Ezekiel 26:20 kjv
When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;
Ezekiel 26:20 nkjv
then I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory in the land of the living.
Ezekiel 26:20 niv
then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place in the land of the living.
Ezekiel 26:20 esv
then I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty in the land of the living.
Ezekiel 26:20 nlt
I will send you to the pit to join those who descended there long ago. Your city will lie in ruins, buried beneath the earth, like those in the pit who have entered the world of the dead. You will have no place of respect here in the land of the living.
Ezekiel 26 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 26:21 | "I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you will be no more; though you are sought, you will never be found again." | Ezekiel 26:21 (Direct Fulfillment) |
| Isaiah 13:19-20 | "Babylon, the Jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians' pride, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah." | Isaiah 13:19-20 (Parallel Judgment) |
| Jeremiah 51:62-64 | "Then say, 'Babylon will sink and will not rise again because of the disaster I will bring upon her...'" | Jeremiah 51:62-64 (Parallel Judgment) |
| Revelation 18:21 | "Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a great millstone. He threw it into the sea, saying: 'With such violence the great city of Babylon will be flung down, never to be found again.'" | Revelation 18:21 (Symbolic Fulfillment) |
| Psalm 37:35-36 | "I have seen the ungodly in great power, and flourishing like a green bay tree. I went by, and lo, he was gone..." | Psalm 37:35-36 (General Principle) |
| Job 7:10 | "As the cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return." | Job 7:10 (Analogy of Departure) |
| Revelation 17:8 | "The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come out of the abyss and go to its destruction..." | Revelation 17:8 (Principle of Non-existence) |
| Isaiah 23:15-16 | "Then it will happen that Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years... After seventy years the Lord will turn to Tyre again..." | Isaiah 23:15-16 (Temporary vs. Eternal Desolation - contrast) |
| Jeremiah 29:18 | "I will pursue them with sword, famine and plague... and will make them an object of horror..." | Jeremiah 29:18 (Consequences of disobedience) |
| Zephaniah 2:5 | "Woe to you inhabitants of the coastal region, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you..." | Zephaniah 2:5 (Judgment on coastal cities) |
| Ezekiel 3:15 | "I came to the exiles in Tel Aviv, who were living by the Chebar Canal. And I sat among them for seven days—entranced." | Ezekiel 3:15 (Ezekiel's context) |
| Jeremiah 51:34 | "‘Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured us and crushed us; he has left us empty like a vessel..." | Jeremiah 51:34 (Experience of devastation) |
| Isaiah 14:23 | "I will turn her into a watery waste and will sweep her with the broom of destruction," declares the Lord Almighty." | Isaiah 14:23 (Judgment on Babylon, parallel imagery) |
| Ezekiel 32:15-16 | "When I strike them down and blood pours through the land, from the Sword-Wielding Egypt and its Hordes..." | Ezekiel 32:15-16 (Imagery of complete destruction) |
| Nahum 3:11 | "You too will be made drunk and disgraced; you too will search for a refuge from the enemy." | Nahum 3:11 (Judgment on Nineveh, parallel) |
| Luke 19:42 | "“If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes." | Luke 19:42 (Jesus on Jerusalem's fate) |
| Proverbs 10:7 | "The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot." | Proverbs 10:7 (Contrast of legacies) |
| Job 18:18 | "He will be banished from light into darkness, and chased from the world." | Job 18:18 (Imagery of banishment) |
| Isaiah 1:30 | "You will be like an oak with wilting leaves, like a garden with no water." | Isaiah 1:30 (Imagery of desolation) |
| 2 Peter 3:7 | "But by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment..." | 2 Peter 3:7 (Ultimate judgment) |
Ezekiel 26 verses
Ezekiel 26 20 Meaning
This verse speaks of the ultimate fate of a city, declaring it will never again be inhabited. It signifies complete and irreversible desolation, a state from which no recovery or resettlement will occur. This is not a temporary abandonment but an eternal void, a definitive end to its existence as a populated center.
Ezekiel 26 20 Context
Ezekiel chapter 26 is a prophecy against the city of Tyre, a powerful and wealthy Phoenician trading hub renowned for its maritime prowess and arrogance. For its pride and participation in the judgment against Jerusalem, Tyre faces a severe pronouncement of destruction from God, delivered through the prophet Ezekiel. This chapter outlines the complete demolition of the city and its permanent desolation, detailing the siege by Nebuchadnezzar and the subsequent utter ruin. Verse 20 specifically concludes the depiction of this ultimate fate, emphasizing its finality.
Ezekiel 26 20 Word Analysis
- כִּי (ki): A conjunctive particle, often translated as "for," "because," "that," or "when." Here, it functions to introduce the reason or cause for the preceding pronouncements. It links the inevitable downfall with its complete permanence.
- בָּלַע (bala'): Literally "to swallow," "to gulp down," or "to consume." In this context, it signifies total consumption or annihilation. It conveys an absolute engulfing that leaves no trace.
- יוֹם (yom): Means "day." Here it signifies a point in time or the event itself. It underscores the definitive nature of the coming judgment, a day of reckoning.
- בֹּהוּ (bohu): Means "emptiness," "void," "confusion," or "nothingness." It strongly evokes a state of absolute desolation and lack of substance. The repetition with "תֹּהוּ" (tohu, chaos, formless) in Genesis 1:2 emphasizes a return to a primeval state of nothingness.
- וְאֵין (ve'ein): Literally "and there is not" or "and there is no." This phrase signifies absolute absence or non-existence. It emphasizes that whatever will be left will be entirely empty.
- יוֹשֵׁב (yoshev): Means "dweller," "inhabitant," or "one who settles." This term highlights the absence of human life and habitation, the core consequence of the prophecy.
- וְלֹא (velo'): "And not." This reinforces the negation and the definitive impossibility of return or resettlement.
- תּוֹסִיף (tosif): From the root "yasaf," meaning "to add," "to increase," or "to do again." In the negative, "lo tosof" means "will not add" or "will not do again," implying no further presence or inhabitation.
- תִּיב (tiv): From the root "yashav," meaning "to sit," "to dwell," or "to settle." Combined with "lo," it means "will not dwell" or "will not be inhabited." The phrasing "lo tosof tiv" powerfully means "will not dwell again" or "will not inhabit again."
Group Analysis:
The phrase "כִּי תִּבְלַע יום בֹּהוּ וְאֵין יוֹשֵׁב וְלֹא תּוֹסִיף תִּיב" (ki tivla' yom bohu v'ein yoshev v'lo tosaf tiv) creates a powerful statement of eternal desolation. It first declares the city will be "swallowed" by a "day of nothingness" where "there is no inhabitant." The subsequent phrase "and you will not inhabit again" reinforces this, emphasizing the permanent nature of this state. It moves beyond mere destruction to a complete erasure from the list of inhabited places. The combined use of "balal" (swallowed) and "ein yoshev" (no inhabitant) with the future prohibition of inhabiting emphasizes not just physical destruction but a complete removal from existence as a city.
Ezekiel 26 20 Bonus Section
The imagery of being "swallowed" into "nothingness" echoes the primal creation account in Genesis 1:2 where the earth was "formless and empty" (tohu va'vohu). Here, judgment reverses creation, returning a proud city to a state of absolute void. The prophet's words against Tyre also find resonance in later biblical passages, particularly Revelation 18 concerning the judgment of "Babylon the Great." This thematic connection highlights the consistent biblical portrayal of severe judgment against proud and corrupt cities that defy God. Scholars have noted how the destruction of Tyre was indeed thorough, with its mainland city leveled and its island fortress eventually conquered. This verse signifies the completeness of God's judgment, leaving no room for a comeback.
Ezekiel 26 20 Commentary
This verse encapsulates the complete and irreversible destruction of Tyre. It moves beyond a mere prediction of conquest to a statement of eternal emptiness. The city's inhabitants will vanish, and the city itself will be rendered utterly void. It serves as a stark warning against the dangers of pride and the ultimate authority of God over all nations and cities. The pronouncement signifies that Tyre, as a living entity of habitation, will cease to exist forever. It's a profound statement of divine judgment where the very possibility of future inhabitation is removed.