Ezekiel 28:17

Eze 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Ver. 17. Thine heart, &c.] Fastus inest pulchris.

By reason of thy brightness.] Thine own splendour hath dazzled thee. Magna cognatio est, ut rei sic et nominis, divitiis et vitiis.

That they may behold thee.] And beware by thee.

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.

brightness--thy splendor.

lay thee before kings--as an example of God's wrath against presumptuous pride.

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

17. The prince’s sin was self-exaltation because of his beauty and wisdom. The prince is but the representative of the city and its inhabitants; the beauty of the one (Eze_27:3) and the wisdom of the other (Eze_27:8-9) are attributed to him. The prophet’s own deep humility before Jehovah makes him recoil from the self-exaltation of men elsewhere.

corrupted thy wisdom] i.e. lost thy wisdom over, or amidst, thy splendour. The tenses “I will cast” &c. are all perfects, the threat taking the form of an accomplished judgment.

that they may behold thee] i.e. as a spectacle to feast their eyes upon.

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.

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty,.... Riches, wealth, power, and authority; see Eze 28:5, as the pope of Rome is, because of his dignity, the pomp and splendour of the Roman church, and the gaudy appearance it makes:

thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; outward lustre and glory, which dazzled his eyes so that he could not see things in a true light; but neglecting the word of God, and setting up his own infallibility, corrupted his doctrine and worship, and became foolish, stupid, and sottish:

I will cast thee to the ground; from the throne and pinnacle of honour, to the lowest state and condition:

and I will lay thee before kings: prostrate at the feet of them, who heretofore has set his feet on the necks of them; or he shall fall before them, and be destroyed by them, when they shall hate the whore, and make her desolate, and burn her flesh with fire, Rev 17:16, that they may behold thee; with contempt and disdain, and as an instance and example of divine vengeance.

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

Beauty. Riches have corrupted thy heart.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Thine heart was lifted up: see Eze 28:2,5.

Thy beauty: see Eze 28:12.

Converted thy wisdom; depraved or lost thy wisdom, by reflecting and gazing on thy own glory, state, wealth, and magnificence, and hast forgotten thou art a man; thou exaltest thyself above man, above thy neighbour kings.

I will cast thee to the ground; I will bring down thy pride, dethrone thee, and make thee sit in the dust; sully and darken all thy brightness.

Lay thee before kings; or, set thee before men of thy quality, who are, as thou, apt to forget men, themselves, and God, as he who, though he said not, I am God, yet, atheist-like, asked,

Who is God, that I should obey him? That they may behold thee; or, that thou mayst be a spectacle, an example and warning to them; or, that they see thee in chains, or an abused captive, and despise thee.

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

17. Corrupted — Rather, put to naught (Kautzsch), or stifled (Mitchel) (Amo_1:11). That is, his wisdom has been lost or lessened because of the glory which made him vain. Ezekiel only inveighed against the intellectual conceit, the aesthetic culture, and the commercial greatness of the Tyrian prince, because of his irreligious spirit and sacrilegious assumption (vs. Bertholet). Yet ancient Judaism was opposed to the mercantile spirit. On the influence of successful commerce on the religious life see Expositor’s Bible.

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

Thine heart was lifted up, etc. In yet another point Ezekiel sees the fall of Adam reproduced in that of the Tyrian king. He had forfeited his beauty and his wisdom through the pride which sought for a yet greater glory by a false and counterfeit wisdom. (Gen_3:6) I will cast thee, etc. The words are better taken, as in the Revised Version, in the past tense, I have cast thee I have laid thee before kings . Pride was to have its fall, as in Isa_23:9. The very sanctuaries, the temples whichmade Tyre the "holy island," were defiled by the iniquities through which the wealth that adorned them had been gained. The "fire," instead of being a rampart of protection, should burst forth as from the center of the sanctuary to destroy him. Is there an implied allusion to the fiery judgment that fell on Nadab and Abihu (Lev_10:2) and on Korah and his company? (Num_16:35) The doom of Sic transit gloria mundi was already passed on her.

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

Corrupted - Depraved, or lost thy wisdom. Behold thee - That thou mayst be a spectacle, and warning to them.

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

you destroyed your wisdom with your brightness for you were proud of your brightness.

to gaze upon you [Heb. לְרַאֲוָה בָּך] to gaze upon your shame; לְרַאֲוָה is like לִרְאִיָה, to see.

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.