Ezekiel 28:1-26

YAHWEH spoke to me and said, “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Lord YAHWEH says to you: “ ‘Because your heart is swollen with pride, you have said, “I am a god. I sit in the seat of a god, enthroned in the heart of the sea.” You think you are as wise as a god, but you’re nothing but a man, not a god at all! So, you really think you are wiser than Daniel, and no mystery baffles you? By your wisdom and vast understanding you have amassed a great fortune! You have accumulated gold and silver and placed them into your royal treasuries. Through your great wisdom in trading, your fortune has continued to increase, but it has made your heart grow prouder. Therefore, Lord YAHWEH says to you: Do you really think your heart is like the heart of God? See for yourself as I bring ruthless enemies against you, the most brutal of the nations! They will unleash their swords against all that your marvelous wisdom has built, and they will strike down your splendor! You will die a violent death in the heart of the sea. They will throw you down into the abyss! Will you still say in the presence of your killers, “Don’t you know I’m a god?” But you will be merely a mortal man, and not a god, when you are in the clutches of the ones who strike you down! You will die like an outcast, a shameful death at the hand of foreigners. I, Lord YAHWEH, have decreed it!’ ” YAHWEH spoke to me again, saying, “Son of man, mourn for the king of Tyre. Say to him, ‘Lord YAHWEH says to you: “ ‘You were once the consummate model of perfection. You were full of great wisdom, and your beauty seemed perfect. You lived in Eden, in the very garden of God. Every precious jewel formed your mantle. You were dressed in splendor with diamonds, carnelian, topaz, chrysolite, beryl, onyx, sapphire, turquoise, and emeralds; each gem engraved in settings of gold. I, YAHWEH, made them for you on the day I created you. I placed you with an anointed guardian cherub. You were on the holy mountain of God where you walked among the fiery stones. Your ways were blameless from the day I created you, until wickedness first appeared in you. Your vast wealth filled you with violence and sin. So, I have cast you down in disgrace from the mountain of God. I banished you, O guardian cherub, from among the stones of fire. Your heart became swollen with pride because of your beauty; your thirst for glory corrupted your wisdom. So, I hurled you down to the earth, and displayed you as a warning to other kings. So great was your sin— the injustice of your buying and selling. You defiled your sanctuaries. So, I set a fire inside of you, and it consumed you entirely! I reduced you to ashes on the ground before the eyes of all who saw you. All who once knew you are stunned at your fate. You have come to a terrible, dreadful end, and will be no more!’ ” YAHWEH spoke to me and said, “Son of man, turn toward Sidon and prophesy against her with these words: ‘Lord YAHWEH says to you: “ ‘Behold, I am against you, Sidon; I will manifest my glory in you when I bring my judgment upon you! Everyone will see my display of holiness and they will know that I am YAHWEH! For I will send a plague, and there will be blood in her streets. Enemies will attack her on all sides by the sword raised up against her, and the dead will fall in heaps within the city. Then they will know that I am YAHWEH.’ ” “As for the people of Israel, there will no longer be any hostile nation surrounding them like thorns or briars that would hurt or pierce them. Then people will know that I am YAHWEH.” Lord YAHWEH says: “When I regather the people of Israel from every place where they have been scattered, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see. They will live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob. And they will live there securely, building houses and planting vineyards. When I execute judgment on all the mocking, hostile nations surrounding them, they will live in safety, and they will know that I am YAHWEH, the God they worship.”