Judgment · Tyre cast into the sea

Ezekiel 26:1-21

Ezekiel · ~586 BC · Status: Partially Fulfilled · Confidence: 55%
“And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:”
King James Version · the opening of the passage — the whole of it is condensed below
More of Ezekiel 26 on this siteEzekiel 26:3

Ezekiel's oracle against Tyre — many nations against her, her stones and dust cast into the sea, left a bare rock for nets — the most debated fulfillment prophecy.

The prophecy, condensed

Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it! I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again
Ezekiel 26:1-21 · King James Version · condensed from 727 words · every cut marked …
Read the full prophecy — all 21 verses

26:1And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

26:2Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:

26:3Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.

26:4And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.

26:5It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.

26:6And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

26:7For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.

26:8He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.

26:9And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.

26:10By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.

26:11With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.

26:12And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.

26:13And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.

26:14And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

26:15Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?

26:16Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.

26:17And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!

26:18Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.

26:19For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;

26:20When 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;

26:21I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.

Fulfillment References

Ezekiel 29:18 Isaiah 23:1-18 Zechariah 9:3-4 🏛 Historical: Alexander 332 BC

How Traditions Read This Prophecy

Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe one God who humbles proud Tyre rules the nations; earthly glory passes, but His word stands.
JewishJudgment on the proud merchant city for rejoicing at Jerusalem's fall; God's justice on arrogant commercial power.
CatholicThe humbling of a wealthy, prideful city — a lesson on the vanity of riches and the certainty of divine judgment.
ProtestantA celebrated fulfilled prophecy: Nebuchadnezzar besieged mainland Tyre, and Alexander (332 BC) scraped its ruins into the sea to build a causeway to the island, fitting 'lay thy dust in the water' and 'many nations.'
OrthodoxDivine judgment on the proud city, fulfilled in its historical desolation.
DispensationalFulfilled history; Tyre also stands typologically behind the commercial 'Babylon' of Revelation 18.
AcademicThe crux of the prophecy debate: Nebuchadnezzar's 13-year siege (c.586-573 BC) did not destroy Tyre — Ezekiel 29:18 itself concedes he 'had no wages' from it. Skeptics call v.7-11 (which names Nebuchadnezzar) a failed prediction; defenders note the oracle widens to 'many nations' (v.3) and that Alexander's 332 BC destruction and the 'bare rock' fit strikingly. Scholars debate whether ch.29 records a prophetic adjustment.
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