Ezekiel · Chapter 28

V. 2. 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.

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.

Verse 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, Ezekiel 29:3, and afterward in Nebuchadnezzar himself, Daniel 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.

Verse 2. Say unto the prince of Tyrus—because thou hast said, I am la El God, or the strong and mighty One. It is plain from the names of the princes that they bore titles of deity.

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, 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” (Isaiah 23:8). For history and commerce of Tyre see Jeremias’s Tyrus, Movers’s Phoenicia, and notes 26:2; 27. I am a god — So boasted the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:13, 14; Daniel 4:30). The inscriptions prove this statement of the prophet to be a literal truth. (Compare self-deification of the Roman emperors, Acts 12:21-23.)

V. 3. Wiser-In thy own thoughts. Daniel-Who was then famous for his wisdom.

Verse 3. Thou art wiser than Daniel] Daniel was at this time living, and was reputable for his great wisdom. This is said ironically. See Ezekiel 14:14; 26:1.

Verses 3-8. Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel — In thy own conceit. The fame of Daniel’s wisdom was quickly spread over Chaldea, upon his being advanced to several posts of honour and dignity by Nebuchadnezzar. See Daniel 2:8. So here the prophet in an ironical manner upbraids the vain boasts which the prince of Tyre made of his wisdom, and the policy of those about him, as if it exceeded the endowments of Daniel. The Phenicians, of whom the Tyrians were a colony, (see note on Isaiah 23:12,) valued themselves for their wisdom and ingenuity, as being inventors of navigation, letters, and sciences. Compare Zechariah 9:2. With thy wisdom, &c., thou hast gotten thee riches — Thy skill in navigation and trade has increased thy wealth. Behold, I will bring upon thee the terrible of the nations — The Babylonians, who by their conquests have made themselves terrible to all the nations round about them. They shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom — They shall deface and destroy all the beautiful edifices which thou hast erected with admirable art, and every thing which thou valuest as ornamental or useful, beauteous or magnificent, even all the glory of thy kingdom. They shall defile thy brightness — They shall render thy kingdom, which is now flourishing and glorious, weak and contemptible. Thou shalt die the deaths, &c. — Thou shalt die the death of those who perished in the flood. The expression deaths, in the plural, intimates a still further punishment, even after the death of the body; such as that impious race experienced, and such as this haughty prince had well deserved by his mad pride and blasphemous impiety. And therefore with the same emphasis the prophet tells us, verse 10, Thou shalt die the deaths, the double death, of the uncircumcised; that is, of unbelievers and enemies to God. For circumcision being the rite which distinguished God’s chosen people from the heathen, uncircumcised is equivalent in sense to wicked or profane. So the Chaldee Paraphrase renders it here. “This is not the only place in this prophecy where the destruction by the deluge is alluded to: for this, and the fall of angels, being two of the greatest events that ever happened, and the most remarkable of God’s judgments, it was very natural for the prophets to recur to them, when they would raise their style in the description of the fall of empires and tyrants. See Ezekiel 26:19, 20, and 27:26, 32, 34. As the style of this prophet is wonderfully adapted to the subject whereof he treats, so he compares the destruction of this famous maritime city to a vessel shipwrecked in the sea, and so sends its inhabitants to the people of old times, as he calls them, who were swallowed up in the universal deluge. Their prince he compares to the prince of the rebel angels, whose pride had given him such a dreadful fall.” See Peters on Job, p. 373, and notes on verse 14.

Ver. 3. Wiser than Daniel. After eclipsing all the wise men of Babylon, his wisdom, conferred of God, became a proverb through all the east. Daniel 5:11.

3. Wiser than Daniel — Is this an acknowledgment that Eth-baal, “prince” or “king” of Tyre (verses 2, 12), was wiser than Daniel, the wisest and best Hebrew (compare Ezekiel 14:14), or is it merely a continuation of the boasting which must now be rebuked? No doubt the latter; for although the Israelites recognized the superiority of Tyrian wisdom in some directions, it was only the Hebrew seer from whom no secret could be hid. (Compare Daniel 2:21, 28; 4:9; 5:11, etc.) This verse does not prove necessarily that the king of Tyre at this date recognized Daniel as the typical Hebrew sage (Konig, Einleitung, p. 385), but it does prove that Ezekiel and his hearers did do this. (See note Ezekiel 14:14.)

Verses 3-8. Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel — In thy own conceit. The fame of Daniel’s wisdom was quickly spread over Chaldea, upon his being advanced to several posts of honour and dignity by Nebuchadnezzar. See Daniel 2:8. So here the prophet in an ironical manner upbraids the vain boasts which the prince of Tyre made of his wisdom, and the policy of those about him, as if it exceeded the endowments of Daniel. The Phenicians, of whom the Tyrians were a colony, (see note on Isaiah 23:12,) valued themselves for their wisdom and ingenuity, as being inventors of navigation, letters, and sciences. Compare Zechariah 9:2. With thy wisdom, &c., thou hast gotten thee riches — Thy skill in navigation and trade has increased thy wealth. Behold, I will bring upon thee the terrible of the nations — The Babylonians, who by their conquests have made themselves terrible to all the nations round about them. They shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom — They shall deface and destroy all the beautiful edifices which thou hast erected with admirable art, and every thing which thou valuest as ornamental or useful, beauteous or magnificent, even all the glory of thy kingdom. They shall defile thy brightness — They shall render thy kingdom, which is now flourishing and glorious, weak and contemptible. Thou shalt die the deaths, &c. — Thou shalt die the death of those who perished in the flood. The expression deaths, in the plural, intimates a still further punishment, even after the death of the body; such as that impious race experienced, and such as this haughty prince had well deserved by his mad pride and blasphemous impiety. And therefore with the same emphasis the prophet tells us, verse 10, Thou shalt die the deaths, the double death, of the uncircumcised; that is, of unbelievers and enemies to God. For circumcision being the rite which distinguished God’s chosen people from the heathen, uncircumcised is equivalent in sense to wicked or profane. So the Chaldee Paraphrase renders it here. “This is not the only place in this prophecy where the destruction by the deluge is alluded to: for this, and the fall of angels, being two of the greatest events that ever happened, and the most remarkable of God’s judgments, it was very natural for the prophets to recur to them, when they would raise their style in the description of the fall of empires and tyrants. See Ezekiel 26:19, 20, and 27:26, 32, 34. As the style of this prophet is wonderfully adapted to the subject whereof he treats, so he compares the destruction of this famous maritime city to a vessel shipwrecked in the sea, and so sends its inhabitants to the people of old times, as he calls them, who were swallowed up in the universal deluge. Their prince he compares to the prince of the rebel angels, whose pride had given him such a dreadful fall.” See Peters on Job, p. 373, and notes on verse 14.

Verse 5. By thy great wisdom] He attributed every thing to himself; he did not acknowledge a Divine providence. As he got all by himself, so he believed he could keep all by himself, and had no need of any foreign help.

Verses 3-8. Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel — In thy own conceit. The fame of Daniel’s wisdom was quickly spread over Chaldea, upon his being advanced to several posts of honour and dignity by Nebuchadnezzar. See Daniel 2:8. So here the prophet in an ironical manner upbraids the vain boasts which the prince of Tyre made of his wisdom, and the policy of those about him, as if it exceeded the endowments of Daniel. The Phenicians, of whom the Tyrians were a colony, (see note on Isaiah 23:12,) valued themselves for their wisdom and ingenuity, as being inventors of navigation, letters, and sciences. Compare Zechariah 9:2. With thy wisdom, &c., thou hast gotten thee riches — Thy skill in navigation and trade has increased thy wealth. Behold, I will bring upon thee the terrible of the nations — The Babylonians, who by their conquests have made themselves terrible to all the nations round about them. They shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom — They shall deface and destroy all the beautiful edifices which thou hast erected with admirable art, and every thing which thou valuest as ornamental or useful, beauteous or magnificent, even all the glory of thy kingdom. They shall defile thy brightness — They shall render thy kingdom, which is now flourishing and glorious, weak and contemptible. Thou shalt die the deaths, &c. — Thou shalt die the death of those who perished in the flood. The expression deaths, in the plural, intimates a still further punishment, even after the death of the body; such as that impious race experienced, and such as this haughty prince had well deserved by his mad pride and blasphemous impiety. And therefore with the same emphasis the prophet tells us, verse 10, Thou shalt die the deaths, the double death, of the uncircumcised; that is, of unbelievers and enemies to God. For circumcision being the rite which distinguished God’s chosen people from the heathen, uncircumcised is equivalent in sense to wicked or profane. So the Chaldee Paraphrase renders it here. “This is not the only place in this prophecy where the destruction by the deluge is alluded to: for this, and the fall of angels, being two of the greatest events that ever happened, and the most remarkable of God’s judgments, it was very natural for the prophets to recur to them, when they would raise their style in the description of the fall of empires and tyrants. See Ezekiel 26:19, 20, and 27:26, 32, 34. As the style of this prophet is wonderfully adapted to the subject whereof he treats, so he compares the destruction of this famous maritime city to a vessel shipwrecked in the sea, and so sends its inhabitants to the people of old times, as he calls them, who were swallowed up in the universal deluge. Their prince he compares to the prince of the rebel angels, whose pride had given him such a dreadful fall.” See Peters on Job, p. 373, and notes on verse 14.

Verses 3-8. Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel — In thy own conceit. The fame of Daniel’s wisdom was quickly spread over Chaldea, upon his being advanced to several posts of honour and dignity by Nebuchadnezzar. See Daniel 2:8. So here the prophet in an ironical manner upbraids the vain boasts which the prince of Tyre made of his wisdom, and the policy of those about him, as if it exceeded the endowments of Daniel. The Phenicians, of whom the Tyrians were a colony, (see note on Isaiah 23:12,) valued themselves for their wisdom and ingenuity, as being inventors of navigation, letters, and sciences. Compare Zechariah 9:2. With thy wisdom, &c., thou hast gotten thee riches — Thy skill in navigation and trade has increased thy wealth. Behold, I will bring upon thee the terrible of the nations — The Babylonians, who by their conquests have made themselves terrible to all the nations round about them. They shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom — They shall deface and destroy all the beautiful edifices which thou hast erected with admirable art, and every thing which thou valuest as ornamental or useful, beauteous or magnificent, even all the glory of thy kingdom. They shall defile thy brightness — They shall render thy kingdom, which is now flourishing and glorious, weak and contemptible. Thou shalt die the deaths, &c. — Thou shalt die the death of those who perished in the flood. The expression deaths, in the plural, intimates a still further punishment, even after the death of the body; such as that impious race experienced, and such as this haughty prince had well deserved by his mad pride and blasphemous impiety. And therefore with the same emphasis the prophet tells us, verse 10, Thou shalt die the deaths, the double death, of the uncircumcised; that is, of unbelievers and enemies to God. For circumcision being the rite which distinguished God’s chosen people from the heathen, uncircumcised is equivalent in sense to wicked or profane. So the Chaldee Paraphrase renders it here. “This is not the only place in this prophecy where the destruction by the deluge is alluded to: for this, and the fall of angels, being two of the greatest events that ever happened, and the most remarkable of God’s judgments, it was very natural for the prophets to recur to them, when they would raise their style in the description of the fall of empires and tyrants. See Ezekiel 26:19, 20, and 27:26, 32, 34. As the style of this prophet is wonderfully adapted to the subject whereof he treats, so he compares the destruction of this famous maritime city to a vessel shipwrecked in the sea, and so sends its inhabitants to the people of old times, as he calls them, who were swallowed up in the universal deluge. Their prince he compares to the prince of the rebel angels, whose pride had given him such a dreadful fall.” See Peters on Job, p. 373, and notes on verse 14.

V. 7. The beauty-Those beautiful things, in which thy wisdom appeared.

Verse 7. I will bring strangers upon thee] The Chaldeans.

Verses 3-8. Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel — In thy own conceit. The fame of Daniel’s wisdom was quickly spread over Chaldea, upon his being advanced to several posts of honour and dignity by Nebuchadnezzar. See Daniel 2:8. So here the prophet in an ironical manner upbraids the vain boasts which the prince of Tyre made of his wisdom, and the policy of those about him, as if it exceeded the endowments of Daniel. The Phenicians, of whom the Tyrians were a colony, (see note on Isaiah 23:12,) valued themselves for their wisdom and ingenuity, as being inventors of navigation, letters, and sciences. Compare Zechariah 9:2. With thy wisdom, &c., thou hast gotten thee riches — Thy skill in navigation and trade has increased thy wealth. Behold, I will bring upon thee the terrible of the nations — The Babylonians, who by their conquests have made themselves terrible to all the nations round about them. They shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom — They shall deface and destroy all the beautiful edifices which thou hast erected with admirable art, and every thing which thou valuest as ornamental or useful, beauteous or magnificent, even all the glory of thy kingdom. They shall defile thy brightness — They shall render thy kingdom, which is now flourishing and glorious, weak and contemptible. Thou shalt die the deaths, &c. — Thou shalt die the death of those who perished in the flood. The expression deaths, in the plural, intimates a still further punishment, even after the death of the body; such as that impious race experienced, and such as this haughty prince had well deserved by his mad pride and blasphemous impiety. And therefore with the same emphasis the prophet tells us, verse 10, Thou shalt die the deaths, the double death, of the uncircumcised; that is, of unbelievers and enemies to God. For circumcision being the rite which distinguished God’s chosen people from the heathen, uncircumcised is equivalent in sense to wicked or profane. So the Chaldee Paraphrase renders it here. “This is not the only place in this prophecy where the destruction by the deluge is alluded to: for this, and the fall of angels, being two of the greatest events that ever happened, and the most remarkable of God’s judgments, it was very natural for the prophets to recur to them, when they would raise their style in the description of the fall of empires and tyrants. See Ezekiel 26:19, 20, and 27:26, 32, 34. As the style of this prophet is wonderfully adapted to the subject whereof he treats, so he compares the destruction of this famous maritime city to a vessel shipwrecked in the sea, and so sends its inhabitants to the people of old times, as he calls them, who were swallowed up in the universal deluge. Their prince he compares to the prince of the rebel angels, whose pride had given him such a dreadful fall.” See Peters on Job, p. 373, and notes on verse 14.

7. The terrible of the nations — This is a strong name for the Chaldean army, which shall destroy the beautiful works produced by Tyrian wisdom and prove that the prince is not God, but man (Ezekiel 30:11; 32:12; Habakkuk 1:6-10). She is intrenched “in the heart of the seas” (verse 8), but that which she supposes to be her greatest protection shall be her grave.

Verses 3-8. Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel — In thy own conceit. The fame of Daniel’s wisdom was quickly spread over Chaldea, upon his being advanced to several posts of honour and dignity by Nebuchadnezzar. See Daniel 2:8. So here the prophet in an ironical manner upbraids the vain boasts which the prince of Tyre made of his wisdom, and the policy of those about him, as if it exceeded the endowments of Daniel. The Phenicians, of whom the Tyrians were a colony, (see note on Isaiah 23:12,) valued themselves for their wisdom and ingenuity, as being inventors of navigation, letters, and sciences. Compare Zechariah 9:2. With thy wisdom, &c., thou hast gotten thee riches — Thy skill in navigation and trade has increased thy wealth. Behold, I will bring upon thee the terrible of the nations — The Babylonians, who by their conquests have made themselves terrible to all the nations round about them. They shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom — They shall deface and destroy all the beautiful edifices which thou hast erected with admirable art, and every thing which thou valuest as ornamental or useful, beauteous or magnificent, even all the glory of thy kingdom. They shall defile thy brightness — They shall render thy kingdom, which is now flourishing and glorious, weak and contemptible. Thou shalt die the deaths, &c. — Thou shalt die the death of those who perished in the flood. The expression deaths, in the plural, intimates a still further punishment, even after the death of the body; such as that impious race experienced, and such as this haughty prince had well deserved by his mad pride and blasphemous impiety. And therefore with the same emphasis the prophet tells us, verse 10, Thou shalt die the deaths, the double death, of the uncircumcised; that is, of unbelievers and enemies to God. For circumcision being the rite which distinguished God’s chosen people from the heathen, uncircumcised is equivalent in sense to wicked or profane. So the Chaldee Paraphrase renders it here. “This is not the only place in this prophecy where the destruction by the deluge is alluded to: for this, and the fall of angels, being two of the greatest events that ever happened, and the most remarkable of God’s judgments, it was very natural for the prophets to recur to them, when they would raise their style in the description of the fall of empires and tyrants. See Ezekiel 26:19, 20, and 27:26, 32, 34. As the style of this prophet is wonderfully adapted to the subject whereof he treats, so he compares the destruction of this famous maritime city to a vessel shipwrecked in the sea, and so sends its inhabitants to the people of old times, as he calls them, who were swallowed up in the universal deluge. Their prince he compares to the prince of the rebel angels, whose pride had given him such a dreadful fall.” See Peters on Job, p. 373, and notes on verse 14.

Verse 9. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee] Wilt thou continue thy pride and arrogance when the sword is sheathed in thee, and still imagine that thou art self-sufficient and independent?

Verse 9. Wilt thou yet say — Or, Wilt thou then say, before him that slayeth thee, I am God — Nothing can be more finely expressed than this: the prince of Tyrus thought himself, as a god, as invincible, as secure from all harm; God therefore, by his prophet, asks him here if he would have these proud thoughts, if he would think of himself as a god, when he found himself in his enemy’s power, just going to be slain. The question is most sharp and cutting: it sets the folly of his insolent pride in the strongest light; for surely he could not boast of being a god, when he was to fall by the sword of a man; and whatever proud thoughts he now entertained of himself, they certainly would be changed when he saw the sword of his enemy lifted up to slay him. So Plutarch tells us of Alexander, that “he vainly affected to be thought Jupiter’s son, and next in honour to Bacchus and Hercules: yet when he saw the blood run out of a wound he had received, which at the same time gave him much pain, he confessed that was not such blood as Homer said issued from the immortal gods.” — Lib. 2, De Alexandri fortuna. This whole chapter, as well as the foregoing one, is exceedingly fine, both as to the style and composition.

9, 10. Thou shalt be a man — Literally, thou art man (as verse 2). The deaths of the uncircumcised — Here, as Dr. Plumptre says, we reach the climax of Hebrew scorn. As the uncircumcised were to the Israelites (1 Samuel 17; 26; 31:4), so should the king of Tyre, unhonored, unwept, with no outward marks of reverence, be among the great ones of the past who dwell in Hades (Ezekiel 31:18; 32:24). If Herodotus is right in saying that the ancient Phoenicians practiced circumcision, it adds a double sting to these words.

V. 10. The deaths-Temporal and eternal. Of the uncircumcised-Of the wicked, an accursed death.

Verse 10. The deaths of the uncircumcised] Two deaths, temporal and eternal. Ithobaal was taken and killed by Nebuchadnezzar.

Ver. 10. Thou shalt die the death of the uncircumcised. See on chap. 32:25.

9, 10. Thou shalt be a man — Literally, thou art man (as verse 2). The deaths of the uncircumcised — Here, as Dr. Plumptre says, we reach the climax of Hebrew scorn. As the uncircumcised were to the Israelites (1 Samuel 17; 26; 31:4), so should the king of Tyre, unhonored, unwept, with no outward marks of reverence, be among the great ones of the past who dwell in Hades (Ezekiel 31:18; 32:24). If Herodotus is right in saying that the ancient Phoenicians practiced circumcision, it adds a double sting to these words.

V. 12. Thou sealest up-Thou fanciest that fulness of wisdom, and perfection of beauty are in thee.

Verse 12. Thou sealest up] This has been translated, “Thou drawest thy own likeness.” “Thou formest a portrait of thyself; and hast represented thyself the perfection of wisdom and beauty.” I believe this to be the meaning of the place.

Verses 12, 13. Take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus — See Ezekiel 27:32. Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, &c. — In thine own opinion thou art the perfect pattern of wisdom and all other excellences; thou possessest them in full measure, they are thine by an unalienable tenure, sealed up safely among thy treasures. The LXX. render this, Su aposfragisma omoiwsewv, kai stefanov kallouv, Thou art the seal of likeness, and crown of beauty. To the same purpose the Vulgate, Tu signaculum similitudinis, plenus sapientia, perfectus decore: that is, says Lowth, “Thou art the image of God, an exact impression taken from that great copy. For the following verse shows that the expression alludes to Adam, when he was first created, and came pure out of the hands of his Maker; full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” Thou hast been in Eden — “As thy situation was pleasant, so wast thou plentifully supplied with every thing which could contribute to make thy life pleasant and happy. The state of paradise, in common speech, denotes a condition every way complete and happy. See Isaiah 51:3. The expression, as well as the whole context, alludes to the complete happiness which Adam enjoyed in paradise, before his apostacy and fall.” Every precious stone was thy covering — Not only was thy crown adorned with the choicest jewels, but thou wast arrayed with royal robes, enriched with gold and precious stones of all sorts. There is probably an allusion here to the precious stones which were placed in the high-priest’s breast-plate, as the next verse alludes to the cherubim over the mercy-seat. Accordingly the LXX. enlarge the number of the stones here mentioned from nine to twelve, and place them in the same order in which they are ranked Exodus 28:17, &c. The workmanship of thy tabrets, &c.,was prepared in thee — Or, for thee, in the day thou wast created — The highest expressions of joy, such as are the sounding of all sorts of musical instruments, ushered thee into the world, according to the usual practice at the birth of great princes; and ever since thou hast been brought up in the choicest delicacies which a royal palace or a luxurious city could furnish.

12. Thou sealest up the sum — This is a very difficult phrase. It may be rendered, “Thou wast the seal ring of symmetry and the perfection of beauty;” or,” Thou wast the sealer of symmetry” (Davidson), i.e., impressed symmetry upon all things; or, “Thou settest the seal to thy completeness [perfection]” (Plumptre), i.e., the prince thinks himself to have attained the consummation of all beauty and wisdom. His signet ring represents the measure and power of the world. (Compare Orelli.)

V. 13. In Eden-In the midst of all delights. The workmanship-Now the prophet notes their joys, musick, and songs, both to loud, and to softer musick, as the lute, and tabret in the day of their kings coronation, and all this on instruments of most exquisite make, and of their own artists work; in this they exceeded as in the other. Created-King: in the day of thy coronation.

Verse 13. Thou hast been in Eden] This also is a strong irony. Thou art like Adam, when in his innocence and excellence he was in the garden of Eden!

Every precious stone was thy covering] For a description of these stones see Clarke’s note on “Exodus 28:17”.

Verses 12, 13. Take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus — See Ezekiel 27:32. Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, &c. — In thine own opinion thou art the perfect pattern of wisdom and all other excellences; thou possessest them in full measure, they are thine by an unalienable tenure, sealed up safely among thy treasures. The LXX. render this, Su aposfragisma omoiwsewv, kai stefanov kallouv, Thou art the seal of likeness, and crown of beauty. To the same purpose the Vulgate, Tu signaculum similitudinis, plenus sapientia, perfectus decore: that is, says Lowth, “Thou art the image of God, an exact impression taken from that great copy. For the following verse shows that the expression alludes to Adam, when he was first created, and came pure out of the hands of his Maker; full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” Thou hast been in Eden — “As thy situation was pleasant, so wast thou plentifully supplied with every thing which could contribute to make thy life pleasant and happy. The state of paradise, in common speech, denotes a condition every way complete and happy. See Isaiah 51:3. The expression, as well as the whole context, alludes to the complete happiness which Adam enjoyed in paradise, before his apostacy and fall.” Every precious stone was thy covering — Not only was thy crown adorned with the choicest jewels, but thou wast arrayed with royal robes, enriched with gold and precious stones of all sorts. There is probably an allusion here to the precious stones which were placed in the high-priest’s breast-plate, as the next verse alludes to the cherubim over the mercy-seat. Accordingly the LXX. enlarge the number of the stones here mentioned from nine to twelve, and place them in the same order in which they are ranked Exodus 28:17, &c. The workmanship of thy tabrets, &c.,was prepared in thee — Or, for thee, in the day thou wast created — The highest expressions of joy, such as are the sounding of all sorts of musical instruments, ushered thee into the world, according to the usual practice at the birth of great princes; and ever since thou hast been brought up in the choicest delicacies which a royal palace or a luxurious city could furnish.

13. The king of Tyre seems to dwell in a paradise equal to that in which Adam was placed, and to wear jewels equal to those upon the breast of the high priest (Exodus 28). Toy makes the list of precious stones as follows: “ruby, topaz, and jasper, tarshish stone, onyx, and beryl, sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald.” Tabrets… pipes — Possibly, settings, ouches, referring to the good workmanship of the jewels mentioned above. Perrot and Chipiez think the word translated “tabrets” and “pipes” to be technical terms for the wheels (drums) on which the lapidaries polished their stones and the drills with which they pierced them. Many jewels finely cut have been discovered in Phoenicia, among these a sardonyx seal ring of Abibal, the father of Hiram, king of Tyre (Phoenicia and Cyprus, 1:231, 241). If the A. V. and R.V. are correct these are the jeweled musical instruments used at the king’s coronation in the day when he was created king (Ezekiel 26:13; Isaiah 5:12; Daniel 3:5).

V. 14. Cherub-For thy wisdom, power, and excellency, like a cherub, or angel; for the sacredness of thy person, and office, as the anointed of God; for the exercise of thy power, as a shield, as a protector of the weak. And I-I, whom thou forgetest have made thee so. Thou wast-Thou wast advanced to kingly dignity, (which David calls a mountain, Psalm 30:7,) a sacred office, and of divine institution. In the midst-Surrounded with stones, that sparkle like fire.

Verse 14. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth] The irony is continued; and here he is likened to the CHERUB that guarded the gates of Paradise, and kept the way of the tree of life; or to one of the cherubs whose wings, spread out, covered the mercy-seat. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God] The irony is still continued; and now he is compared to Moses, and afterwards to one of the chief angels, who has walked up and down among the stones of fire; that is, thy floors have been paved with precious stones, that shone and sparkled like fire.

Lucan, describing the splendour of the apartments of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, speaks in nearly a similar language:— Nec summis crustata domus, sectisque nitebat Marmoribus, stabatque sibi non segnis achates, Purpureusque lapis, totusque effusus in aula Calcabatur onyx—

Pharsal. lib. x.

Rich as some fane by slavish zealots reared, For the proud banquet stood the hall prepared: Thick golden plates the latent beams infold, And the high roof was fretted o’er with gold. Of solid marble all the walls were made, And onyx e’en the meaner floor inlaid; While porphyry and agate round the court In massy columns rose, a proud support. Of solid ebony each post was wrought, From swarthy Meroe profusely brought. With ivory was the entrance crusted o’er, And polished tortoise hid each shining door; While on the cloudy spots enchased was seen The trusty emerald’s never-fading green. Within the royal beds and couches shone, Beamy and bright with many a costly stone, The glowing purple rich.

ROWE.

Verses 14, 15. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth — The prophet here alludes to the cherubim in the temple of Solomon, which were a part of the ark, being made of beaten gold, and therefore were with it anointed, and were very large, and covered the mercy-seat with their wings. The prince of Tyrus is here compared to one of these, on account of the high power which he bore among men, and his covering or protecting his people by that power. St. Jerome translates the expression, The extended cherub that covereth: that is, whose wings are stretched out to cover, &c., reading ˆvmm, extended, instead of jvmm, anointed. And I have set thee so — It was I myself that determined that thou shouldest be so great a king, and have a vast power to defend and protect thy people. But this prince, like too many of mankind, was insensible of the hand which raised him, and did not consider to whom he owed his power and glory. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God — The image of the cherub is pursued. “Such was thy eminent distinction, that thou wast, as it were, placed in the temple of God on his holy mountain.” Or, thou wast placed in as secure a situation as if thou hadst been fixed on the holy mountain where the temple of God stands. Thou hast walked, &c., in the midst of the stones of fire — Thou hast, as it were, been placed among the twelve precious stones on the breast-plate of the high-priest. Or this obscure sentence may signify that this prince’s palace and his attendants were very richly adorned with precious stones, which shone with a burning brightness, like fire. Lowth thinks “the words allude to the high advancement of Satan in heaven before his fall, where he was placed in one of the highest orders of angels, such as were nearest in attending upon the Divine Majesty.” Thou wast perfect in thy ways, till iniquity was found in thee — “An exact description of the evangelical purity in which the devil was created, and in which he continued till, being lifted up with pride, he fell from his first estate.” “Whoever compares this place in Ezekiel with the parallel place in Isaiah 14:12, &c., where the downfall of the king of Babylon is foretold in the same prophetic language, will soon perceive that they throw a reciprocal light upon each other, and that the fall of angels is alluded to in both. The beauty and propriety of these allusions of the prophets will appear with greater lustre when it is considered that the host of heaven were the objects of the heathen idolatry; both the visible and invisible host, as well the angels as the lights of heaven; for the superstition seems to have been originally the same, as the worship of the heavenly bodies terminated in the worship of those angels, or intelligences, who were believed to animate and conduct them: and hence we see a reason why the angels were called stars, and morning-stars, in Scripture: as in Job 38:7, and so here, the covering cherub is the same with Lucifer, the son of the morning, in Isaiah. Thus, while the prophets describe the overthrow of an idolatrous prince or state by a fallen angel, or a falling star, they only make their gods to tumble with them: see Dissertation on Job, p. 374.

14. The anointed cherub — The prince stood in Eden as divinely appointed guard and protector of the treasures of the garden, and as the highest possible form of life (Ezekiel 1:10, and note Ezekiel 10:1-16; Genesis 3:24; Exodus 25:20). Some scholars read, “the far covering cherub.” The Polychrome Bible, followed by Bertholet, reads (as LXX.), “with the cherub.” The holy mountain — The Tyrian Olympus, the throne of deity filled with treasures which all nations have thought of as close to the primeval home of the race. (See Isaiah 14:13, 14; compare Warren’s Paradise Found.) The Tyrian ruler seems to stand on the navel of the world and to occupy the highest seat of the gods. There was no mountain in the Hebrew paradise, but Ezekiel, “in addressing himself to the heathen, speaks in a way which they can understand” (Orelli). Mount Zion and the sacred mountains in every religion were only symbolical of the universal “Mount of El,” so the altar of Ezekiel’s ideal temple was called by the Babylonian name, Aralu, “mountain of countries” (Ezekiel 43:15, 16), as a symbol in miniature of the terrestrial Arula, “Mount Zion” (Jeremias, p. 122). Stones of fire — “Precious stones” — Brown’s Hebrew and English Lexicon. These were supposed by the Babylonians and others to be in abundance on the Mount of the Gods. It must be remembered also that every jewel among the Egyptians, and presumably among the Babylonians, had a symbolic meaning. For example, the Egyptians called the sapphire and lapis lazuli Dorneken, “Preserving from danger,” and one burial inscription reads, “I kept myself far from quartz and always chose the emerald” (Brugsch, Steininschrift und Bibelwort, pp. 324, 329). Even these magical protecting jewels could not save the Tyrian prince.

V. 15. Thou wast perfect-Is not this an irony?

Verse 15. Thou wast perfect in thy ways] The irony seems still to be kept up. Thou hast been like the angels, like Moses, like the cherubs, like Adam, like God, till thy iniquity was found out.

Verses 14, 15. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth — The prophet here alludes to the cherubim in the temple of Solomon, which were a part of the ark, being made of beaten gold, and therefore were with it anointed, and were very large, and covered the mercy-seat with their wings. The prince of Tyrus is here compared to one of these, on account of the high power which he bore among men, and his covering or protecting his people by that power. St. Jerome translates the expression, The extended cherub that covereth: that is, whose wings are stretched out to cover, &c., reading ˆvmm, extended, instead of jvmm, anointed. And I have set thee so — It was I myself that determined that thou shouldest be so great a king, and have a vast power to defend and protect thy people. But this prince, like too many of mankind, was insensible of the hand which raised him, and did not consider to whom he owed his power and glory. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God — The image of the cherub is pursued. “Such was thy eminent distinction, that thou wast, as it were, placed in the temple of God on his holy mountain.” Or, thou wast placed in as secure a situation as if thou hadst been fixed on the holy mountain where the temple of God stands. Thou hast walked, &c., in the midst of the stones of fire — Thou hast, as it were, been placed among the twelve precious stones on the breast-plate of the high-priest. Or this obscure sentence may signify that this prince’s palace and his attendants were very richly adorned with precious stones, which shone with a burning brightness, like fire. Lowth thinks “the words allude to the high advancement of Satan in heaven before his fall, where he was placed in one of the highest orders of angels, such as were nearest in attending upon the Divine Majesty.” Thou wast perfect in thy ways, till iniquity was found in thee — “An exact description of the evangelical purity in which the devil was created, and in which he continued till, being lifted up with pride, he fell from his first estate.” “Whoever compares this place in Ezekiel with the parallel place in Isaiah 14:12, &c., where the downfall of the king of Babylon is foretold in the same prophetic language, will soon perceive that they throw a reciprocal light upon each other, and that the fall of angels is alluded to in both. The beauty and propriety of these allusions of the prophets will appear with greater lustre when it is considered that the host of heaven were the objects of the heathen idolatry; both the visible and invisible host, as well the angels as the lights of heaven; for the superstition seems to have been originally the same, as the worship of the heavenly bodies terminated in the worship of those angels, or intelligences, who were believed to animate and conduct them: and hence we see a reason why the angels were called stars, and morning-stars, in Scripture: as in Job 38:7, and so here, the covering cherub is the same with Lucifer, the son of the morning, in Isaiah. Thus, while the prophets describe the overthrow of an idolatrous prince or state by a fallen angel, or a falling star, they only make their gods to tumble with them: see Dissertation on Job, p. 374.

V. 16. I will cast-Out thy kingly dignity.

Verse 16. I will cast thee as profane] Thou shalt be cast down from thine eminence.

From the midst of the stones of fire.] Some, supposing that stones of fire means the stars, have thought that the whole refers to the fall of Satan.

Verses 16, 17. By the multitude of thy merchandise, &c. — The riches which thy great trade has produced have but increased thy love of gain more and more, and induced thee to commit acts of violence, fraud, and extortion, to make further additions to thy power and riches; therefore I will cast thee out of the mountain of God — I will cast thee down to contempt from that super-eminent degree of power and glory to which I had raised thee, and from the exalted station of governing others, and being able to afford them protection, and from all thy great pomp and magnificence. Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty — Thou becamest vain and insolent on account of thy power, riches, and magnificence. Here the root of this prince’s ruin is pointed out to us. His power and riches produced pride and insolence in him, and those every evil way. His grandeur blinded him, so that he did not see his true happiness, nor the right way of pursuing it, but wandered in ways which led to ruin. I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee — I will make thee a spectacle to other princes, expose thee as a miserable object before their eyes, that thou mayest be an example to them to deter them from the like pride and practices.

16. Will cast… will destroy — Rather, have cast… have destroyed. So in verses 17 and 18 the verbs are in the past tense. These words were spoken from the standpoint of prophecy fulfilled. Some scholars amend so as to read, “and the cherub hath destroyed thee.”

V. 17. Corrupted-Depraved, or lost thy wisdom. Behold thee-That thou mayst be a spectacle, and warning to them.

Verses 16, 17. By the multitude of thy merchandise, &c. — The riches which thy great trade has produced have but increased thy love of gain more and more, and induced thee to commit acts of violence, fraud, and extortion, to make further additions to thy power and riches; therefore I will cast thee out of the mountain of God — I will cast thee down to contempt from that super-eminent degree of power and glory to which I had raised thee, and from the exalted station of governing others, and being able to afford them protection, and from all thy great pomp and magnificence. Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty — Thou becamest vain and insolent on account of thy power, riches, and magnificence. Here the root of this prince’s ruin is pointed out to us. His power and riches produced pride and insolence in him, and those every evil way. His grandeur blinded him, so that he did not see his true happiness, nor the right way of pursuing it, but wandered in ways which led to ruin. I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee — I will make thee a spectacle to other princes, expose thee as a miserable object before their eyes, that thou mayest be an example to them to deter them from the like pride and practices.

17. Corrupted — Rather, put to naught (Kautzsch), or stifled (Mitchel) (Amos 1:11). That is, his wisdom has been lost or lessened because of the glory which made him vain. Ezekiel only inveighed against the intellectual conceit, the aesthetic culture, and the commercial greatness of the Tyrian prince, because of his irreligious spirit and sacrilegious assumption (vs. Bertholet). Yet ancient Judaism was opposed to the mercantile spirit. On the influence of successful commerce on the religious life see Expositor’s Bible.

V. 18. I will bring thee-Thou shalt be burnt to ashes, and trampled under feet.

Verse 18. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries] Irony continued. As God, as the angels, as the cherubim, thou must have had thy sanctuaries; but thou hast defiled them: and as Adam, thou hast polluted thy Eden, and hast been expelled from Paradise.

Verses 18, 19. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries — Thy throne, palace, judgment-seats. The word vdqm, generally rendered sanctuary, sometimes signifies a palace, in which sense it probably ought to be taken Amos 7:13, where our translation renders it the king’s chapel. Thus Bishop Patrick understands it, Exodus 25:8, where our version reads, Let them make me a sanctuary; God commanding that he should be served and attended upon in the tabernacle, as a king in his court or palace. The cherubim were his throne, the ark his footstool, the altar his table, (and therefore called by that name, Ezekiel 41:22; Malachi 1:7,) the priests his attendants, and the show-bread and sacrifices his provisions. The king of Tyre had filled his palace and courts of judicature, and the Tyrians their stately buildings, with iniquity and injustice, and therefore God was determined utterly to destroy them by the Chaldeans. I will bring fire from the midst of thee — Punishment shall follow thy crimes, and thy own ways shall bring it upon thee: thy destruction shall proceed from thyself. I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth — I will bring thee to dust. Thou shalt be made no more account of than ashes spread on the ground. All that know thee shall be astonished — So low a fall from such a height of glory will astonish all who ever saw thy former magnificence.

18. Defiled — Rather, profaned. Sanctuaries — Perhaps, sanctity, with Cornill, Toy, etc. A fire from the midst of thee — Only by internal treachery could Alexander the Great capture the city. Tyre, by her own iniquities, had kindled the flame which would consume her. (Compare 19:14.)

V. 19. All-All that have formerly known thy riches, power, allies, and wisdom.

Verse 19. Thou shalt be a terror] Instead of being an object of adoration thou shalt be a subject of horror, and at last be destroyed with thy city, so that nothing but thy name shall remain. It was entirely burnt by Alexander the Great, as it had been before by Nebuchadnezzar.

Verses 18, 19. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries — Thy throne, palace, judgment-seats. The word vdqm, generally rendered sanctuary, sometimes signifies a palace, in which sense it probably ought to be taken Amos 7:13, where our translation renders it the king’s chapel. Thus Bishop Patrick understands it, Exodus 25:8, where our version reads, Let them make me a sanctuary; God commanding that he should be served and attended upon in the tabernacle, as a king in his court or palace. The cherubim were his throne, the ark his footstool, the altar his table, (and therefore called by that name, Ezekiel 41:22; Malachi 1:7,) the priests his attendants, and the show-bread and sacrifices his provisions. The king of Tyre had filled his palace and courts of judicature, and the Tyrians their stately buildings, with iniquity and injustice, and therefore God was determined utterly to destroy them by the Chaldeans. I will bring fire from the midst of thee — Punishment shall follow thy crimes, and thy own ways shall bring it upon thee: thy destruction shall proceed from thyself. I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth — I will bring thee to dust. Thou shalt be made no more account of than ashes spread on the ground. All that know thee shall be astonished — So low a fall from such a height of glory will astonish all who ever saw thy former magnificence.

19. A terror — Compare Ezekiel 26:21.

Verses 21-23. Set thy face against Zidon — Direct thy face and thy speech toward Zidon, and fore-tel its destruction by the king of Babylon. Tyre and Zidon were neighbouring cities, and generally partakers of the same prosperity or adversity. We have, indeed, no history that informs us of the particulars of what befell Zidon; but it is likely that it sent help to the Tyrians, and so (Nebuchadnezzar proving victorious) suffered with them, and was reduced first under the power of the Chaldeans, and afterward of the Persians. Say, Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon — Provoked by thy sins, I am an adversary to thee, and am determined to punish thee. I will be glorified in the midst of thee — I will make my power and justice known by the judgments I will execute upon thee. In the same sense God saith, Exodus 14:17, I will get me honour upon Pharaoh. And will be sanctified in her — And will get myself reverence, fear, and praise, by the punishment I will bring upon her. God is said to be sanctified in those for whose preservation or destruction he exerts his power in a remarkable manner, so as to get glory to himself. For I will send her pestilence and blood — The pestilence, which often accompanies long sieges, shall destroy her inhabitants. And the wounded shall be judged, &c., by the sword — That is, the wounded shall fall in the midst of her by the sword, and meet with their deserved punishment from it.

21. Zidon — Or, Sidon. The oldest, and for many millenniums the leading Phoenician city. A document written cir. 1400 B.C. proves, however, that even at that early date Tyre had dared to lift her hand, though as yet ineffectually, even with Egypt’s assistance, against the mother city. So high did Zidon stand above all the other cities of the coast that Sidonian is the general name for Phoenician in the early Old Testament history (Judges 18:7, 28; Deuteronomy 3:9; 1 Kings 16:31). In David and Solomon’s day, and even earlier (from 1100 B.C.), Tyre appears as the greater city, and although Sennacherib sought in every way to strengthen Sidon as a rival to Tyre, which he wished to subjugate (701 B.C.), it was so completely destroyed by Esarhaddon (678 B.C.) that it disappears entirely even from the list of towns tributary to Assyria, giving place to the new city of Esarhaddonburg, erected on or near its site (McCurdy, 2:341). At the time this prophecy was written it had evidently recovered sufficiently to deserve a passing notice (Ezekiel 27:8; Joel 3:4; Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3; Zechariah 9:2).

V. 22. Zidon-A city, north-west from Canaan, a king’s seat of old, and from which Tyre descended. I will be glorified-When my judgments make my justice, power and truth appear, both you, and others shall confess my glory. Sanctified-Owned as holy, reverenced as just, obeyed as sovereign.

Verse 22. I am against thee, O Zidon] Sidon for a long time had possessed the empire of the sea and of all Phœnicia, and Tyre was one of its colonies; but in process of time, the daughter became greater than the mother. It seems to have been an independent place at the time in which Tyre was taken; but it is likely that it was taken by the Chaldeans soon after the former.

Verses 21-23. Set thy face against Zidon — Direct thy face and thy speech toward Zidon, and fore-tel its destruction by the king of Babylon. Tyre and Zidon were neighbouring cities, and generally partakers of the same prosperity or adversity. We have, indeed, no history that informs us of the particulars of what befell Zidon; but it is likely that it sent help to the Tyrians, and so (Nebuchadnezzar proving victorious) suffered with them, and was reduced first under the power of the Chaldeans, and afterward of the Persians. Say, Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon — Provoked by thy sins, I am an adversary to thee, and am determined to punish thee. I will be glorified in the midst of thee — I will make my power and justice known by the judgments I will execute upon thee. In the same sense God saith, Exodus 14:17, I will get me honour upon Pharaoh. And will be sanctified in her — And will get myself reverence, fear, and praise, by the punishment I will bring upon her. God is said to be sanctified in those for whose preservation or destruction he exerts his power in a remarkable manner, so as to get glory to himself. For I will send her pestilence and blood — The pestilence, which often accompanies long sieges, shall destroy her inhabitants. And the wounded shall be judged, &c., by the sword — That is, the wounded shall fall in the midst of her by the sword, and meet with their deserved punishment from it.

22. Be glorified… be sanctified — Jehovah is glorified and sanctified when his divine power and holiness are acknowledged by a righteous nation or manifested in a nation’s destruction because of its sins (Ezekiel 38:16; 39:13).

V. 23. And blood-Bloody war by an enemy, that shall bring the war to the gates, nay into the streets of Zidon. Judged-Be punished in the midst of the city. The sword-By the sword of her enemies.

Verse 23. And the wounded] llj chalal, the soldiery. All its supports shall be taken away, and its defenders destroyed.

Verses 21-23. Set thy face against Zidon — Direct thy face and thy speech toward Zidon, and fore-tel its destruction by the king of Babylon. Tyre and Zidon were neighbouring cities, and generally partakers of the same prosperity or adversity. We have, indeed, no history that informs us of the particulars of what befell Zidon; but it is likely that it sent help to the Tyrians, and so (Nebuchadnezzar proving victorious) suffered with them, and was reduced first under the power of the Chaldeans, and afterward of the Persians. Say, Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon — Provoked by thy sins, I am an adversary to thee, and am determined to punish thee. I will be glorified in the midst of thee — I will make my power and justice known by the judgments I will execute upon thee. In the same sense God saith, Exodus 14:17, I will get me honour upon Pharaoh. And will be sanctified in her — And will get myself reverence, fear, and praise, by the punishment I will bring upon her. God is said to be sanctified in those for whose preservation or destruction he exerts his power in a remarkable manner, so as to get glory to himself. For I will send her pestilence and blood — The pestilence, which often accompanies long sieges, shall destroy her inhabitants. And the wounded shall be judged, &c., by the sword — That is, the wounded shall fall in the midst of her by the sword, and meet with their deserved punishment from it.

23. Be judged — R.V., “fall.” (See on “pestilence and blood,” 5:12; 14:19.)

V. 24. A pricking briar-By these two metaphors the prophet points out the troublesome neighbours of the Jews, such as Moab, Ammon, Edom, Tyre, and Zidon. This never had a full accomplishment yet. But it will, for the scripture cannot be broken.

Verse 24. There shall be no more a pricking brier] Nothing to excite Israel to idolatry when restored from their captivity. Perhaps there is an allusion to Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon, and wife to Ahab, king of Israel, who was the greatest curse to Israel, and the universal restorer of idolatry in the land, see 1 Kings 16:31. Sidon being destroyed, there would come no encourager of idolatry from that quarter.

Verses 24-26. There shall be no more a pricking brier — There shall no more be any nation that shall injure, and be a vexation to the house of Israel; for all their troublesome neighbours, who had been as so many thorns in their sides, shall be destroyed or repressed, and in consequence thereof they shall dwell quietly and securely in their own land. This promise was in part fulfilled after their return from their captivity in Babylon; but the following verse shows that it chiefly relates to the general restoration of the Jews, when all the enemies of God’s church and truth shall be vanquished and subdued, often denoted in the prophetical writings by the name of Edom, Moab, and other neighbouring nations, who, upon all occasions, were wont to show their spite and ill-will against God’s ancient people. When I shall have gathered the house of Israel, &c. — This seems to be a plain prophecy of the restoration of the Jews to their own land, as will appear to any one who will compare the words with the parallel texts referred to in the margin; and the rules laid down concerning the division of the land among the twelve tribes (chap. 47., 48.) do very much favour this interpretation: see note on Isaiah 11:12. And shall be sanctified in them — See on verse 22. And they shall dwell safely therein — In comparison of what they have done formerly: they shall have peace, and freedom from the annoyance of enemies. And shall build houses, and plant vineyards — Building and planting are commonly joined together. When I shall have executed judgments — The prophets commonly conclude their threatenings against infidels with gracious promises to God’s people, implying that he will not make an utter destruction of them, as of other people, but preserve a remnant, to whom he may fulfil his promises made to their fathers.

24. A pricking brier — Rather, fretting thorn (2:6; Leviticus 13:51; compare Numbers 33:55).

V. 25. Sanctified-I was dishonoured by the Jews in the sight of the heathen, and I will be honoured by the Jews in their sight.

Verse 25. When I shall have gathered the house of Israel] In their long captivity, God had been preparing the land for them so as to make it a safe dwelling; and hence he executed judgments on all the heathen nations round about by means of the Chaldeans. Thus Tyre and Sidon were destroyed, as were the Ammonites and others who had been the inveterate enemies of the Jews. Judgment first began at his own house, then proceeded to the heathen nations; and when they were brought down, then he visited and redeemed his people. Thus God’s ways are proved to be all equal; partialities and caprices belong not to him.

EZEKIEL

Verses 24-26. There shall be no more a pricking brier — There shall no more be any nation that shall injure, and be a vexation to the house of Israel; for all their troublesome neighbours, who had been as so many thorns in their sides, shall be destroyed or repressed, and in consequence thereof they shall dwell quietly and securely in their own land. This promise was in part fulfilled after their return from their captivity in Babylon; but the following verse shows that it chiefly relates to the general restoration of the Jews, when all the enemies of God’s church and truth shall be vanquished and subdued, often denoted in the prophetical writings by the name of Edom, Moab, and other neighbouring nations, who, upon all occasions, were wont to show their spite and ill-will against God’s ancient people. When I shall have gathered the house of Israel, &c. — This seems to be a plain prophecy of the restoration of the Jews to their own land, as will appear to any one who will compare the words with the parallel texts referred to in the margin; and the rules laid down concerning the division of the land among the twelve tribes (chap. 47., 48.) do very much favour this interpretation: see note on Isaiah 11:12. And shall be sanctified in them — See on verse 22. And they shall dwell safely therein — In comparison of what they have done formerly: they shall have peace, and freedom from the annoyance of enemies. And shall build houses, and plant vineyards — Building and planting are commonly joined together. When I shall have executed judgments — The prophets commonly conclude their threatenings against infidels with gracious promises to God’s people, implying that he will not make an utter destruction of them, as of other people, but preserve a remnant, to whom he may fulfil his promises made to their fathers.

25. People — Literally, peoples. Shall be sanctified — Literally, have shown myself holy. (See also verse 22.) My servant Jacob — Used for Israel (Ezekiel 20:5; 28:25; 37:25).

Verses 24-26. There shall be no more a pricking brier — There shall no more be any nation that shall injure, and be a vexation to the house of Israel; for all their troublesome neighbours, who had been as so many thorns in their sides, shall be destroyed or repressed, and in consequence thereof they shall dwell quietly and securely in their own land. This promise was in part fulfilled after their return from their captivity in Babylon; but the following verse shows that it chiefly relates to the general restoration of the Jews, when all the enemies of God’s church and truth shall be vanquished and subdued, often denoted in the prophetical writings by the name of Edom, Moab, and other neighbouring nations, who, upon all occasions, were wont to show their spite and ill-will against God’s ancient people. When I shall have gathered the house of Israel, &c. — This seems to be a plain prophecy of the restoration of the Jews to their own land, as will appear to any one who will compare the words with the parallel texts referred to in the margin; and the rules laid down concerning the division of the land among the twelve tribes (chap. 47., 48.) do very much favour this interpretation: see note on Isaiah 11:12. And shall be sanctified in them — See on verse 22. And they shall dwell safely therein — In comparison of what they have done formerly: they shall have peace, and freedom from the annoyance of enemies. And shall build houses, and plant vineyards — Building and planting are commonly joined together. When I shall have executed judgments — The prophets commonly conclude their threatenings against infidels with gracious promises to God’s people, implying that he will not make an utter destruction of them, as of other people, but preserve a remnant, to whom he may fulfil his promises made to their fathers.

26. Shall build houses — Very like Ezekiel 36:28; Jeremiah 23:6. These chastisements of the heathen, following Israel’s chastisement and to be followed by the restoration of repentant Israel, will make Jehovah known as the true God throughout the earth.