Ezekiel 26 Study Notes: The Coming Fall of Tyre
God announces judgment on the wealthy port city of Tyre for gloating over Jerusalem’s ruin and expecting to gain from it. He will send nations against it like waves, including Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, scrape it down to bare stone, and make the coastal rulers tremble as it goes down to the realm of the dead.
General
What does the LORD say Tyre will become (Ezekiel 26:4-5, 14)?
Answer: A bare rock where fishermen spread out their nets
God said He would scrape Tyre down to bare rock, a spot for fishermen to lay out their nets (26:4-5). He repeated it: Tyre would be a bare rock where nets are spread, and it would never be built again, because the LORD had declared it (26:14). The city once full of songs would fall silent (26:13). Finally God pictured Tyre covered by deep waters and brought down to the Pit, the realm of the dead, with the peoples of long ago; it would be searched for but never found (26:19-21). The Pit in Ezekiel is where proud nations go down (32:18), and Isaiah uses the same picture for the fall of the proud king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:15). God does not change His mind as people do; what He speaks, He does (Numbers 23:19).
- Ezekiel 26:4-5 (BSB)“They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock. She will become a place to spread nets in the sea, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. She will become plunder for the nations,”God will scrape Tyre down to bare rock, a spot where fishermen lay out their nets.
- Ezekiel 26:14 (BSB)“I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread the fishing nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the LORD, have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.’”The image is repeated, along with God’s word that Tyre will not be built again.
- Ezekiel 26:20-21 (BSB)“then I will bring you down with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the earth below like the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or set in splendor in the land of the living. I will make you an object of horror, and you will be no more. You will be sought, but will never be found,’ declares the Lord GOD.””God will bring Tyre down to the realm of the dead with the peoples of long ago, never to be found.
- Ezekiel 32:18 (BSB)““Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit:”Elsewhere in Ezekiel the Pit is where proud nations are sent down in judgment.
- Isaiah 14:15 (BSB)“But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.”Isaiah uses the same picture for the fall of the proud king of Babylon.
- Numbers 23:19 (BSB)“God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”God does not lie or change His mind; what He says, He does.
Theological
To what condition does the LORD say Tyre will be reduced (Ezekiel 26:4-5, 14)?
Answer: A bare rock where fishermen spread out their nets
The LORD will scour Tyre down to bare rock, a place for fishermen to lay out their nets (26:4-5), and He repeats the sentence with the added word that it will never be built again, resting the certainty on His own declaration (26:14). The city’s music will cease (26:13). The oracle then moves beyond physical ruin: the deep will cover Tyre, and the LORD will bring it down to the Pit, the realm of the dead, among the peoples of antiquity, so that it is searched for and never found (26:19-21). Ezekiel uses the Pit for the end of proud nations (32:18), as Isaiah does for the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:15). The decisive factor is the reliability of God’s word, for He does not speak and then fail to act (Numbers 23:19).
- Ezekiel 26:4-5 (BSB)“They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock. She will become a place to spread nets in the sea, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. She will become plunder for the nations,”God will scrape Tyre down to bare rock, a spot where fishermen lay out their nets.
- Ezekiel 26:14 (BSB)“I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread the fishing nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the LORD, have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.’”The image is repeated, along with God’s word that Tyre will not be built again.
- Ezekiel 26:20-21 (BSB)“then I will bring you down with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the earth below like the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or set in splendor in the land of the living. I will make you an object of horror, and you will be no more. You will be sought, but will never be found,’ declares the Lord GOD.””God will bring Tyre down to the realm of the dead with the peoples of long ago, never to be found.
- Ezekiel 32:18 (BSB)““Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit:”Elsewhere in Ezekiel the Pit is where proud nations are sent down in judgment.
- Isaiah 14:15 (BSB)“But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.”Isaiah uses the same picture for the fall of the proud king of Babylon.
- Numbers 23:19 (BSB)“God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”God does not lie or change His mind; what He says, He does.
General
True or False: The LORD said He would bring many nations against Tyre the way the sea drives its waves onto the shore (Ezekiel 26:3).
Answer: True
This is true. Tyre was a sea city that grew rich from the sea, and God used the sea itself as His picture of judgment. He would raise up nation after nation against Tyre, like wave after wave rolling in (26:3). They would break down its walls and towers (26:4). The nations were not acting on their own; it was God who raised them up. Scripture often compares the uproar of nations to the roar of the sea, and it praises God as the one who calms both (Psalm 65:7). Isaiah pictures raging nations like crashing waters that still flee when God rebukes them (Isaiah 17:12-13). The armies that would come against Tyre were waves that God Himself would send.
- Ezekiel 26:3-4 (BSB)“therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, O Tyre, I am against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock.”The LORD will raise up nation after nation against Tyre, like the sea rolling in its waves, to tear down its defenses.
- Psalm 65:7 (BSB)“You stilled the roaring of the seas, the pounding of their waves, and the tumult of the nations.”God is praised for quieting both the roaring seas and the uproar of the peoples, showing His rule over both.
- Isaiah 17:12-13 (BSB)“Alas, the tumult of many peoples; they rage like the roaring seas and clamoring nations; they rumble like the crashing of mighty waters. The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.”Isaiah pictures raging nations like crashing waters, yet they flee at God’s rebuke.
Theological
True or False: The LORD likened the many nations He would raise against Tyre to the sea driving up its waves (Ezekiel 26:3).
Answer: True
This is true. The simile is apt for a maritime power: the sea that enriched Tyre becomes the image of its undoing, as the LORD raises up nation upon nation against it like successive breakers (26:3), to demolish its walls and towers (26:4). The agency is explicitly divine; the nations are the LORD’s waves, not independent actors. Scripture elsewhere joins the roar of the seas and the uproar of the peoples as powers that God stills alike (Psalm 65:7), and Isaiah depicts the nations’ surging like mighty waters that nonetheless scatter at His rebuke (Isaiah 17:12-13). The sovereign who sets the sea its bounds also directs the movements of empires.
- Ezekiel 26:3-4 (BSB)“therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, O Tyre, I am against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock.”The LORD will raise up nation after nation against Tyre, like the sea rolling in its waves, to tear down its defenses.
- Psalm 65:7 (BSB)“You stilled the roaring of the seas, the pounding of their waves, and the tumult of the nations.”God is praised for quieting both the roaring seas and the uproar of the peoples, showing His rule over both.
- Isaiah 17:12-13 (BSB)“Alas, the tumult of many peoples; they rage like the roaring seas and clamoring nations; they rumble like the crashing of mighty waters. The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.”Isaiah pictures raging nations like crashing waters, yet they flee at God’s rebuke.
General
What does the LORD say about Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar and Tyre (Ezekiel 26:7)?
Answer: The LORD Himself would bring him against Tyre
God said that He Himself would bring Babylon’s ruler Nebuchadnezzar, whom He also called king of kings, down from the north against Tyre with horses, chariots, and a vast army (26:7). Nebuchadnezzar would ravage the nearby villages, lay siege to the city, and batter its walls and towers (26:8-9), and his forces would plunder its wealth (26:12). Yet the key point is that God would bring him. The mightiest ruler of that day was a tool in God’s hand. Through Jeremiah, God even calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant and says He has put the lands under his rule (Jeremiah 25:9; 27:6). Nebuchadnezzar himself confessed that heaven’s King is able to bring down the proud (Daniel 4:37). God rules over kings and armies to carry out His purposes.
- Ezekiel 26:7 (BSB)“For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company of troops.”The LORD says He will bring the Babylonian king from the north with a vast army.
- Ezekiel 26:8-9 (BSB)“He will slaughter the villages of your mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp to your walls, and raise his shields against you. He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his axes.”The besieging king will ravage the surrounding villages and attack Tyre’s walls and towers.
- Jeremiah 25:9 (BSB)“behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”Through Jeremiah, God calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant, whom He will bring against Judah and the surrounding nations.
- Jeremiah 27:6 (BSB)“So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.”God says He has given the lands into the hand of His servant Nebuchadnezzar.
- Daniel 4:37 (BSB)“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”Nebuchadnezzar himself came to praise heaven’s King, who humbles the proud.
Theological
What does the LORD declare concerning Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar and Tyre (Ezekiel 26:7)?
Answer: The LORD Himself would bring him against Tyre
The LORD declares that He Himself will bring Babylon’s ruler Nebuchadnezzar, styled king of kings, down from the north against Tyre with cavalry, chariots, and a great host (26:7). The siege, the ravaging of the mainland villages, and the assault on walls and towers follow (26:8-9). The emphasis falls on divine agency: the greatest monarch of the age is the LORD’s instrument. Jeremiah calls Nebuchadnezzar God’s servant, brought against Judah and the surrounding nations, and records that God has given the lands into his hand (Jeremiah 25:9; 27:6). Nebuchadnezzar himself confessed heaven’s King, who brings the proud low (Daniel 4:37). God’s providence governs the ambitions of kings to accomplish His decrees.
- Ezekiel 26:7 (BSB)“For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company of troops.”The LORD says He will bring the Babylonian king from the north with a vast army.
- Ezekiel 26:8-9 (BSB)“He will slaughter the villages of your mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp to your walls, and raise his shields against you. He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his axes.”The besieging king will ravage the surrounding villages and attack Tyre’s walls and towers.
- Jeremiah 25:9 (BSB)“behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”Through Jeremiah, God calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant, whom He will bring against Judah and the surrounding nations.
- Jeremiah 27:6 (BSB)“So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.”God says He has given the lands into the hand of His servant Nebuchadnezzar.
- Daniel 4:37 (BSB)“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”Nebuchadnezzar himself came to praise heaven’s King, who humbles the proud.
General
How do the rulers of the seacoast lands respond to Tyre’s downfall (Ezekiel 26:15-18)?
Answer: They leave their thrones and sit shaking on the ground
The coastlands (the lands and islands along the sea) would quake at the noise of Tyre’s fall (26:15). Their princes would come down from their thrones, take off their royal robes and embroidered clothes, and sit down on the bare earth in fear and dismay. They would raise a lament for the famous city that had once spread terror by its power at sea, and the islands would be shaken by its ruin (26:16-18). If proud Tyre could fall, no coastal power was safe. Later in Ezekiel, kings tremble in the same way at Egypt’s fall (32:10), and nations quake when God brings another proud power down to the grave (31:16). Isaiah too says that in judging Tyre the LORD made kingdoms tremble (Isaiah 23:11).
- Ezekiel 26:15-16 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: ‘Will not the coastlands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan at the slaughter in your midst? All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled over you.”The coastal rulers are shaken by the noise of Tyre’s fall, step down from their thrones, and sit in terror.
- Ezekiel 26:17-18 (BSB)“Then they will lament for you, saying, “How you have perished, O city of renown inhabited by seafaring men—she who was powerful on the sea, along with her people, who imposed terror on all peoples! Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your downfall; the islands in the sea are dismayed by your demise.”’”The rulers lament the once-mighty sea city, and the islands are dismayed at its end.
- Ezekiel 32:10 (BSB)“I will cause many peoples to be appalled over you, and their kings will shudder in horror because of you when I brandish My sword before them. On the day of your downfall each of them will tremble every moment for his life.’”Later God says the kings of many peoples will tremble in the same way at Egypt’s downfall.
- Ezekiel 31:16 (BSB)“I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.”In another of Ezekiel’s oracles, the nations quake when God brings a proud power down to the grave.
- Isaiah 23:11 (BSB)“The LORD has stretched out His hand over the sea; He has made kingdoms tremble. He has given a command that the strongholds of Canaan be destroyed.”Isaiah says the LORD reached out over the sea and made kingdoms tremble in judging Tyre.
Theological
What response of the rulers of the seacoast lands does the LORD foretell at Tyre’s fall (Ezekiel 26:15-18)?
Answer: They leave their thrones and sit shaking on the ground
Tyre’s collapse sends shock through the whole maritime world. The coastlands shake at the noise of it (26:15); their princes step down from their thrones, lay aside their robes and embroidered garments, and sit down on the bare earth clothed in terror. Their lament recalls a renowned city that once struck dread into all by its sea power, and the islands are dismayed at its end (26:16-18). The fall of the mightiest exposes the fragility of every lesser power. Ezekiel uses the same pattern for Egypt, whose overthrow makes kings shudder (32:10), and for the proud power whose descent to the grave makes the nations quake (31:16). Isaiah likewise traces the trembling of kingdoms to the LORD’s hand stretched over the sea (Isaiah 23:11).
- Ezekiel 26:15-16 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: ‘Will not the coastlands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan at the slaughter in your midst? All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled over you.”The coastal rulers are shaken by the noise of Tyre’s fall, step down from their thrones, and sit in terror.
- Ezekiel 26:17-18 (BSB)“Then they will lament for you, saying, “How you have perished, O city of renown inhabited by seafaring men—she who was powerful on the sea, along with her people, who imposed terror on all peoples! Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your downfall; the islands in the sea are dismayed by your demise.”’”The rulers lament the once-mighty sea city, and the islands are dismayed at its end.
- Ezekiel 32:10 (BSB)“I will cause many peoples to be appalled over you, and their kings will shudder in horror because of you when I brandish My sword before them. On the day of your downfall each of them will tremble every moment for his life.’”Later God says the kings of many peoples will tremble in the same way at Egypt’s downfall.
- Ezekiel 31:16 (BSB)“I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.”In another of Ezekiel’s oracles, the nations quake when God brings a proud power down to the grave.
- Isaiah 23:11 (BSB)“The LORD has stretched out His hand over the sea; He has made kingdoms tremble. He has given a command that the strongholds of Canaan be destroyed.”Isaiah says the LORD reached out over the sea and made kingdoms tremble in judging Tyre.
General
According to the LORD, why did Tyre celebrate Jerusalem’s fall (Ezekiel 26:2)?
Answer: It expected to profit now that Jerusalem was in ruins
Tyre was a wealthy trading city on the coast. It said of Jerusalem that the gate of the nations had been broken and had swung open to it, and that with Jerusalem in ruins it would be filled (26:2). Tyre expected to gain from its neighbor’s disaster. Like Ammon, Tyre greeted Jerusalem’s fall with a shout of triumph (25:3). So God declared Himself against Tyre (26:3). In chapter 28, God says the ruler of Tyre’s skill in trade had made his heart proud (28:4-5), and Isaiah says that the LORD Himself planned to dishonor all of Tyre’s splendor (Isaiah 23:8-9).
- Ezekiel 26:2 (BSB)““Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken; it has swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will be filled,’”Tyre greets Jerusalem’s ruin as an opening, expecting to be enriched by it.
- Ezekiel 26:3 (BSB)“therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, O Tyre, I am against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.”Because of that boast, the LORD declares Himself against Tyre.
- Ezekiel 25:3 (BSB)“Tell the Ammonites to hear the word of the Lord GOD, for this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you exclaimed, “Aha!” when My sanctuary was profaned, when the land of Israel was laid waste, and when the house of Judah went into exile,”Ammon had greeted the same disaster with the same shout of triumph.
- Ezekiel 28:4-5 (BSB)“By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries. By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.”In chapter 28, the ruler of Tyre’s trading success is said to have swelled his heart with pride.
- Isaiah 23:8-9 (BSB)“Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth? The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth.”Isaiah says it was the LORD who purposed to bring down the glory of the famous trading city.
Theological
What motive does the LORD expose in Tyre’s response to Jerusalem’s fall (Ezekiel 26:2)?
Answer: It expected to profit now that Jerusalem was in ruins
Tyre’s exultation was the hope of gain. It spoke of Jerusalem as the gate of the nations now broken and swung open to it, and expected to be filled now that the city was ruined (26:2). Jerusalem’s calamity, itself the LORD’s judgment, became for Tyre an occasion of profit, and like Ammon it raised a cry of triumph (25:3). The LORD therefore sets Himself against Tyre (26:3). Chapter 28 traces the root in the ruler of Tyre: success in trade had bred pride of heart (28:4-5). Isaiah likewise attributes Tyre’s overthrow to the counsel of the LORD, who purposed to bring low its glorious beauty (Isaiah 23:8-9). Greed that feeds on another’s judgment invites judgment of its own.
- Ezekiel 26:2 (BSB)““Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken; it has swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will be filled,’”Tyre greets Jerusalem’s ruin as an opening, expecting to be enriched by it.
- Ezekiel 26:3 (BSB)“therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, O Tyre, I am against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.”Because of that boast, the LORD declares Himself against Tyre.
- Ezekiel 25:3 (BSB)“Tell the Ammonites to hear the word of the Lord GOD, for this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you exclaimed, “Aha!” when My sanctuary was profaned, when the land of Israel was laid waste, and when the house of Judah went into exile,”Ammon had greeted the same disaster with the same shout of triumph.
- Ezekiel 28:4-5 (BSB)“By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries. By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.”In chapter 28, the ruler of Tyre’s trading success is said to have swelled his heart with pride.
- Isaiah 23:8-9 (BSB)“Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth? The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth.”Isaiah says it was the LORD who purposed to bring down the glory of the famous trading city.