Ezekiel 28:16

Eze 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Ver. 16. By the multitude of thy merchandise.] Many merchants think they may do anything for their own advantage; cheating and overreaching pass for virtues with them. {a}

And thou hast sinned.] By suffering it so to be; for there is a passive injustice as well as an active.

I will cast thee.] I will bring thee down with a vengeance, and make thee an example of that rule, Great sins have great punishments. {b}

{a} Multae sunt fraudes ubi mercatura fervet. - Oecolamp.

{b} Mεγαλων αδικηματων μεγαλαι εισι αι τιμωριαι παρα του Yεου.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eze 28:16-17. By the multitude of thy merchandise, &c. — The riches which thy great trade has produced have but increased thy love of gain more and more, and induced thee to commit acts of violence, fraud, and extortion, to make further additions to thy power and riches; therefore I will cast thee out of the mountain of God — I will cast thee down to contempt from that super-eminent degree of power and glory to which I had raised thee, and from the exalted station of governing others, and being able to afford them protection, and from all thy great pomp and magnificence. Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty — Thou becamest vain and insolent on account of thy power, riches, and magnificence. Here the root of this prince’s ruin is pointed out to us. His power and riches produced pride and insolence in him, and those every evil way. His grandeur blinded him, so that he did not see his true happiness, nor the right way of pursuing it, but wandered in ways which led to ruin. I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee — I will make thee a spectacle to other princes, expose thee as a miserable object before their eyes, that thou mayest be an example to them to deter them from the like pride and practices.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shalt have no part among my people.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

filled the midst of thee--that is, they have filled the midst of the city; he as the head of the state being involved in the guilt of the state, which he did not check, but fostered.

cast thee as profane--no longer treated as sacred, but driven out of the place of sanctity (see Eze 28:14) which thou hast occupied (compare Psa 89:39).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. I will cast thee as profane] Thou shalt be cast down from thine eminence.

From the midst of the stones of fire.] Some, supposing that stones of fire means the stars, have thought that the whole refers to the fall of Satan.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(16) Filled the midst of thee.—The language passes very naturally here from the king himself to the state over which be presided, and with which he was identified, immediately recurring, however, to the king personally. He, as polluted, should be cast out of his imagined mountain of God: he, the cherub covering the mercy-seat, forsooth, shall be destroyed: his fancied God-like walking amid the stones of fire shall for ever cease.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. By the multitude] Or, in the multitude.

they have filled] Or, thy midst (heart) was filled with wrong, and thou didst sin. LXX., thou didst fill.

therefore I will cast] therefore have I cast. The destruction of the prince is described as completed, lit. therefore have I profaned thee (casting thee) out of the mountain.

and I will destroy thee] More probably: and the (covering) cherub hath destroyed thee (driving thee) from the midst of the stones of fire. The construction as 1st pers. I have destroyed is possible, but quite improbable. The cherub is rather regarded as active in the expulsion from Paradise; in Gen_3:24, he is represented as barring the return of those whom God had expelled.

With the words wanting in LXX. put in square brackets the verses would read: “Thou art the (a) seal of symmetry, [full of wisdom], and the perfection of beauty. 13 Thou wast in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the topaz and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx and the jaspar, the sapphire, the carbuncle and the emerald; and gold was the workmanship of thy sockets and grooves in thee in the day that thou wast created” [they were prepared]. Or, drawing the last words to the beginning of Eze_28:14. 14 “In the day that thou wast created I set thee with the [outspread, the covering] cherub, thou wast in the holy mountain of God, in the midst of the stones of fire [thou didst walk]. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16 In the multitude of thy traffic thy midst was filled with wrong [LXX. thou didst fill], and thou didst sin: therefore I have profaned thee (and cast thee) from the mountain of God; and the [covering] cherub hath destroyed thee (driving thee) from the midst of the stones of fire.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By the multitude of thy merchandise,.... With the several nations of the earth, who came to the markets and fairs of Tyre, and to whom she sent her goods:

they have filled the midst of thee with violence; or, as the Targum,

"thy treasures are filled with rapine;''

with ill gotten goods, as the pope's coffers are through his merchandise of the souls of men, and the great trade that is driven in pardons and indulgences:

and thou hast sinned; by this unjust and ungodly way of dealing:

therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; Mount Zion, the church of the living God, where he dwells, and is worshipped, and on which the Lamb stands with his hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name and his Father's on their foreheads, Rev 14:1, these will have no communion with the church and pope of Rome; will not receive his mark, nor worship his image; from this mountain, and the inhabitants of it, he stands excluded as a profane person, with whom they will have nothing to do; and hence he persecutes them to the utmost of his power:

and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire; from among the people of God, who have the clear light of the Gospel, and a sincere love for Christ; these withdrew themselves from his jurisdiction and government; and with whom his name, power, and authority perish, especially when they shall have got the victory over him, Rev 15:1. Kimchi paraphrases it,

"from the midst of the saints who are the Israelites, comparable to stones of fire;''

and Jarchi's note is,

"that thou mayest not take a portion with the righteous;''

have no part, lot, or fellowship with them. The Targum is,

"I will destroy thee, O king that art anointed, because thou thoughtest to rule over the holy people.''

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

By the multitude; by, or in, or according to (as the Gallic version) the multitude or greatness of thy trading: in Tyre were merchants that traded in very great adventures, with vast stocks, and in mighty cargoes.

With violence; thy merchants have by craft, where that would, and by violence where craft would not, compassed their unjust designs, as noted, Eze 27:36. This injustice and violence grew as their trade did, and filled the city with guilt as fast as that did with wealth.

Thou hast sinned: either as one trading among them, thou hast violated justice to promote thine own and their gain, or hast connived at thy merchants when they oppressed all they could; or hast, contrary to justice and equity, supported them in their violence, and judged for them against oppressed strangers. Thou who weft a king, and wouldst be thought a god, is this like to God, who hates violence, loves justice, relieveth the stranger, and righteth the oppressed?

I will cast thee out: these abominable things hast thou done, and now, as an abominable thing, I will throw thee out, either of thy throne and kingly dignity, see Eze 28:14, or thy fancied and imagined heaven, where thou wouldst be a god, for such gods of violence and injustice deserve to be cast out with the aspiring angels.

Destroy thee; utterly destroy.

O covering cherub: see Eze 28:14.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. Will cast… will destroy — Rather, have cast… have destroyed. So in Eze_28:17-18 the verbs are in the past tense. These words were spoken from the standpoint of prophecy fulfilled. Some scholars amend so as to read, “and the cherub hath destroyed thee.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Sin and destruction.

No doubt the inspired prophet of the Lord saw in the fate of Tyro what was not discernible to worldly and enlightened minds. These would look for political causes and motives and consequences in the rise and fall of states. But Ezekiel saw below the surface. He knew that there was Divine action in and beneath the action of Tyre"s enemies; and that there were reasons only recognizable by a reflecting and religious man for the awful disasters which he was commissioned to foretell.

I THE OCCASIONS OF SIN.

1. We may discover what may be called material occasions of sin, in the wealth and prosperity, the fame and renown, the beauty and splendor, of Tyre. Circumstances of very different kinds may yet agree in suggesting evil thoughts, desires, and habits. Men lay the blame upon circumstances, but this is a very shortsighted method of proceeding.

2. There are moral promptings to sin which may spring out of the former. The heart is lifted up with exultation; a not unnatural confidence in possessions and resources springs up and asserts itself.

II THE MANIFESTATIONS OF SIN. "Thou hast sinned" is the reproach addressed by God to the guilty city; and it is the reproach addressed to every nation and to every man that has yielded to temptations which should have been withstood, repelled, and mastered. The forms which sin assumes are innumerable, and vary with varying times and with varying states of society. The context refers to:

1. Iniquity, or the violation of Divine laws regulating men"s relations among themselves and to God himself.

2. Violence, such as the powerful, willful, and haughty are given to exercise in their treatment of their inferiors.

3. Corruption and defilement, such as are certain to prevail where God is not honored, and where selfish ends inspire men"s conduct.

III THE PUNISHMENT OF SIN. This is:

1. By the decree of God. He is the Speaker throughout this passage. He claims to bestow privileges, and to call men to account for the manner in which those privileges are used. Whatever be the agency or instrumentality of chastisement and correction, it is by the Eternal Wisdom and Righteousness that it is inflicted.

2. In the case of national sin, the penalties are put in force through the instrumentality of neighboring nations. A barbarian horde, or a mighty sovereign and conqueror, has again and again been used as a "scourge of God." It would be wrong to attribute any moral superiority to the victorious people; they may be merely the rod, the sword, in the hand of the Lord of hosts.

3. Where the offence has been heinous, the visitation may be one involving complete destruction, as in the case of Tyre. The terms of threatening here recorded are of the strongest and most unsparing. "I will destroy thee;" "I will cast thee to the ground;" "I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee; it shall devour thee." Such punishment is sometimes regarded as inconsistent with the attributes of a just and merciful King and Judge. But, whilst it may not be in our power to vindicate all the ways of God, it is certainly not for us to question the acts of him who is omniscient, and whose righteousness is without a flaw. There is nothing in Scripture to support the opinions of those who think that, because God is benevolent, therefore there is no such thing as punishment. There is a moral law which the Sovereign Judge will surely maintain and vindicate.

4. The punishment inflicted upon sinners shall be published far and wide. What is done by God in the exercise of punitive justice is done in the sight of all, and all shall be astonished. This publicity may surely be explained as an arrangement intended for the universal good to impress upon the minds of all mankind the heinousness of iniquity, that they may "stand in awe, and sin not. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will cast - Out thy kingly dignity.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Connecting Statement:

Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to the king of Tyre.

General Information:

The words "you" and "your" in these verses refer to the king of Tyre.

great trade

"large volume of trade"

you were filled with violence

Yahweh speaks of the king of Tyre as if he were a container that was filled up with violence. The king is a synecdoche for himself and his people The abstract noun "violence" can be translated using the adjective "violent." AT: "you and your people became completely violent" or "you and your peoplewere completely violent" (See: Metaphor and Synecdoche and Abstract Nouns)

guardian cherub

"guarding cherub"

the fiery stones

"the stones of fire." See how you translated this in Ezekiel 28:14. Possible meanings are 1) a metaphor for the colorful and bright stones mentioned in Ezekiel 28:13 or 2) other fiery stones on the "holy mountain of God." (See: Metaphor)

Your heart was arrogant

Here the "heart" represents the whole person, emphasizing the person's thoughts. AT: "You were arrogant" (See: Synecdoche)

arrogant

falsely believing oneself to be importantbelieving oneself to be important

Your heart was arrogant with your beauty; you ruined your wisdom because of your splendor

The abstract nouns "beauty," wisdom" and "splendor" can be translated using the adjectives "beautiful," "wise" and "splendid." AT: "Your heart was arrogant because you were beautiful; you became unwise because you were so splendid" (See: Abstract Nouns)

before kings

"in front of kings "

so they may see you

"so they may look at you"

translationWords

sin

defile

God

cherub

heart

arrogant

ruin

splendor

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

they filled [Heb. מָלוּ, like מָלְאוּ,] they filled.

and I shall cast you as profane You caused me to eradicate you, so that you shall no longer be remembered concerning the building of My House.

and I shall destroy you [Heb. וָאַבֶּדְךָ,] like וָאֲאַבֶּדְךָ and I shall destroy you.

from among the stones of fire that you shall not take a share with the righteous. Our Rabbis in the Midrash Aggadah (B. B. 75a) interpreted this section as referring to Adam: So said the prophet to Hiram, “Why should you be proud of your sky? Were you in the Garden of Eden, as Adam was? [13] every precious stone, etc. For I made all these canopies for Adam, and the least of them was gold, which is counted last. the work of your drums, etc. With this, I made you equal to him, but not with anything else, and I pondered over you and created drums and orifices in Adam. [14] Are you a cherub of great measure Are you like that cherub that was great in measure, whose great wingspan covered from one end of heaven completely to the other end of heaven, and did I place you to be on the holy mountains as I placed him?

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.