel 29:3(v4)Speak and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the middle of his…
Ezekiel 31:10(v2)“Therefore thus said the Lord Yahweh: ‘Because you are exalted in stature, and he has set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is…
Daniel 4:30-31(v2)The king spoke and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the…
Daniel 4:37(v5)Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk…
Daniel 5:11-12(v3)There is a man in your kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father light and understanding and wisdom,…
Daniel 5:22-23(v2)“You, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven;…
Habakkuk 1:16(v4)Therefore he sacrifices to his net, and burns incense to his dragnet, because by them his life is luxurious, and his food is good.
Habakkuk 2:4(v2)Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.
Zechariah 9:2-4(v4)and Hamath, also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, because they are very wise. Tyre built herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver…
Romans 12:16(v5)Be of the same mind one toward another. Don’t set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don’t be wise in your own…
1 Timothy 3:6(v2)not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.
1 Timothy 6:17(v5)Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be arrogant, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the…
1 Peter 5:5(v2)Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another;…
Revelation 17:3(v2)He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, full of blasphemous names, having…
2 Chronicles 25:19(v5)You say to yourself that you have struck Edom; and your heart lifts you up to boast. Now stay at home. Why should you meddle with trouble,…
2 Chronicles 32:23-25(v5)Many brought gifts to Yahweh to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah; so that he was exalted in the sight of all…
Job 9:4(v6)God who is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who has hardened himself against him and prospered?
Job 40:9-12(v6)Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like him? “Now deck yourself with excellency and dignity. Array yourself with…
Psalms 25:14(v3)The friendship of Yahweh is with those who fear him. He will show them his covenant.
Psalms 72:6-7(v2)He will come down like rain on the mown grass, as showers that water the earth. In his days, the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of…
Proverbs 30:9(v5)lest I be full, deny you, and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
Isaiah 10:8-14(v5)For he says, “Aren’t all of my princes kings? Isn’t Calno like Carchemish? Isn’t Hamath like Arpad? Isn’t Samaria like Damascus?” As my…
Isaiah 23:3(v5)On great waters, the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue. She was the market of nations.
Isaiah 23:8(v5)Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
Ezekiel 16:49(v5)“ ‘ “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters. She…
Ezekiel 27:12-36(v5)“ ‘ “Tarshish was your merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches. They traded for your wares with silver, iron, tin, and…
Daniel 4:30(v5)The king spoke and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the…
Zechariah 9:2-3(v3)and Hamath, also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, because they are very wise. Tyre built herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver…
Zechariah 9:3(v5)Tyre built herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver like the dust, and fine gold like the mire of the streets.
Luke 12:16-21(v5)He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man produced abundantly. He reasoned within himself, saying, ‘What will I…
1 Corinthians 10:22(v6)Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
James 1:11(v6)For the sun arises with the scorching wind and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So…
Psalms 82:6-7(v2)I said, “You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High. Nevertheless you shall die like men, and fall like one of the rulers.”
Daniel 2:47-48(v3)The king answered to Daniel, and said, “Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you…
74 distinct cross-references across this passage (76 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv2–3Hebrew, though thou set thine heart as the heart…
Hebrew, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God.
I am safe that none can come to hurt me, as God is in the heaven.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv2–6Eze 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince…
Eze 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart [is] lifted up, and thou hast said, I [am] a God, I sit [in] the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou [art] a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Ver. 2. Say unto the prince of Tyrus.] Princes must be told their own, as well as others. It was partly by flattery that this prince was so high flown. His glory, wealth, and wit also had so blown him up that he forgot himself to be a man. Tabaal, Josephus, out of Berosus, calleth him; Diodorus Siculus, Ithobaal; others, Ethbaal. A most proud and presumptuous person he was, and a type of the devil, who is the "king of all the children of pride." {Job 41:34} Here he holdeth himself to be wiser than Daniel; {Eze 28:3} yea, to be the sum and perfection of all wisdom; {Eze 28:12} to excel the high priest in all his ornaments, os humerosque Deo similis {Eze 28:13} yea, to be above Adam (ib.); above the cherubims; {Eze 28:14} lastly, to be God himself, and to sit in his seat. {Eze 28:2} O Lucifer outdeviled! And yet as there were many Marii in one Caesar, so by nature there are many Ethbaals in the best of us; for "as in water face answereth to face, so doth the heart of a man to a man." {Pro 27:19} Julius Caesar allowed altars and temples to be dedicated unto him, as to a god; and what wonder, whereas his flatterers told him that the freckles in his face were like the stars in the firmament? {a} Valladerius told Pope Paul V, and he believed it, that he was a god, that he lived familiarly with the Godhead, that he heard predestination itself whispering to him, that he had a place to sit in council with the Divine Trinity, &c. Prodigious blasphemy! Is not this that "man of sin," that Merum scelus, pure wickedness spoken of by Paul in 2Th 2:4? See more of this there. Was it not he that made Dandalus, the Venetian ambassador, roll under his table, and, as a dog, eat crusts there? and that suffered the Sicilian ambassadors to use these words unto him, Domine Deus papa, miserere nostrum; O Lord God the Pope, have mercy upon us. And again, O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant us thy peace.
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In the midst of the seas.] Where none can come at me. Yes, Nebuchadnezzar could, and did, though after thirteen years’ siege, as Josephus writeth. A hard tug and hot service he had of it; but yet he did the deed, as did afterwards also Alexander the Great, who never held anything unseizable.
{a} Sutton.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv2–6Unto; of.
Unto; of.
The princes; king, whose name was either Ethbaal, or Ithobaal.
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Thine heart is lifted up; thou art waxen proud, and aspirest above all reason, and boastest extravagantly in thyself, state policy, and power.
Hast said; thought, imagined, or flattered thyself.
A god; or the mighty and strong one, for so the Hebrew is, and perhaps were better so rendered; he gloried in his strength, as if he were a god. The like you have Isa 14:14.
In the seat of God: as a magistrate he did bear the name and authority of God; but he thought not of this; he dreams of the stateliness, strength, convenience, safety, and inaccessibleness of his seat, as if he were safe and impregnable as heaven itself.
A man, subject to all the casualties, sorrows, and distresses of man’s state and life, thou art Adam, of earth, not El, nor like unto the Mighty One in heaven.
Thou set thine heart as the heart of God; thou hast entertained thoughts which become none but God, thou hast projected things which none but God can effect, thou hast promised thyself perpetual peace, safety, riches, and happiness in thyself, and from thyself.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv2–6Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre,....…
Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre,.... Whose name was Ethbaal, or Ithobalus, as he is called in Josephus; for that this was Hiram that was in the days of Solomon, and lived a thousand years, is a fable of the Jewish Rabbins, as Jerom relates: this prince of Tyre is thought by some to be an emblem of the devil; but rather of antichrist; and between them there is a great agreement, and it seems to have a prophetic respect to him:
thus saith the Lord God, because thine heart is lifted up: with pride, on account of his wisdom and knowledge, wealth and riches, as later mentioned:
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and thou hast said, I am a god; this he said in his heart, in the pride of it, and perhaps expressed it with his lips, and required divine homage to be given him by his subjects, as some insolent, proud, and haughty monarchs have done; in which he was a lively type of antichrist, who shows himself, and behaves, as if he was God, taking upon him what belongs to God; pardoning the sins of men; opening and shutting the gates of heaven; binding men's consciences with laws of his own making, and dispensing with the laws of God and man; and calling himself or suffering himself to be called God, and to be worshipped as such; See Gill on Th2 2:4,
I sit in the seat of God; in a place as delightful, safe and happy, as heaven itself, where the throne of God is; so antichrist is said to sit in the temple of God, in the house and church of God; where he assumes a power that does not belong to him, calling himself God's vicegerent, and Christ's vicar; see Th2 2:4, and the Arabic version here renders it "in the house of God": it follows,
in the midst of the seas; surrounded with them as Tyre was, and lord of them as its king was; sending his ships into all parts, and to whom all brought their wares; thus the whore of Rome is said to sit upon many waters, Rev 17:2,
yet thou art a man, and not God; a frail, weak, mortal man, and not the mighty God, as his later destruction shows; and as the popes of Rome appear to be, by their dying as other men; and as antichrist will plainly be seen to be when he shall be destroyed with the breath of Christ's mouth, and the brightness of his coming:
though thou set thine heart as the heart of God; as if it was as full of wisdom and knowledge as his; and thinkest as well of thyself, that thou art a sovereign as he, and to be feared, obeyed, and submitted to by all.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv2–3Hast said - In thy heart. In the seat…
Hast said - In thy heart. In the seat of God - Safe and impregnable as heaven itself. A man - Subject to casualties, sorrows, and distresses. Set thine heart - Thou hast entertained thoughts, which become none but God.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv2, 3, 5Verse 2. Say unto the prince of Tyrus] But…
Verse 2. Say unto the prince of Tyrus] But who was this prince of Tyrus? Some think Hiram; some, Sin; some, the devil; others, Ithobaal, with whom the chronology and circumstances best agree. Origen thought the guardian angel of the city was intended.
I am a god] That is, I am absolute, independent, and accountable to none. He was a man of great pride and arrogance.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv2–3Eze 28:2. Say to the prince of Tyrus —…
Eze 28:2. Say to the prince of Tyrus — The name of this prince was Ithobalus, according to the Phenician annals. Because thy heart is lifted up — In pride and self-conceit; and thou hast said — Namely, in thy heart; I am a god — I am like a god. I sit in the seat of God — Inaccessible by mortals. In the midst of the seas — As God is safe from all injury in his throne in heaven, so am I as safe; for the sea secures me. These words express an insolent boast of self-sufficiency, as if he had said, I fear no man, nor stand in need of any: I am seated in a place of impregnable strength: the sea defends me, so that no enemy can assault me. And they represent the excessive pride and carnal security of this prince, who trusted in his own strength, and forgot his dependance upon God. The same crime was in like manner punished in the king of Egypt, Eze 29:3, and afterward in Nebuchadnezzar himself, Dan 4:30-31. Yet thou art man, and not God — Subject to all the infirmities, casualties, sorrows, and distresses that attend human nature, and to all the changes of human affairs, and hast not any of that innate, invincible power, and of that immutability of condition, which is in God. Though thou hast set thy heart as the heart of God — Hast entertained thoughts which become none but God.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv2–3Prince. The Jews say Hiram, (St. Jerome) supposing that…
Prince. The Jews say Hiram, (St. Jerome) supposing that he lived a thousand years; though this is not requisite, as he died only four hundred and thirty years before. The idea is childish. The king who was taken and slain, at this siege, was probably (Calmet) Ithobalos. (Josephus, Antiquities x. 11.) --- Origen applies this to the angel guardian of Tyre. St. Augustine thins an allusion is made to the fall of Lucifer. But it may all refer to the king, (Calmet) though others explain part of him and the rest of the devil. (St. Jerome) (Estius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv3, 5, 6Ezekiel ironically alludes to Ithbaal's overweening opinion of the…
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 (Zac 9:2).
no secret--namely, forgetting riches (Eze 28:4).
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that they can hide--that is, that can be hidden.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv2–32. Tyrus — Tyre (rock), now at the height…
2. Tyrus — Tyre (rock), now at the height of its glory, having been already in existence over two thousand years. This island fortress was very proud and very beautiful, and seemed an impregnable Gibraltar. Its lack of drinking water was originally its greatest weakness, as is seen from a record of an Egyptian traveler in the fourteenth century B.C. and from a Tel-el-Amarna tablet, where Abimilki, the governor, appeals for help to the Pharaoh, saying that Zimrida the Sidonian had cut off his supplies of wood and water. But evidently this defect had been remedied before the Nebuchadnezzar campaign, which Josephus says lasted thirteen years (Antiquities of the Jews, Eze_10:11). The inscriptions mentioned above prove that even then Tyre was celebrated for her vast wealth, as in Isaiah’s time she was the city “that giveth crowns” (Isa_23:8). For history and commerce of Tyre see Jeremias’s Tyrus, Movers’s Phoenicia, and notes Eze_26:2; Ezekiel 27.
I am a god — So boasted the king of Babylon (Isa_14:13-14; Dan_4:30). The inscriptions prove this statement of the prophet to be a literal truth. (Compare self-deification of the Roman emperors, Act_12:21-23.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv2–32. am a God] I am God. Ezekiel speaks…
2. am a God] I am God. Ezekiel speaks from his own point of view, which recognizes but one God, not from that of polytheism. The prince set his heart as the heart of God; he felt and acted as if divine. There is not the slightest allusion, of course, to actual worship being paid to the prince; it is his own feeling alone, his pride and self-exaltation, that is referred to.
I sit in the seat of God] Naturally the prince speaks of his own abode, Tyre; but he regards, it as divine. He is God and it is the seat of God. There is no doubt allusion to the idea that there was a seat of God or the gods; the prince identified Tyre with it. The beauty and splendour of the place, its richness and renown, possibly also its isolation, make it something not of the earth. In Isaiah 14 the king of Babylon affects to seat himself beside the Most High, here the prince of Tyre identifies himself with God.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv2, 3, 6(2) I am a God.—The arraignment of the prince…
(2) I am a God.—The arraignment of the prince occupies Eze_28:2-5, his consequent doom Eze_28:6-10. The point of the charge is inordinate pride, begotten of great prosperity; this prosperity, being attributed to his own powers instead of to its true source, led him to imagine himself almost more than mortal. Similar instances of what may be called “the insanity of prosperity” may be seen in the case of Sennacherib (2Ki_18:33-35); of the then living monarch of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, to whom this prophecy might well serve as a warning (Dan_3:15; Dan_4:30; comp. also Dan_7:25, Dan_11:36-37); of Pharaoh (Eze_29:3); of Herod (Act_12:21-23); of the one foretold in 2Th_2:4; to which list might be added the names of some more modern conquerors, and, in their degree, of many who have been eminently successful in other walks of life, and have consequently sacrificed to their own net (Hab_1:16). It is not to be supposed that the king of Tyre, like some Oriental monarchs and later Roman emperors, actually claimed for himself religious homage; but he had that proud sense of elevation and self-sufficiency which is only translated into words in the expressions of the text.
The seat of God.—This expression is chosen not merely with reference to the great natural beauty and apparently impregnable position of Tyre, but also to the fact that it was called “the holy island,” and looked up to by all its colonies as the central sanctuary of their worship. The Temple of Melkarth was said by the priests to have been founded as far back as 2750 B.C., and Arrian speaks of it as the oldest sanctuary in the annals of mankind. (See also Note on Eze_28:6.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv2–3I am a God. We are reminded of Isaiah"s…
I am a God. We are reminded of Isaiah"s words (Isa_14:13, Isa_14:14) as to the King of Babylon. Did Ezekiel emphasize and amplify the boasts of Ethbaal, with a side-glance at the Chaldean king, who also was lifted up in the pride of his heart? (Dan_4:30) For like examples, see the boast of Hophra, in Eze_29:3; and the praise given to Herod Agrippa by the Tyrians. (Act_12:21) It is noticeable that St. Paul"s description of the man of sin (2Th_2:4) presents the same picture in nearly the same words. I sit in the seat of God, etc. Tyro was known as the Holy Island (Sanchon., edit. Orelli, p. 36). The city was thought of as rising from its waters like the rock-throne of God. Though thou set thy heart. The words remind us of the temptation in Gen_3:5. To forget the limitations of human ignorance and weakness, to claim an authority and demand a homage which belong to God, was the sin of the Prince of Tyre, as it had been that of Sennacherib, as it was of Nebuchadnezzar, as it has been since of the emperors of Rome, and of other rulers.
HOMILETICS.
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A prince"s sin.
I GREAT RESPONSIBILITY IS ATTACHED TO HIGH OFFICE. In the two previous chapters the prophet denounced judgment on the city of Tyre, and lamented its approaching accomplishment. Now he turns to the ruler of the city, selecting him for an ugly pre-eminence of guilt. This man is entrusted with the weal of the city. If Tyre is doomed, a heavy share of the blame must lie at his door. It is a fearful thing to be responsible for the fate of so great and splendid a community. In the sight of God accountability is always measured by power. Heedless men grasp hastily at the reins of government, little considering how severe must be the judgment of Heaven if they abuse their great trust. It is no light thing to be in a position of influence over our fellow-men. We need, therefore, especially to pray for the souls of princes and governors. The ambition that craves their privileges might be restrained if people considered the terrible questions that they will have to answer when called upon to give an account of their stewardship.
II PRIDE IS THE BESETTING SIN OF HIGH OFFICE. The Prince of Tyre exclaims, "I am a God, I sit in the seat of God." There are many temptations to this sin of pride.
1. Power. Holding high office necessarily confers great influence. The man in power may really be a weak person, but he has great resources at his command. Thus he is inclined to think too much of himself, and to transfer to the score of his merits what really only belongs to his position.
2. Flattery. The prince is not the only person to blame. They are highly culpable who encourage him in a belief in his own greatness by their base adulation. All people in office need to beware of the honeyed words of those beneath them.
III THE PRIDE OF HIGH OFFICE IS AN INSULT TO GOD. The prince compares himself to a god, and his throne to the seat of a god. This implies two evils.
1. Godlessness. Carrying out this notion in practice, the Prince of Tyre refuses to humble himself in the sight of Heaven. As all men bow to him, he is tempted to forget that he should look up to and bow before a higher Power.
2. Rebellion against God. The proud ruler usurps the place of God. He elects to become an earthly providence. He dispenses with any reference to the holy will of the Supreme, and sets up his own will as the highest authority.
IV SIN IN HIGH OFFICE IS ESPECIALLY CULPABLE BECAUSE IT INVOLVES A MULTITUDE IN ITS EVIL EFFECTS. The effects are seen in its contagious influence and in, its punishment.
1. Its influence. The bad ruler is like Jeroboam, whose awful climax of wickedness was seen in the fact that he "made Israel to sin". (1Ki_15:30) The power of a bad ruler is one that makes for wickedness. It sows seeds of sin broadcast. Society takes its fashion from the court, and then each order of the community from that next above it. It is a fearful thing to be the leader of a fashion of wickedness.
2. Its punishment. The ruler"s sin brings misery on the nation. The people must reap the consequences of the misdeeds of their princes. Tyre"s doom is the heavier because her prince is a bad man. Therefore
(1) the people should look well to the characters of the men they put in office;
(2) all persons in authority should dread the double guilt of brining ruin on the multitude as well as wrecking their own lives.
HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON
The height of arrogance.
In addressing the Prince of Tyre, the prophet is in reality dealing with what may be called the national spirit pervading the proud and mighty city a spirit regarded as embodying itself in the person of the chief ruler. The claim made by Tyre, and disputed by the prophet, is a claim to virtual divinity. Exalted above other cities, Tyre deems itself superior to human infirmity and to human fortune. This attitude God resents; and his representative here declares it to be the deep-seated and ultimate reason and cause of Tyre"s approaching overthrow and destruction.
I THE GROUND OF THIS ARROGANT CLAIM.
1. There is on the part of Tyre an assumption of extraordinary wisdom, superior to that of Daniel, a wisdom from which no secret can be hidden.
2. By the exercise of this singular wisdom and understanding, the city has devised means, such as the enterprise of its merchants, by which it has accumulated riches, and has filled its treasuries with store of gold and silver and all the conveniences and luxuries which wealth can purchase.
3. The eminent position among the nations which Tyre has thus attained, the honor accorded to it, its weight in political relations, have so lifted up its heart that it claims to be a god, and to sit in the seat of God. By this must be understood a claim and assumption to be superior to the need of any Divine care or protection, to be independent of all assistance of any kind, to be secure against the assault of any foe, and even against the mutability characteristic of the human lot. This is arrogance beyond what is to be found even in the wisest and the greatest of mankind.
II THE VANITY AND FOLLY OF THIS ARROGANT CLAIM. A state is a human institution; and although it undoubtedly embodies the Divine idea and principle of authority requiring submission, although there is such a thing as national character and national life, still every earthly and human institution, beginning in time, ends in time, and participates in human weakness and ignorance. They who claim deity for aught earthly cannot understand what Deity is, how it is creative and not created, eternal and not transitory, immutable and not shifting, perfect and not subject to development and dissolution. To know one"s self is true wisdom; he who forgets or disclaims his humanity is the subject of illusion, and illusion which must be speedily and irretrievably dispelled.
III THE SINFULNESS OF THIS ARROGANT CLAIM. The assumption of Tyre is rebuked and censured, not as a violation of good taste, not as an insult to other nations, but as a defiance of the Lord of all. To claim unfailing wisdom and irresistible power is to assume the attributes, to aspire to the throne, of the Eternal. Pride has been reckoned as one of the seven deadly sins. It is indeed pernicious in its effect upon the character of those who suffer it to take possession of their being and to control the habits of their life. It is offensive and injurious in its influence upon human society. But primarily it is a sin against God the placing of the creature in that supreme position which is God"s of right, and God"s alone.
IV THE DISPROOF OF THIS ARROGANT CLAIM. Events occur which dispel human illusions, confound human vanity, and unmask human pretensions. In the days of its prosperity and power, men, ever ready to flatter and to worship the great, were too ready to concede the extravagant and monstrous claims Tyre advanced. But the time of trial comes, and their baselessness and absurdity are exposed. Evils which a Divine power would avert prove able to assault and master the pretentious and self-confident. The one great lesson of human history is this man is but man, and not God.
V THE PUNISHMENT OF THIS ARROGANT CLAIM. In the zenith of its prosperity, the acme of its power, Tyre is confronted by a force mightier than its own. The agency is the king and army of Babylon; but the great Actor in the awful scenes which transpire is none other than the Eternal himself. The forces of Tyre are defeated, the fleets of Tyre destroyed, the walls of Tyre razed, the wealth of Tyre dispersed, the city of Tyre itself demolished. "Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee." Here is something more than disproof; here is reversal, refutation, annihilation. Pride is humbled to the dust; and the proud are scattered and are no more. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv4, 6Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to the ruler of Tyre.
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General Information:
The words "you" and "your" in these verses refer to the ruler of Tyre.
You have made yourself wealthy with wisdom and skill
The abstract nouns "wisdom" and "skill" can be translated using the adjectives "wise" and "skillful." AT: "You have become wealthy by your own wisdom and skill" or "You have become wealthy by being wise and skillful" (See: Reflexive Pronouns and Abstract Nouns)
obtained gold and silver
"stored up gold and silver"
treasuries
places to store valuable objects and keep them safe
By great wisdom and by your trading, you have multiplied your wealth, so your heart is arrogant because of your wealth
The abstract nouns "wisdom" and "wealth" can be translated using the adjectives "wise" and "wealthy." AT: "By being very wise and by your trading, you have become more and more wealthy, so your heart is arrogant because of how wealthy you are" (See: Abstract Nouns)
your heart is arrogant
Here "heart" represents the will or thoughts of the ruler of Tyre. AT: "you are arrogant" (See: Metonymy)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv3, 628:3-5 The prince of Tyre’s claim to divine status…
28:3-5 The prince of Tyre’s claim to divine status was based on his wisdom and his wealth. His wisdom had made him very rich, and those riches had made him inordinately proud.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Hebrew, though thou set thine heart as the heart…
Hebrew, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God.
I am safe that none can come to hurt me, as God is in the heaven.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–6 Eze 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince…
Eze 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart [is] lifted up, and thou hast said, I [am] a God, I sit [in] the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou [art] a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Ver. 2. Say unto the prince of Tyrus.] Princes must be told their own, as well as others. It was partly by flattery that this prince was so high flown. His glory, wealth, and wit also had so blown him up that he forgot himself to be a man. Tabaal, Josephus, out of Berosus, calleth him; Diodorus Siculus, Ithobaal; others, Ethbaal. A most proud and presumptuous person he was, and a type of the devil, who is the "king of all the children of pride." {Job 41:34} Here he holdeth himself to be wiser than Daniel; {Eze 28:3} yea, to be the sum and perfection of all wisdom; {Eze 28:12} to excel the high priest in all his ornaments, os humerosque Deo similis {Eze 28:13} yea, to be above Adam (ib.); above the cherubims; {Eze 28:14} lastly, to be God himself, and to sit in his seat. {Eze 28:2} O Lucifer outdeviled! And yet as there were many Marii in one Caesar, so by nature there are many Ethbaals in the best of us; for "as in water face answereth to face, so doth the heart of a man to a man." {Pro 27:19} Julius Caesar allowed altars and temples to be dedicated unto him, as to a god; and what wonder, whereas his flatterers told him that the freckles in his face were like the stars in the firmament? {a} Valladerius told Pope Paul V, and he believed it, that he was a god, that he lived familiarly with the Godhead, that he heard predestination itself whispering to him, that he had a place to sit in council with the Divine Trinity, &c. Prodigious blasphemy! Is not this that "man of sin," that Merum scelus, pure wickedness spoken of by Paul in 2Th 2:4? See more of this there. Was it not he that made Dandalus, the Venetian ambassador, roll under his table, and, as a dog, eat crusts there? and that suffered the Sicilian ambassadors to use these words unto him, Domine Deus papa, miserere nostrum; O Lord God the Pope, have mercy upon us. And again, O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant us thy peace.
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In the midst of the seas.] Where none can come at me. Yes, Nebuchadnezzar could, and did, though after thirteen years’ siege, as Josephus writeth. A hard tug and hot service he had of it; but yet he did the deed, as did afterwards also Alexander the Great, who never held anything unseizable.
{a} Sutton.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–6 Unto; of.
Unto; of.
The princes; king, whose name was either Ethbaal, or Ithobaal.
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Thine heart is lifted up; thou art waxen proud, and aspirest above all reason, and boastest extravagantly in thyself, state policy, and power.
Hast said; thought, imagined, or flattered thyself.
A god; or the mighty and strong one, for so the Hebrew is, and perhaps were better so rendered; he gloried in his strength, as if he were a god. The like you have Isa 14:14.
In the seat of God: as a magistrate he did bear the name and authority of God; but he thought not of this; he dreams of the stateliness, strength, convenience, safety, and inaccessibleness of his seat, as if he were safe and impregnable as heaven itself.
A man, subject to all the casualties, sorrows, and distresses of man’s state and life, thou art Adam, of earth, not El, nor like unto the Mighty One in heaven.
Thou set thine heart as the heart of God; thou hast entertained thoughts which become none but God, thou hast projected things which none but God can effect, thou hast promised thyself perpetual peace, safety, riches, and happiness in thyself, and from thyself.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–6 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre,....…
Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre,.... Whose name was Ethbaal, or Ithobalus, as he is called in Josephus; for that this was Hiram that was in the days of Solomon, and lived a thousand years, is a fable of the Jewish Rabbins, as Jerom relates: this prince of Tyre is thought by some to be an emblem of the devil; but rather of antichrist; and between them there is a great agreement, and it seems to have a prophetic respect to him:
thus saith the Lord God, because thine heart is lifted up: with pride, on account of his wisdom and knowledge, wealth and riches, as later mentioned:
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and thou hast said, I am a god; this he said in his heart, in the pride of it, and perhaps expressed it with his lips, and required divine homage to be given him by his subjects, as some insolent, proud, and haughty monarchs have done; in which he was a lively type of antichrist, who shows himself, and behaves, as if he was God, taking upon him what belongs to God; pardoning the sins of men; opening and shutting the gates of heaven; binding men's consciences with laws of his own making, and dispensing with the laws of God and man; and calling himself or suffering himself to be called God, and to be worshipped as such; See Gill on Th2 2:4,
I sit in the seat of God; in a place as delightful, safe and happy, as heaven itself, where the throne of God is; so antichrist is said to sit in the temple of God, in the house and church of God; where he assumes a power that does not belong to him, calling himself God's vicegerent, and Christ's vicar; see Th2 2:4, and the Arabic version here renders it "in the house of God": it follows,
in the midst of the seas; surrounded with them as Tyre was, and lord of them as its king was; sending his ships into all parts, and to whom all brought their wares; thus the whore of Rome is said to sit upon many waters, Rev 17:2,
yet thou art a man, and not God; a frail, weak, mortal man, and not the mighty God, as his later destruction shows; and as the popes of Rome appear to be, by their dying as other men; and as antichrist will plainly be seen to be when he shall be destroyed with the breath of Christ's mouth, and the brightness of his coming:
though thou set thine heart as the heart of God; as if it was as full of wisdom and knowledge as his; and thinkest as well of thyself, that thou art a sovereign as he, and to be feared, obeyed, and submitted to by all.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Hast said - In thy heart. In the seat…
Hast said - In thy heart. In the seat of God - Safe and impregnable as heaven itself. A man - Subject to casualties, sorrows, and distresses. Set thine heart - Thou hast entertained thoughts, which become none but God.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5 Verse 2. Say unto the prince of Tyrus] But…
Verse 2. Say unto the prince of Tyrus] But who was this prince of Tyrus? Some think Hiram; some, Sin; some, the devil; others, Ithobaal, with whom the chronology and circumstances best agree. Origen thought the guardian angel of the city was intended.
I am a god] That is, I am absolute, independent, and accountable to none. He was a man of great pride and arrogance.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Eze 28:2. Say to the prince of Tyrus —…
Eze 28:2. Say to the prince of Tyrus — The name of this prince was Ithobalus, according to the Phenician annals. Because thy heart is lifted up — In pride and self-conceit; and thou hast said — Namely, in thy heart; I am a god — I am like a god. I sit in the seat of God — Inaccessible by mortals. In the midst of the seas — As God is safe from all injury in his throne in heaven, so am I as safe; for the sea secures me. These words express an insolent boast of self-sufficiency, as if he had said, I fear no man, nor stand in need of any: I am seated in a place of impregnable strength: the sea defends me, so that no enemy can assault me. And they represent the excessive pride and carnal security of this prince, who trusted in his own strength, and forgot his dependance upon God. The same crime was in like manner punished in the king of Egypt, Eze 29:3, and afterward in Nebuchadnezzar himself, Dan 4:30-31. Yet thou art man, and not God — Subject to all the infirmities, casualties, sorrows, and distresses that attend human nature, and to all the changes of human affairs, and hast not any of that innate, invincible power, and of that immutability of condition, which is in God. Though thou hast set thy heart as the heart of God — Hast entertained thoughts which become none but God.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Prince. The Jews say Hiram, (St. Jerome) supposing that…
Prince. The Jews say Hiram, (St. Jerome) supposing that he lived a thousand years; though this is not requisite, as he died only four hundred and thirty years before. The idea is childish. The king who was taken and slain, at this siege, was probably (Calmet) Ithobalos. (Josephus, Antiquities x. 11.) --- Origen applies this to the angel guardian of Tyre. St. Augustine thins an allusion is made to the fall of Lucifer. But it may all refer to the king, (Calmet) though others explain part of him and the rest of the devil. (St. Jerome) (Estius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6 Ezekiel ironically alludes to Ithbaal's overweening opinion of the…
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 (Zac 9:2).
no secret--namely, forgetting riches (Eze 28:4).
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that they can hide--that is, that can be hidden.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2–3 2. Tyrus — Tyre (rock), now at the height…
2. Tyrus — Tyre (rock), now at the height of its glory, having been already in existence over two thousand years. This island fortress was very proud and very beautiful, and seemed an impregnable Gibraltar. Its lack of drinking water was originally its greatest weakness, as is seen from a record of an Egyptian traveler in the fourteenth century B.C. and from a Tel-el-Amarna tablet, where Abimilki, the governor, appeals for help to the Pharaoh, saying that Zimrida the Sidonian had cut off his supplies of wood and water. But evidently this defect had been remedied before the Nebuchadnezzar campaign, which Josephus says lasted thirteen years (Antiquities of the Jews, Eze_10:11). The inscriptions mentioned above prove that even then Tyre was celebrated for her vast wealth, as in Isaiah’s time she was the city “that giveth crowns” (Isa_23:8). For history and commerce of Tyre see Jeremias’s Tyrus, Movers’s Phoenicia, and notes Eze_26:2; Ezekiel 27.
I am a god — So boasted the king of Babylon (Isa_14:13-14; Dan_4:30). The inscriptions prove this statement of the prophet to be a literal truth. (Compare self-deification of the Roman emperors, Act_12:21-23.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–3 2. am a God] I am God. Ezekiel speaks…
2. am a God] I am God. Ezekiel speaks from his own point of view, which recognizes but one God, not from that of polytheism. The prince set his heart as the heart of God; he felt and acted as if divine. There is not the slightest allusion, of course, to actual worship being paid to the prince; it is his own feeling alone, his pride and self-exaltation, that is referred to.
I sit in the seat of God] Naturally the prince speaks of his own abode, Tyre; but he regards, it as divine. He is God and it is the seat of God. There is no doubt allusion to the idea that there was a seat of God or the gods; the prince identified Tyre with it. The beauty and splendour of the place, its richness and renown, possibly also its isolation, make it something not of the earth. In Isaiah 14 the king of Babylon affects to seat himself beside the Most High, here the prince of Tyre identifies himself with God.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 6 (2) I am a God.—The arraignment of the prince…
(2) I am a God.—The arraignment of the prince occupies Eze_28:2-5, his consequent doom Eze_28:6-10. The point of the charge is inordinate pride, begotten of great prosperity; this prosperity, being attributed to his own powers instead of to its true source, led him to imagine himself almost more than mortal. Similar instances of what may be called “the insanity of prosperity” may be seen in the case of Sennacherib (2Ki_18:33-35); of the then living monarch of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, to whom this prophecy might well serve as a warning (Dan_3:15; Dan_4:30; comp. also Dan_7:25, Dan_11:36-37); of Pharaoh (Eze_29:3); of Herod (Act_12:21-23); of the one foretold in 2Th_2:4; to which list might be added the names of some more modern conquerors, and, in their degree, of many who have been eminently successful in other walks of life, and have consequently sacrificed to their own net (Hab_1:16). It is not to be supposed that the king of Tyre, like some Oriental monarchs and later Roman emperors, actually claimed for himself religious homage; but he had that proud sense of elevation and self-sufficiency which is only translated into words in the expressions of the text.
The seat of God.—This expression is chosen not merely with reference to the great natural beauty and apparently impregnable position of Tyre, but also to the fact that it was called “the holy island,” and looked up to by all its colonies as the central sanctuary of their worship. The Temple of Melkarth was said by the priests to have been founded as far back as 2750 B.C., and Arrian speaks of it as the oldest sanctuary in the annals of mankind. (See also Note on Eze_28:6.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2–3 I am a God. We are reminded of Isaiah"s…
I am a God. We are reminded of Isaiah"s words (Isa_14:13, Isa_14:14) as to the King of Babylon. Did Ezekiel emphasize and amplify the boasts of Ethbaal, with a side-glance at the Chaldean king, who also was lifted up in the pride of his heart? (Dan_4:30) For like examples, see the boast of Hophra, in Eze_29:3; and the praise given to Herod Agrippa by the Tyrians. (Act_12:21) It is noticeable that St. Paul"s description of the man of sin (2Th_2:4) presents the same picture in nearly the same words. I sit in the seat of God, etc. Tyro was known as the Holy Island (Sanchon., edit. Orelli, p. 36). The city was thought of as rising from its waters like the rock-throne of God. Though thou set thy heart. The words remind us of the temptation in Gen_3:5. To forget the limitations of human ignorance and weakness, to claim an authority and demand a homage which belong to God, was the sin of the Prince of Tyre, as it had been that of Sennacherib, as it was of Nebuchadnezzar, as it has been since of the emperors of Rome, and of other rulers.
HOMILETICS.
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A prince"s sin.
I GREAT RESPONSIBILITY IS ATTACHED TO HIGH OFFICE. In the two previous chapters the prophet denounced judgment on the city of Tyre, and lamented its approaching accomplishment. Now he turns to the ruler of the city, selecting him for an ugly pre-eminence of guilt. This man is entrusted with the weal of the city. If Tyre is doomed, a heavy share of the blame must lie at his door. It is a fearful thing to be responsible for the fate of so great and splendid a community. In the sight of God accountability is always measured by power. Heedless men grasp hastily at the reins of government, little considering how severe must be the judgment of Heaven if they abuse their great trust. It is no light thing to be in a position of influence over our fellow-men. We need, therefore, especially to pray for the souls of princes and governors. The ambition that craves their privileges might be restrained if people considered the terrible questions that they will have to answer when called upon to give an account of their stewardship.
II PRIDE IS THE BESETTING SIN OF HIGH OFFICE. The Prince of Tyre exclaims, "I am a God, I sit in the seat of God." There are many temptations to this sin of pride.
1. Power. Holding high office necessarily confers great influence. The man in power may really be a weak person, but he has great resources at his command. Thus he is inclined to think too much of himself, and to transfer to the score of his merits what really only belongs to his position.
2. Flattery. The prince is not the only person to blame. They are highly culpable who encourage him in a belief in his own greatness by their base adulation. All people in office need to beware of the honeyed words of those beneath them.
III THE PRIDE OF HIGH OFFICE IS AN INSULT TO GOD. The prince compares himself to a god, and his throne to the seat of a god. This implies two evils.
1. Godlessness. Carrying out this notion in practice, the Prince of Tyre refuses to humble himself in the sight of Heaven. As all men bow to him, he is tempted to forget that he should look up to and bow before a higher Power.
2. Rebellion against God. The proud ruler usurps the place of God. He elects to become an earthly providence. He dispenses with any reference to the holy will of the Supreme, and sets up his own will as the highest authority.
IV SIN IN HIGH OFFICE IS ESPECIALLY CULPABLE BECAUSE IT INVOLVES A MULTITUDE IN ITS EVIL EFFECTS. The effects are seen in its contagious influence and in, its punishment.
1. Its influence. The bad ruler is like Jeroboam, whose awful climax of wickedness was seen in the fact that he "made Israel to sin". (1Ki_15:30) The power of a bad ruler is one that makes for wickedness. It sows seeds of sin broadcast. Society takes its fashion from the court, and then each order of the community from that next above it. It is a fearful thing to be the leader of a fashion of wickedness.
2. Its punishment. The ruler"s sin brings misery on the nation. The people must reap the consequences of the misdeeds of their princes. Tyre"s doom is the heavier because her prince is a bad man. Therefore
(1) the people should look well to the characters of the men they put in office;
(2) all persons in authority should dread the double guilt of brining ruin on the multitude as well as wrecking their own lives.
HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON
The height of arrogance.
In addressing the Prince of Tyre, the prophet is in reality dealing with what may be called the national spirit pervading the proud and mighty city a spirit regarded as embodying itself in the person of the chief ruler. The claim made by Tyre, and disputed by the prophet, is a claim to virtual divinity. Exalted above other cities, Tyre deems itself superior to human infirmity and to human fortune. This attitude God resents; and his representative here declares it to be the deep-seated and ultimate reason and cause of Tyre"s approaching overthrow and destruction.
I THE GROUND OF THIS ARROGANT CLAIM.
1. There is on the part of Tyre an assumption of extraordinary wisdom, superior to that of Daniel, a wisdom from which no secret can be hidden.
2. By the exercise of this singular wisdom and understanding, the city has devised means, such as the enterprise of its merchants, by which it has accumulated riches, and has filled its treasuries with store of gold and silver and all the conveniences and luxuries which wealth can purchase.
3. The eminent position among the nations which Tyre has thus attained, the honor accorded to it, its weight in political relations, have so lifted up its heart that it claims to be a god, and to sit in the seat of God. By this must be understood a claim and assumption to be superior to the need of any Divine care or protection, to be independent of all assistance of any kind, to be secure against the assault of any foe, and even against the mutability characteristic of the human lot. This is arrogance beyond what is to be found even in the wisest and the greatest of mankind.
II THE VANITY AND FOLLY OF THIS ARROGANT CLAIM. A state is a human institution; and although it undoubtedly embodies the Divine idea and principle of authority requiring submission, although there is such a thing as national character and national life, still every earthly and human institution, beginning in time, ends in time, and participates in human weakness and ignorance. They who claim deity for aught earthly cannot understand what Deity is, how it is creative and not created, eternal and not transitory, immutable and not shifting, perfect and not subject to development and dissolution. To know one"s self is true wisdom; he who forgets or disclaims his humanity is the subject of illusion, and illusion which must be speedily and irretrievably dispelled.
III THE SINFULNESS OF THIS ARROGANT CLAIM. The assumption of Tyre is rebuked and censured, not as a violation of good taste, not as an insult to other nations, but as a defiance of the Lord of all. To claim unfailing wisdom and irresistible power is to assume the attributes, to aspire to the throne, of the Eternal. Pride has been reckoned as one of the seven deadly sins. It is indeed pernicious in its effect upon the character of those who suffer it to take possession of their being and to control the habits of their life. It is offensive and injurious in its influence upon human society. But primarily it is a sin against God the placing of the creature in that supreme position which is God"s of right, and God"s alone.
IV THE DISPROOF OF THIS ARROGANT CLAIM. Events occur which dispel human illusions, confound human vanity, and unmask human pretensions. In the days of its prosperity and power, men, ever ready to flatter and to worship the great, were too ready to concede the extravagant and monstrous claims Tyre advanced. But the time of trial comes, and their baselessness and absurdity are exposed. Evils which a Divine power would avert prove able to assault and master the pretentious and self-confident. The one great lesson of human history is this man is but man, and not God.
V THE PUNISHMENT OF THIS ARROGANT CLAIM. In the zenith of its prosperity, the acme of its power, Tyre is confronted by a force mightier than its own. The agency is the king and army of Babylon; but the great Actor in the awful scenes which transpire is none other than the Eternal himself. The forces of Tyre are defeated, the fleets of Tyre destroyed, the walls of Tyre razed, the wealth of Tyre dispersed, the city of Tyre itself demolished. "Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee." Here is something more than disproof; here is reversal, refutation, annihilation. Pride is humbled to the dust; and the proud are scattered and are no more. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 6 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to the ruler of Tyre.
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General Information:
The words "you" and "your" in these verses refer to the ruler of Tyre.
You have made yourself wealthy with wisdom and skill
The abstract nouns "wisdom" and "skill" can be translated using the adjectives "wise" and "skillful." AT: "You have become wealthy by your own wisdom and skill" or "You have become wealthy by being wise and skillful" (See: Reflexive Pronouns and Abstract Nouns)
obtained gold and silver
"stored up gold and silver"
treasuries
places to store valuable objects and keep them safe
By great wisdom and by your trading, you have multiplied your wealth, so your heart is arrogant because of your wealth
The abstract nouns "wisdom" and "wealth" can be translated using the adjectives "wise" and "wealthy." AT: "By being very wise and by your trading, you have become more and more wealthy, so your heart is arrogant because of how wealthy you are" (See: Abstract Nouns)
your heart is arrogant
Here "heart" represents the will or thoughts of the ruler of Tyre. AT: "you are arrogant" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
wise
gold
silver
heart
arrogant
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 6 28:3-5 The prince of Tyre’s claim to divine status…
28:3-5 The prince of Tyre’s claim to divine status was based on his wisdom and his wealth. His wisdom had made him very rich, and those riches had made him inordinately proud.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.