Ezekiel 28:2
in Ezekiel 28“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 gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thy 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 man, and not God, though thou didst set thy heart as the heart of God;—
KJV
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:
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This verse in Ezekiel 28
Commentary
13 notes on this verseAnd you will no longer say, 'I am God,' but, having learned through your downfall, you will recognize that you are a human, not God. But if we wish to call the prince of Tyre the same power to whom the city itself, or the province, was given by God, let us accept that testimony. I said, 'You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. But you will die like men, and fall like one of the princes' (Psalm 82:7).
This site's exposition
the word of the LORD came to me
on Ezekiel 28:1-2
The oracle turns from Tyre's fall to the man who ruled her, and the charge is put in his own words: I am a God. Henry reads the accusation as pride swelling on wealth and a defensible rock into outright self-deification, the sin Isaiah 14 lays on Babylon's king.
This site's exposition
I sit in the seat of gods
The king of Tyre in these years was Ithobaal, whom Josephus names as reigning during Nebuchadnezzar's siege. Ezekiel calls him the ruler, Hebrew nagid, and saves the title king for the lament of verse 12. His boast uses El, the plain Hebrew word for god.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
In the prophet Ezekiel the "prince of Tyre" is most plainly pictured as a certain spiritual power. When these, therefore, and other similar princes of this world, each having his own individual wisdom and formulating his own doctrines and peculiar opinions, saw our Lord and Savior promising and proclaiming that he had come into the world for the purpose of destroying all the doctrines (whatever they might be) of the "knowledge falsely so called," they immediately laid snares for him, not knowing who was concealed within him. For "the kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ." But their snares became known, and the plots that they had contrived against the Son of God were understood when they "crucified the Lord of glory." Therefore the apostle says, "We speak a wisdom among the perfect; yet a wisdom not of this world or of the rulers of this world, which are coming to naught … a wisdom that none of the rulers of this world knew. For had they known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory."
The devil has fallen into such madness and is excited in such a frenzy that he has called himself God, and he has persuaded people to offer worship to him instead.
(Chapter 28, Verse 1 onwards) 'The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas,' yet you are a man, and not a god, though you set your heart as the heart of a god. Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that is hidden from you.
A commentator
Ephrem the SyrianCOMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 20:18 · Written before 373.
proposed
Who then will pay the price for the shedding of the blood of him who came in human likeness, if not [Satan], who, clothing himself in a human form, betrayed him, not because he was able to condemn and betray him but because he wished …
The bishops have directed that the case of the prince of Tyre should be examined, to say something about merits and faults, and they have ordered also that I should return to the subject of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, on certain points.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre,....
He was, it seems, upon all external accounts an accomplished man, very great and famous; but his iniquity was his ruin. Many expositors have suggested that besides the literal sense of this lamentation there is an allegory in it, and that it is an allusion to the fall of the angels that sinned, who undid themselves by their pride.
Out of the abundance of the pride of his heart he said, I am a god; he did not only say it in his heart, but had the impudence to speak it out. God has said of princes, They are gods ( Ps. lxxxii. 6 ); but it does not become them to say so of themselves; it is a high affront to him who is God alone, and will not give his glory to another.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The Hebrew for "God" is El, that is, "the Mighty One." yet, &c.--keen irony. set thine heart as . . . heart of God--Thou thinkest of thyself as if thou wert God.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And the word of nevuah from before Hashem was with me, saying:
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֡ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| אֱמֹר֩ | ʾemor | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לִנְגִ֨יד | lingid | to [the] ruler of | H5057 → | |
| צֹ֜ר | tzor | Tyre | H6865 → | 42 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר׀ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהֹוִ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| יַ֣עַן | yaan | because | H3282 → | 99 times |
| גָּבַ֤הּ | gavah | it has been haughty | H1361 → | 34 times |
| לִבְּךָ֙ | libekha | heart your | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vatomer | and you have said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵ֣ל | ʾel | [am] a god | H410 → | 241 times |
| אָ֔נִי | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| מוֹשַׁ֧ב | moshav | [the] seat of | H4186 → | 44 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֛ים | ʾelohim | gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יָשַׁ֖בְתִּי | yashavti | I sit | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְּלֵ֣ב | belev | in [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| יַמִּ֑ים | yamim | [the] seas | H3220 → | 396 times |
| וְאַתָּ֤ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| אָדָם֙ | ʾadam | [are] a human being | H120 → | 551 times |
| וְֽלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֵ֔ל | ʾel | a god | H410 → | 241 times |
| וַתִּתֵּ֥ן | vatiten | and you have made | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִבְּךָ֖ | libekha | heart your | H3820 → | 595 times |
| כְּלֵ֥ב | kelev | like [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| אֱלֹהִֽים׃ | ʾelohim | a god | H430 → | 2601 times |
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֡םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
אֱמֹר֩say
ʾemorH559 →5305 times
לִנְגִ֨ידto [the] ruler of
lingidH5057 →
צֹ֜רTyre
tzorH6865 →42 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣ר׀he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהֹוִ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
יַ֣עַןbecause
yaanH3282 →99 times
גָּבַ֤הּit has been haughty
gavahH1361 →34 times
לִבְּךָ֙heart your
libekhaH3820 →595 times
וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙and you have said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
אֵ֣ל[am] a god
ʾelH410 →241 times
אָ֔נִיI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
מוֹשַׁ֧ב[the] seat of
moshavH4186 →44 times
אֱלֹהִ֛יםgods
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
יָשַׁ֖בְתִּיI sit
yashavtiH3427 →1079 times
בְּלֵ֣בin [the] heart of
belevH3820 →595 times
יַמִּ֑ים[the] seas
yamimH3220 →396 times
וְאַתָּ֤הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
אָדָם֙[are] a human being
ʾadamH120 →551 times
וְֽלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֵ֔לa god
ʾelH410 →241 times
וַתִּתֵּ֥ןand you have made
vatitenH5414 →2011 times
לִבְּךָ֖heart your
libekhaH3820 →595 times
כְּלֵ֥בlike [the] heart of
kelevH3820 →595 times
אֱלֹהִֽים׃a god
ʾelohimH430 →2601 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
Proverbs 16:18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.
- Isaiah 2:11–12
The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
- Proverbs 18:12
Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
- Obadiah 1:3–4
The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
- Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
- Proverbs 11:2
Through
2 Thessalonians 2:4He 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.
it leads to
- Daniel 7:25
He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for…
- 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…
- Daniel 7:25
Through
Psalms 9:20Lay terror upon them, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. Selah
it leads to
- Isaiah 31:3
But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 31:3
Where this verse is studied
About Ezekiel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 20:18; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 3:3.2; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 13:1 and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 11:28.