Ezekiel 26

In the eleventh year, in the first of the month, the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

“Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! She is broken! She who was the gateway of the peoples has been returned to me. I will be replenished, now that she is laid waste;’

therefore the Lord GOD says, ‘Behold, I am against you, Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up.

They will destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers. I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock.

She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the middle of the sea; for I have spoken it,’ says the Lord GOD. ‘She will become plunder for the nations.

Her daughters who are in the field will be slain with the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’

“For the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring on Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with horses, with chariots, with horsemen, and an army with many people.

He will kill your daughters in the field with the sword. He will make forts against you, cast up a mound against you, and raise up the buckler against you.

He will set his battering engines against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers.

By reason of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, of the wagons, and of the chariots, when he enters into your gates, as men enter into a city which is broken open.

He will tread down all your streets with the hoofs of his horses. He will kill your people with the sword. The pillars of your strength will go down to the ground.

They will make a plunder of your riches and make a prey of your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. They will lay your stones, your timber, and your dust in the middle of the waters.

I will cause the noise of your songs to cease. The sound of your harps won’t be heard any more.

I will make you a bare rock. You will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more; for I the LORD have spoken it,’ says the Lord GOD.

“The Lord GOD says to Tyre: ‘Won’t the islands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made within you?

Then all the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling. They will sit on the ground, and will tremble every moment, and be astonished at you.

They will take up a lamentation over you, and tell you, “How you are destroyed, who were inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, who was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who caused their terror to be on all who lived there!”

Now the islands will tremble in the day of your fall. Yes, the islands that are in the sea will be dismayed at your departure.’

“For the Lord GOD says: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep on you, and the great waters cover you,

then I will bring you down with those who descend into the pit, to the people of old time, and will make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, in the places that are desolate of old, with those who go down to the pit, that you be not inhabited; and I will set glory in the land of the living.

I will make you a terror, and you will no more have any being. Though you are sought for, yet you will never be found again,’ says the Lord GOD.”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview. This chapter delivers a divine oracle against the city of Tyre, condemning it for rejoicing over Jerusalem’s downfall and proclaiming its own gain from Judah’s loss. The Lord declares that He is against Tyre, raising up Nebuchadnezzar and many nations to destroy it, reduce it to a bare rock, and silence its former glory, so that in its ruin all may know that He is the LORD.

Flow.

The word of the LORD comes to Ezekiel in the eleventh year, pronouncing judgment on Tyre for mocking Jerusalem’s destruction and claiming its prominence (vv. 1–2).
God declares He will bring waves of nations against Tyre like the sea, reducing it to a desolate rock fit only for fishing—a symbol of utter desolation (vv. 3–5).
Specifically, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon and “king of kings,” will attack Tyre with overwhelming force, laying siege with military machinery and devastating its people and structures (vv. 7–11).
The city’s former songs and splendor will cease; it will be submerged and forgotten, a cause of awe and lament among the nations and coastal rulers (vv. 12–18).
In final judgment, Tyre will be cast down to the pit, joining the long-dead in the depths, extinguished and never to be found again (vv. 19–21).

Connections. Following chapter 25, which pronounces judgment on Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia for their hostility toward Judah, this chapter intensifies the prophetic focus on Gentile nations opposing God’s people, particularly Tyre, a powerful maritime city that exploited Jerusalem’s fall. The tone of divine retribution for pride and malice continues into chapter 27, which details Tyre’s commercial greatness and the lament over its fall, while chapter 28 extends the judgment to its king, exposing the spiritual pride behind its destruction.

What it teaches. God will not tolerate disdain for His covenant city or rejoicing over its judgment; He defends the honor of His name and His people. Though nations rise and exalt themselves, He directs their fates and holds them accountable to His justice. The utter desolation of Tyre serves as a testimony to the holiness and sovereignty of the LORD over all the earth. Even in judging the nations, God upholds His glory, ensuring that “they will know that I am the LORD” (WCF 5.7; LD 10). The futility of human pride and the fleeting nature of worldly power are underscored by the finality of Tyre’s end, which points to God’s ultimate mastery over life, death, and the unseen realm (LD 1).

Apply. The Lord brings down the exalted and lifts up the humble, not for human glory but to reveal His own name.

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