The Father Judges the Ruler of Tyre
28 1 The word of our Father came to me, saying:
2 "Son of man, tell Tyre's ruler, 'The Sovereign Father says: Because your heart is proud and you said, "I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas" — yet you are a man, not a god, though you make your heart like a god's—' a a v2 Tyre's ruler claims for himself what belongs to God alone — the same lie first whispered in Eden, "you will be like God." Our Father never speaks of him as anything but a man. 3 You are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you. 4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself, and gathered gold and silver into your treasuries. 5 By your great skill in trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has grown proud because of it. 6 Therefore thus says the Sovereign Father: Because you make your heart like the heart of a god, 7 therefore I am bringing foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations; they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor. 8 They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas. 9 Will you still say, 'I am a god,' before the one who kills you? You will be only a man, and not a god, in the hands of those who wound you. 10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised, by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Father. b b v10 To 'die the death of the uncircumcised' meant dying in disgrace, with no covenant honor — treated as a complete outsider.
11 The word of our Father came to me, saying:
12 Son of man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre and tell him, 'The Sovereign Father says: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.' 13 You were in Eden, the garden of our Father; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and emerald, beryl, onyx, and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and beryl. Your settings and mountings were crafted in gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub, for so I appointed you; you were on the holy mountain of our Father, walking among the stones of fire. c c v14 This lament reaches behind Tyre's king to the proud rebel who once stood in our Father's presence, glorious and trusted — and chose himself over his Maker. He was not denied the Father; he turned from him. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until wickedness was found in you. 16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I cast you out as profane from the mountain of our Father, and I drove you away, guardian cherub, from among the stones of fire. 17 Your heart grew proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. So I threw you to the ground; I made a spectacle of you before kings. 18 By your many sins and dishonest trade you defiled your sanctuaries. So I brought out a fire from within you, and it consumed you; I reduced you to ashes on the ground before the eyes of all who watched. 19 All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end, and will be no more forever.
The Father Judges Sidon
20 The word of our Father came to me, saying:
21 "Son of man, turn and face Sidon, and prophesy against her, 22 and say, 'The Sovereign Father says: I am against you, Sidon, and will be glorified among you. They will know I am the Father when I bring judgments on her and show myself holy in her. 23 I will send a plague upon her and bloodshed in her streets; the slain will fall within her, by the sword that is against her on every side. Then they will know that I am the Father.
24 Then for Israel's house no piercing brier or painful thorn will remain from any neighbors who treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Father.
The Father Gathers Israel Home
25 The Sovereign Father says: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are scattered, and through them show myself holy before the nations, they will live in their own land, which I gave my servant Jacob. 26 They will live there securely, building houses and planting vineyards. They will live safely when I judge all their neighbors who treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am their Father.
