Ezekiel 28:18
in Ezekiel 28By the multitude of your iniquities and the dishonesty of your trading you have profaned your sanctuaries. So I made fire come from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the eyes of all who saw you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
By the multitude of thine iniquities, in the unrighteousness of thy traffic, thou hast profaned thy sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of thee; it hath devoured thee, and I have turned thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
KJV
Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
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This verse in Ezekiel 28
Commentary
9 notes on this verseTherefore, he defiled his sanctification which he had when he dwelt on the mountain and conversed among the burning stones. It follows: I will bring fire in the midst of you which shall devour you. This fire was kindled in the heart of the king of Tyre by him whose arrows are kindled, as it is written: All those who commit adultery are like an oven, their hearts (Hosea).
This site's exposition
you have profaned your sanctuaries
on Ezekiel 28:18-19
The fire that ends the king of Tyrus comes from within him. The ashes upon the earth and the astonishment of all that know thee close the lament with total reversal. Keil reads the totality of the ending as proof the lament was never about a trade rival's city alone.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Vers. 11 seqq.) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: carnelian, topaz, and jasper, chrysolite, onyx, and beryl, sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald. Gold was the workmanship of your settings and your engravings; on the day that you were created they were prepared.
What is more true than this? The fire of sin went forth from the midst of their sin, a fire that devoured the good fortune of former times.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities,.... Or, "thy palaces", as Kimchi; the palace of the king, and the palaces of the nobles, where much iniquity was committed, and which was the cause of their being defiled or destroyed by the Chaldeans; or it may design their sacred places, their temples, where their gods were worshipped, and idolatry committed.
): " Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries; thou hast lost the benefit of all that which thou thoughtest sacred, and in which, as in a sanctuary, thou thoughtest to take refuge; these thou hast defiled, and so exposed thyself by the multitude of thy iniquities. " Now observe, (1.) What the iniquity was that was the ruin of the king of Tyre. [1.] The iniquity of his traffic (so it is called,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
20 Again the word of the L ORD came unto me, saying, 21 Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it, 22 And say, Thus saith the Lord G OD ; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the L ORD , when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:92%@v20-22
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
thy sanctuaries--that is, the holy places, attributed to the king of Tyre in Eze 28:14, as his ideal position. As he "profaned" it, so God will "profane" him (Eze 28:16). fire . . . devour--As he abused his supposed elevation amidst "the stones of fire" (Eze 28:16), so God will make His "fire" to "devour" him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מֵרֹ֣ב | mero | from [the] greatness of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| עֲוֹנֶ֗יךָ | ʾavoneikha | iniquities your | H5771 → | 233 times |
| בְּעֶ֙וֶל֙ | beevel | by [the] unrighteousness of | H5766 → | 54 times |
| רְכֻלָּ֣תְךָ֔ | rekhulatekha | trading your | H7404 → | 4 times |
| חִלַּ֖לְתָּ | chilalta | you profaned | H2490 → | 143 times |
| מִקְדָּשֶׁ֑יךָ | mikdasheicha | sanctuaries your | H4720 → | 75 times |
| וָֽאוֹצִא־ | vaotzi'- | and I brought out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֵ֤שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| מִתּֽוֹכְךָ֙ | mitokha | from [the] midst of you | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הִ֣יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֲכָלַ֔תְךָ | ʾakhalatkha | it consumed you | H398 → | 810 times |
| וָאֶתֶּנְךָ֤ | vaetenkha | and I made you | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְאֵ֙פֶר֙ | leefer | into ash[es] | H665 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לְעֵינֵ֖י | leeinei | to [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| רֹאֶֽיךָ׃ | roeikha | [those who] saw you | H7200 → | 1300 times |
מֵרֹ֣בfrom [the] greatness of
meroH7230 →149 times
עֲוֹנֶ֗יךָiniquities your
ʾavoneikhaH5771 →233 times
בְּעֶ֙וֶל֙by [the] unrighteousness of
beevelH5766 →54 times
רְכֻלָּ֣תְךָ֔trading your
rekhulatekhaH7404 →4 times
חִלַּ֖לְתָּyou profaned
chilaltaH2490 →143 times
מִקְדָּשֶׁ֑יךָsanctuaries your
mikdasheichaH4720 →75 times
וָֽאוֹצִא־and I brought out
vaotzi'-H3318 →1067 times
אֵ֤שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
מִתּֽוֹכְךָ֙from [the] midst of you
mitokhaH8432 →418 times
הִ֣יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
אֲכָלַ֔תְךָit consumed you
ʾakhalatkhaH398 →810 times
וָאֶתֶּנְךָ֤and I made you
vaetenkhaH5414 →2011 times
לְאֵ֙פֶר֙into ash[es]
leeferH665 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָ֔רֶץthe ground
haaretzH776 →2504 times
לְעֵינֵ֖יto [the] eyes of
leeineiH5869 →887 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
רֹאֶֽיךָ׃[those who] saw you
roeikhaH7200 →1300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 28:2“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 28:9
Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who slay you? You will be only a man, not a god, in the hands of those who wound you.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4
He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
- Isaiah 14:13–14
You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of…
- Ezekiel 28:9
Through
Malachi 4:3Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
it leads to
- Job 40:12
Look on every proud man and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand.
- Romans 16:20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
- Micah 7:10
Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like…
- Zechariah 10:5
They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.
- Job 40:12
Through
Ezekiel 28:16By the vastness of your trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and I banished you, O guardian cherub, from among…
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:9–10
Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
- 1 Timothy 6:9–10
Where this verse is studied
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel and Salvian the Presbyter, THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 7:14.