Ezekiel 28:2 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:
Ezekiel 28:2 nkjv
"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,' Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a god
Ezekiel 28:2 niv
"Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "?'In the pride of your heart you say, "I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas." But you are a mere mortal and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.
Ezekiel 28:2 esv
"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because your heart is proud, and you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,' yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god ?
Ezekiel 28:2 nlt
"Son of man, give the prince of Tyre this message from the Sovereign LORD: "In your great pride you claim, 'I am a god!
I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.'
But you are only a man and not a god,
though you boast that you are a god.
Ezekiel 28 2 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 3:5 | "...you will be like God, knowing good and evil." | Serpent's temptation toward self-deification |
| Gen 11:4 | "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower..." | Tower of Babel's attempt to reach heaven and gain fame |
| Job 40:11-12 | "Pour out the overflowings of your anger; look on everyone who is proud and humble him." | God humbling the proud |
| Psa 47:8 | "God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne." | God's absolute sovereignty over earthly rulers |
| Psa 49:6-7 | "Those who trust in their wealth and boast in the abundance of their riches..." | Warning against trust in worldly riches |
| Psa 73:6-8 | "Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment." | The arrogance and malice of the wicked |
| Psa 115:3 | "Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases." | God's complete dominion and lack of limitation |
| Prov 11:28 | "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf." | Warning against reliance on wealth |
| Prov 16:18 | "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." | Universal consequence of pride |
| Isa 2:11-12 | "The haughty looks of man shall be brought low...For the day of the Lord of hosts..." | God bringing down human haughtiness |
| Isa 10:13-14 | "...By the strength of my hand I have done it..." | Assyrian king's self-attributed strength |
| Isa 14:12-15 | "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star...I will make myself like the Most High." | Lucifer's ambition to usurp God's place |
| Isa 40:15-17 | "Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket..." | All nations are insignificant before God |
| Isa 45:5-7 | "I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God." | God's unique deity and claim |
| Jer 9:23 | "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom..." | Warning against boasting in human wisdom |
| Dan 4:30 | "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built..." | Nebuchadnezzar's prideful boast |
| Obad 1:3-4 | "The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock..." | Edom's pride from their secure dwelling |
| Hab 2:4 | "...his soul is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith." | Arrogance contrasted with righteousness |
| Rom 1:25 | "...they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator." | Creature worship, rejecting the Creator |
| 2 Thes 2:3-4 | "...he opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god...so that he takes his seat in the temple of God." | The "man of lawlessness" claiming divine authority |
| Jas 4:6 | "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." | God's consistent stance against pride |
| 1 Pet 5:5 | "...God resists the proud..." | Reinforcement of God opposing pride |
| Rev 18:7 | "As much as she glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her as much torment and grief." | Babylon's arrogance leading to judgment |
Ezekiel 28 verses
Ezekiel 28 2 Meaning
This verse initiates God's strong indictment against the human ruler of Tyre. It states that due to overwhelming pride, his heart was "lifted up," causing him to declare himself "a God" and claim to sit "in the seat of God" within his seemingly impregnable maritime stronghold. The Lord God immediately refutes this blasphemous assertion, explicitly reminding the prince that, despite his grandiose self-perception and attempt to elevate his own wisdom to divine levels, he remains merely a man and not God.
Ezekiel 28 2 Context
Ezekiel 28 contains two pronouncements against Tyre, a dominant Phoenician island city-state famous for its immense wealth, extensive maritime trade, and formidable defenses. The first, verses 1-10, targets the human "prince of Tyrus," focusing on his personal sin of hubris. This verse sets the stage by identifying his core transgression: profound arrogance stemming from Tyre's prosperity, perceived invincibility, and his own attributed wisdom. This pride led him to believe he was more than human, falsely equating his dominion and judgment with God's. The historical context reflects Tyre's powerful self-image due to its sophisticated commercial empire and unique island geography, fostering a deep-seated belief in its self-sufficiency and immunity, which challenged the absolute sovereignty of Yahweh. The prophecy serves as a polemic against the divine claims of ancient Near Eastern rulers, firmly re-establishing the boundary between Creator and creature.
Ezekiel 28 2 Word analysis
Son of man (בֶן־אָדָם, ben-ʾādām): A direct address to Ezekiel, consistently used to underscore his human mortality, providing a stark contrast to the human ruler's pretensions of divinity.
say unto the prince of Tyrus (נָשִׂיא צֹר, nāśîʾ Tsōr): The title "prince" (nasi) designates the specific human head of state, differentiating him from the later "king" of Tyre in verse 12 and highlighting a literal earthly figure. Tyre (Tsōr) was a city of unparalleled commercial success and fortified position.
Thus saith the Lord GOD (כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה, kōh ʾāmar ʾădōnāy YHWH): A classic prophetic formula conveying absolute divine authority. "Adonay YHWH" emphasizes "My Sovereign Yahweh," affirming the source of this undeniable judgment.
Because thine heart is lifted up (רָם לִבֶּךָ, rām libbekā): "Lifted up" signifies inflated pride, arrogance, and haughtiness. The "heart" (lev) in Hebrew encapsulates intellect, will, and emotion, indicating this was a deep-seated spiritual condition.
and thou hast said, I am a God (אֵל אָנִי, ʾēl ʾānî): A direct, blasphemous declaration of deity, using the term ʾēl for god, a profound claim of identity usurping divine status.
I sit in the seat of God (מוֹשַׁב אֱלֹהִים יָשַׁבְתִּי, môšaḇ ʾĕlōhîm yāšaḇtî): This goes beyond self-deification, asserting a claim to divine authority, governance, and ultimate judicial power, likened to God's own throne.
in the midst of the seas (בְּלֵב יַמִּים, bə-lēḇ yammîm): Literally "in the heart of the seas." This highlights Tyre's geographic location as an island fortress, fostering a belief in its own invulnerability, self-sufficiency, and absolute security, which fuelled its arrogance.
yet thou art a man, and not God (וְאַתָּה אָדָם וְלֹא־אֵל, wəʾattāh ʾādām wəlōʾ-ʾēl): A stark, direct, and unassailable rebuttal from God, definitively asserting the ruler's created, mortal, and finite nature. ʾādām (man) places him unequivocally as human.
though thou set thine heart as the heart of God (וַתִּתֵּן לִבְּךָ כְּלֵב אֱלֹהִים, wattittēn libbəkā kəlēḇ ʾĕlōhîm): This acknowledges the ruler's internal resolve to perceive his wisdom, understanding, and strategic capabilities as equal to divine insight, regardless of his actual creaturely limitations.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- "Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus": Establishes the authoritative divine mandate, contrasting the prophet's humanity with the powerful ruler he addresses, yet emphasizes that even the greatest human leaders are accountable to God through His chosen messenger.
- "Thus saith the Lord GOD": A formula of absolute declaration, reinforcing that the words are not human conjecture but God's undeniable truth, directly confronting the ruler's self-declared authority.
- "Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God": This powerful pairing links the internal sin of pride (lifted heart) directly to the external, audacious verbal proclamation of divine identity, revealing the causal relationship between inner attitude and overt blasphemy.
- "I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas": The assertion of divine kingship is fused with the concrete reality of his powerful island kingdom, revealing how his earthly power and perceived impregnability served as the tangible basis for his spiritual arrogance.
- "yet thou art a man, and not God": This is God's foundational, uncompromising declaration of truth, fundamentally dismantling the ruler's claim by asserting the unbridgeable gulf between creature and Creator. It’s the pivotal counter-argument.
- "though thou set thine heart as the heart of God": This final phrase distinguishes between the prince's internal intention and belief (setting his heart like God's, believing his wisdom divine) and his actual ontological state (still just a man), highlighting the delusion inherent in his pride.
Ezekiel 28 2 Bonus section
The concept of the "seat of God" (moshav Elohim) would have resonated deeply in the ancient Near East, often referring to a divine assembly or heavenly council where decrees were issued. For the prince of Tyre to claim such a seat suggests not just individual deification, but an aspiration to participate in, or even preside over, the cosmic governance of the world, a direct challenge to the sole prerogative of Yahweh. The "midst of the seas" was not merely a physical location but symbolized ultimate security and perceived control over the often chaotic forces of nature (sea, waves, storms), an attribute usually associated with the divine. Tyre's immense prosperity and island protection bred a collective and individual hubris, leading its ruler to mistake geographical impregnability for spiritual invincibility and self-sufficiency, thus paving the way for his downfall as decreed by the true Sovereign.
Ezekiel 28 2 Commentary
Ezekiel 28:2 captures the very essence of spiritual rebellion: a creature aspiring to the Creator's unique position. The prince of Tyre, buoyed by the vast wealth, strategic invulnerability, and acclaimed wisdom of his city, succumbed to a dangerous self-delusion, culminating in a public claim to divine status and authority. God's response is swift, firm, and unequivocal: "you are a man, and not God." This declaration not only dismantles the prince's arrogant boasts but also underscores a foundational theological truth that establishes an eternal boundary between the infinite, self-existent Creator and all finite, dependent creation. This verse serves as a powerful reminder that any human attempt to usurp divine attributes—be it through claiming ultimate authority, omniscience, or invulnerability—is an affront to God's unique majesty and inevitably leads to humiliation and destruction. True wisdom and security lie in recognizing one's place within God's sovereign order.
- Examples: A world leader whose perceived indispensable authority blinds them to human fallibility. An industry mogul whose self-made success leads them to attribute all their achievements to their own unmatched genius. An individual's deeply ingrained ideology becoming a god-like framework against which all truth is measured.