1I stalo se v jedenáctém roce prvního dne v měsíci; stalo se ke mně slovo Hospodinovo: 2Lidský synu, kvůli tomu, že Týr řekl o Jeruzalému: Výborně!, vrata k národům byla rozdrcena, byl předán mně, naplním se, když je v troskách, 3proto praví Panovník Hospodin toto: Hle, jsem proti tobě, Týre, a přivedu na tebe mnohé národy, jako moře přivádí své vlny. 4Tehdy zničí hradby Týru a zboří jeho věže. Pak z něj vymetu prach a proměním jej v holou skálu. 5Stane se místem k rozprostírání sítí uprostřed moře, protože já jsem promluvil, je výrok Panovníka Hospodina. Bude za lup národům. 6A jeho vesnice, které jsou v krajině, budou vybíjeny mečem. I poznají, že já jsem Hospodin. 7Neboť toto praví Panovník Hospodin: Hle, přivádím na Týr od severu babylonského krále Nebúkadnesara, krále králů, s koňmi, s vozbou a s jezdci, shromáždění a početný lid. 8Tvé vesnice v krajině vybije mečem, položí proti tobě obléhací val, navrší proti tobě násep a postaví proti tobě obléhací věž. 9Potom dá svým obléhacím strojem úder do tvých hradeb a tvé věže strhne svými zbraněmi. 10Od spousty jeho koní tě přikryje prach, od vřavy jezdců, povozů a vozby se budou třást tvé hradby, až bude on vcházet do tvých bran jako do průchodů dobytého města. 11Kopyty svých koní pošlape všechny tvé ulice, tvůj lid vybije mečem a posvátné sloupy tvé moci klesnou na zem. 12Vyplení tvůj majetek a uloupí tvé zboží, zboří tvé hradby a tvé výborné domy strhnou, tvé kameny a tvé stromy i tvou hlínu svrhnou doprostřed vod. 13Tak způsobím, že zmizí halas tvých písní a zvuk tvých lyr již nebude slyšet. 14Proměním tě v holou skálu, staneš se místem k rozprostírání sítí, nebudeš znovu vybudován, protože já Hospodin jsem promluvil, je výrok Panovníka Hospodina. 15Toto praví Panovník Hospodin o Týru: Nebudou se snad třást ostrovy zvukem tvého pádu, až budou sténat pobití, až bude ve tvém středu pácháno vraždění? 16Tu sestoupí ze svých trůnů všechna knížata západu, sundají své pláště a svléknou svá pestře utkaná roucha, oblečou se do hrůz, posadí se na zem, budou se neustále třást a zhrozí se nad tebou. 17I pozvednou nad tebou žalozpěv a řeknou ti: Jak to, že jsi zmizel, ty obydlený od moří, vychvalované město, které bylo silné na moři, ono i jeho obyvatelé, kteří uváděli svůj děs na všechny jeho obyvatele? 18Teď se ostrovy třesou dnem tvého pádu a ostrovy, které jsou v moři, se děsí nad tvým odchodem. 19Neboť toto praví Panovník Hospodin: Až tě učiním městem v troskách jako města, která nebyla obydlena, až na tebe vyvedu hlubinu a přikryjí tě mnohé vody, 20svrhnu tě spolu s těmi, kdo sestupují do jámy, k dávnému lidu a usídlím tě v útrobách země jako odvěké trosky s těmi, kdo sestupují do jámy, abys nebyl obydlený. I prokáži slávu v zemi živých. 21Dám tě za výstrahu a nebude tě více, budou tě hledat, ale už tě nikdy nenajdou, je výrok Panovníka Hospodina.
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary 1 This prophecy is dated in the eleventh year, which was the year that Jerusalem was taken, and
in the first day of the month, but it is not said what month, some think the month in which Jerusalem was taken, which was the fourth month, others the month after; or perhaps it was the first month, and so it was the first day of the year. Observe here,
I. The pleasure with which the Tyrians looked upon the ruins of Jerusalem. Ezekiel was a great way off, in Babylon, but God told him what Tyrus said against Jerusalem (
Ezek 26:2):
Aha! she is broken, broken to pieces, that was
the gates of the people, to whom there was a great resort and where there was a general rendezvous of all nations, some upon one account and some upon another, and I shall get by it; all the wealth, power, and interest, which Jerusalem had, it is hoped, shall be turned to Tyre, and so
now that
she is laid waste I shall be replenished. We do not find that the Tyrians had such a hatred and enmity to Jerusalem and the sanctuary as the Ammonites and Edomites had, or were so spiteful and mischievous to the Jews. They were men of business, and of large acquaintance and free conversation, and therefore were not so bigoted, and of such a persecuting spirit, as the narrow souls that lived retired and knew not the world. All their care was to get estates, and enlarge their trade, and they looked upon Jerusalem not as an enemy, but as a rival. Hiram, king of Tyre, was a good friend to David and Solomon, and we do not read of any quarrels the Jews had with the Tyrians; but Tyre promised herself that the fall of Jerusalem would be an advantage to her in respect of trade a commerce, that now she shall have Jerusalem's customers, and the great men from all parts that used to come to Jerusalem for the accomplishing of themselves, and to spend their estates there, will now come to Tyre and spend them there; and whereas many, since the Chaldean army became so formidable in those parts, had retired into Jerusalem, and brought their estates thither for safety, as the Rechabites did, now they will come to Tyre, which, being in a manner surrounded with the sea, will be thought a place of greater strength than Jerusalem, and thus the prosperity of Tyre will rise out of the ruins of Jerusalem. Note, To be secretly pleased with the death or decay of others, when we are likely to get by it, with their fall when we may thrive upon it, is a sin that does most easily beset us, but is not thought to be such a bad thing, and so provoking to God, as really it is. We are apt to say, when those who stand in our light, in our way, are removed, when they break of fall into disgrace, We shall be
replenished now that they are
laid waste. But this comes from a selfish covetous principle, and a desire to be
placed alone in the midst of the earth, as if we grudged that any should live by us. This comes from a want of that love to our neighbour as to ourselves which the law of God so expressly requires, and from that inordinate love of the world as our happiness which the love of God so expressly forbids. And it is just with God to blast the designs and projects of those who thus contrive to raise themselves upon the ruins of others; and we see they are often disappointed.
II. The displeasure of God against them for it. The providence of God had done well for Tyrus. Tyrus was a pleasant and wealthy city, and might have continued so if she had, as she ought to have done, sympathized with Jerusalem in her calamities and sent her an address of condolence; but when, instead of that, she showed herself pleased with her neighbour's fall, and perhaps sent an address of congratulation to the conquerors, then God says,
Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus! Ezek 26:3. And let her not expect to prosper long if God be against her.
1. God will bring formidable enemies upon her:
Many nations shall come against thee, an army made up of many nations, or one nation that shall be as strong as many. Those that have God against them may expect all the creatures against them; for what peace can those have with whom God is at war? They shall come pouring in as
the waves of the sea, one upon the neck of another, with an irresistible force. The person is named that shall bring this army upon them -
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, that had many kings tributaries to him and dependents on him, besides those that were his captives, Song 2:37, 38. He is that
head of gold. He shall come with a vast army,
horses and chariots, etc., all land-forces. We do not find that he had any naval force, or any thing wherewith he might attack it by sea, which made the attempt the more difficult, as we find
Ezek 29:18, where it is called a
great service which he served against Tyrus. He shall besiege it in form (
Ezek 26:8),
make a fort, and cast a mount, and (
Ezek 26:9) shall
set engines of war against the walls. His troops shall be so numerous as to raise a dust that shall cover the city,
Ezek 26:10. They shall make a noise that shall even
shake the walls; and they shall shout at every attack, as soldiers do when they
enter a city that is
broken up; the horses shall prance with so much fury and violence that they shall even
tread down the streets though so ever well paved.
2. They shall do terrible execution. (1.) The enemy shall make themselves masters of all their fortifications, shall
destroy the walls and
break down the towers, Ezek 26:4. For what walls are so strongly built as to be a fence against the judgments of God? Her
strong garrisons shall go down to the ground, Ezek 26:11. And the walls shall be broken down,
Ezek 26:12. The city held out a long siege, but it was taken at last. (2.) A great deal of blood shall be shed:
Her daughters who are in the field, the cities upon the continent, which were subject to Tyre as the mother-city, the inhabitants of them
shall be slain by the sword, Ezek 26:6. The invaders begin with those that come first in their way. And (
Ezek 26:11)
he shall slay thy people with the sword; not only the soldiers that are found in arms, but the burghers, shall be
put to the sword, the king of Babylon being highly incensed against them for holding out so long. (3.) The wealth of the city shall all become a spoil to the conqueror (
Ezek 26:12): They
shall make a prey of the merchandise. It was in hope of the plunder that the city was set upon with so much vigour. See the vanity of riches, that they are
kept for the owners to their hurt; they entice and recompense thieves, and not only cease to benefit those who took pains for them and were duly entitled to them, but are made to serve their enemies, who are thereby put into a capacity of doing them so much the more mischief. (4.) The city itself shall be laid in ruins. All the
pleasant houses shall be
destroyed (
Ezek 26:12), such as were pleasantly situated, beautified, and furnished, shall become a heap of rubbish. Let none please themselves too much in their pleasant houses, for they know not how soon they may see the desolation of them. Tyre shall be utterly ruined; the enemy shall not only pull down the houses, but shall carry away
the stones and the timber, and shall
lay them in the midst of the water, not to be recovered, or ever made use of again. Nay (
Ezek 26:4),
I will scrape her dust from her; not only shall the loose dust be blown away, but the very ground it stands upon shall be torn up by the enraged enemy, carried off, and laid
in the midst of the water, Ezek 26:12. The
foundation is
in the dust; that dust shall be all taken away, and then the city must fall of course. When Jerusalem was destroyed it was
ploughed like a field, Mic 3:12. But the destruction of Tyre is carried further than that; the very soil of it shall be scraped away, and it shall be made
like the top of a rock (
Ezek 26:4,
Ezek 26:14), pure rock that has no earth to cover it; it shall only be a place
for the spreading of nets (
Ezek 26:5,
Ezek 26:14); it shall serve fishermen to dry their nets upon and mend them. (5.) There shall be a full period to all its mirth and joy (
Ezek 26:13):
I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease. Tyre had been a joyous city (
Isa 23:7).; with her songs she had courted customers to deal with her in a way of trade. But now farewell all her profitable commerce and pleasant conversation; Tyre is no more a place either of business or of sport.
Lastly, It shall be
built no more (
Ezek 26:14), not built any more as it had been, with such state and magnificence, nor built any more in the same place, within the sea, nor built any where for a long time; the present inhabitants shall be destroyed or dispersed, so that this Tyre shall be
no more. For
God has spoken it (
Ezek 26:5,
Ezek 26:14); and when what he has said is accomplished
they shall know thereby that
he is the Lord, and
not a man that he should lie nor the son of man that he should repent. 15 The utter ruin of Tyre is here represented in very strong and lively figures, which are exceedingly affecting.
1. See how high, how great, Tyre had been, how little likely ever to come to this. The remembrance of men's former grandeur and plenty is a great aggravation of their present disgrace and poverty. Tyre was
a renowned city (
Ezek 26:17), famous among the nations, the
crowning city (so she is called
Isa 23:8), a city that had crowns in her gift, honoured all she smiled upon, crowned herself and all about her. She was
inhabited of seas, that is, of those that trade at sea, of those who from all parts came thither by sea, bringing with them the
abundance of the seas and
the treasures hidden in the sand. She was
strong in the sea, easy of access to her friends, but to her enemies inaccessible, fortified by a
wall of water, which made her impregnable. So that
she with her pomp,
and her inhabitants with their pride,
caused their terror to be on all that haunted that city, and upon any account frequented it. It was well fortified, and formidable in the eyes of all that acquainted themselves with it. Every body stood in awe of the Tyrians and was afraid of disobliging them. Note, Those who know their strength are too apt to cause terror, to pride themselves in frightening those they are an over-match for.
2. See how low, how little, Tyre is made,
Ezek 26:19,
Ezek 26:20. This
renowned city is made a
desolate city, is no more frequented as it has been; there is no more resort of merchants to it; it is
like the cities not inhabited, which are no cities, and having none to keep them in repair, will go to decay of themselves. Tyre shall be like a city overflowed by an inundation of waters, which
cover it, and upon which the
deep is
brought up. As the waves had formerly been its defence, so now they shall be its destruction. She shall be
brought down with those that descend into the pit, with the cities of the old world that were under water, and with
Sodom and Gomorrah, that lie in the bottom of the Dead Sea. Or, she shall be in the condition of those who have been long buried, of the
people of old time, who are old inhabitants of the silent grace, who are quite rotted away under ground and quite forgotten above ground; such shall
Tyre be, free among the dead, set in the lower parts of the earth, humbled, mortified, reduced. It shall be
like the places desolate of old, as well as like persons dead of old; it shall be like other cities that have formerly been in like manner deserted and destroyed. It shall
not be inhabited again; none shall have the courage to attempt the rebuilding of it upon that spot, so that
it shall be no more; The Tyrians shall be lost among the nations, so that people will look in vain for Tyre in Tyre:
Thou shalt be sought for, and never found again. New persons may build a new city upon a new spot of ground hard by, which they may call
Tyre, but Tyre, as it is, shall never be any more. Note, The strongest cities in this world, the best-fortified and best-furnished, are subject to decay, and may in a little time be brought to nothing. In the history of our own island many cities are spoken of as in being when the Romans were here which now our antiquaries scarcely know where to look for, and of which there remains no more evidence than Roman urns and coins digged up there sometimes accidentally. But in the other world we look for a city that shall stand for ever and flourish in perfection through all the ages of eternity.
3. See what a distress the inhabitants of Tyre are in (
Ezek 26:15):
There is a great slaughter made in the midst of thee, many slain, and great men. It is probable that, when the city was taken, the generality of the inhabitants were put to the sword. Then did
the wounded cry, and they cried in vain, to the pitiless conquerors; they cried
quarter, but it would not be given them; the wounded are
slain without mercy, or, rather, that is the only mercy that is shown them, that the second blow shall rid them out of their pain.
4. See what a consternation all the neighbours are in upon the fall of Tyre. This is elegantly expressed here, to show how astonishing it should be. (1.) the
islands shall
shake at the sound of thy fall (
Ezek 26:15), as, when a great merchant breaks, all that he deals with are shocked by it, and begin to look about them; perhaps they had effects in his hands, which they are afraid they shall lose. Or, when they see one fail and become bankrupt of a sudden, in debt a great deal more than he is worth, it makes them afraid for themselves, lest they should do so too. Thus
the isles, which thought themselves safe in the embraces of the sea, when they see Tyrus fall, shall
tremble and
be troubled, saying, What will become of us? And it is well if they make this good use of it, to take warning by it not to be secure, but to stand in awe of God and his judgments. The sudden fall of a great tower shakes the ground round about it; thus all the islands in the Mediterranean Sea shall feel themselves sensibly touched by the destruction of Tyre, it being a place they had so much knowledge of, such interests in, and such a constant correspondence with. (2.) The
princes of the sea shall be affected with it, who ruled in those islands. Or the rich merchants, who live like princes (
Isa 23:8), and the masters of ships, who command like princes, these shall condole the fall of Tyre in a most compassionate and pathetic manner (
Ezek 26:16):
They shall come down from their thrones, as neglecting the business of their thrones and despising the pomp of them. They shall
lay away their robes of state,
their broidered garments, and shall
clothe themselves all over with
tremblings, with sackcloth that will make them shiver. Or they shall by their own act and deed make themselves to tremble upon this occasion; they shall
sit upon the ground in shame and sorrow; they shall
tremble every moment at the thought of what has happened to Tyre, and for fear of what may happen to themselves; for what island is safe if Tyre be not? They shall
take up a lamentation for thee, shall have elegies and mournful poems penned upon the fall of Tyre,
Ezek 26:17.
How art thou destroyed! [1.] It shall be a great surprise to them, and they shall be affected with wonder, that a place so well fortified by nature and art, so famed for politics and so full of money, which is the sinews of war, that held out so long and with so much bravery, should be taken at last (
Ezek 26:21):
I make thee a terror. Note, It is just with God to make those a terror to their neighbours, by the suddenness and strangeness of their punishment, who make themselves a terror to their neighbours by the abuse of their power. Tyre had
caused her terror (
Ezek 26:17) and now is made a terrible example. [2.] It shall be a great affliction to them, and they shall be affected with sorrow (
Ezek 26:17); they shall
take up a lamentation for Tyre, as thinking it a thousand pities that such a rich and splendid city should be thus laid in ruins. When Jerusalem, the holy city, was destroyed, there were no such lamentations for it; it was
nothing to
those that passed by (
Lam 1:12); but when Tyre, the trading city, fell, it was universally bemoaned. Note, Those who have the world in their hearts lament the loss of great men more than the loss of good men. [3.] It shall be a loud alarm to them:
They shall tremble in the day of thy fall, because they shall have reason to think that their own turn will be next. If Tyre fall, who can stand?
Howl, fir-trees, if such a cedar be shaken. Note, The fall of others should awaken us out of our security. The death or decay of others in the world is a check to us, when we dream that our mountain
stands strongly and shall not be moved. 5. See how the irreparable ruin of Tyre is aggravated by the prospect of the restoration of Israel. Thus shall Tyre sink
when I shall set glory in the land of the living, Ezek 26:20. Note, (1.) The holy land is the
land of the living; for none but holy souls are properly living souls. Where living sacrifices are offered to the living God, and where the lively oracles are, there
the land of the living is; there David hoped to
see the goodness of the Lord, Pss 27:13. That was a type of heaven, which is indeed the
land of the living. (2.) Though this land of the living may for a time lie under disgrace, yet God will again
set glory in it; the glory that had departed shall return, and the restoration of what they had been deprived of shall be so much more their glory. God will himself be the glory of the lands that are the lands of the living. (3.) It will aggravate the misery of those that have their portion in the land of the dying, of those that are for ever dying, to behold the happiness of those, at the same time, that shall have their everlasting portion in the land of the living. When the rich man was himself in torment he saw Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, and glory set for him in the land of the living.
