Ezekiel 26: The Fall of a Great City

Ezekiel 26 (WEB)

1 In the eleventh year, in the first of the month, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken: the gate of the peoples; she is turned to me; I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste:

3 therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, Behold, I am against you, Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up.

4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock.

5 She shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken it, says the Lord Yahweh; and she shall become a plunder to the nations.

6 Her daughters who are in the field shall be slain with the sword: and they shall know that I am Yahweh.

7 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will bring on Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and a company, and many people.

8 He shall kill your daughters in the field with the sword; and he shall make forts against you, and cast up a mound against you, and raise up the buckler against you.

9 He shall set his battering engines against your walls, and with his axes he shall break down your towers.

10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover you: your walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wagons, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into your gates, as men enter into a city in which is made a breach.

11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all your streets; he shall kill your people with the sword; and the pillars of your strength shall go down to the ground.

12 They shall make a plunder of your riches, and make a prey of your merchandise; and they shall break down your walls, and destroy your pleasant houses; and they shall lay your stones and your timber and your dust in the midst of the waters.

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

14 I will make you a bare rock; you shall be a place for the spreading of nets; you shall be built no more: for I Yahweh have spoken it, says the Lord Yahweh.

15 Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Tyre: shall not the islands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made in your midst?

16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit on the ground, and shall tremble every moment, and be astonished at you.

17 They shall take up a lamentation over you, and tell you, How you are destroyed, who were inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, who was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who caused their terror to be on all who lived there!

18 Now shall the islands tremble in the day of your fall; yes, the islands that are in the sea shall be dismayed at your departure.

19 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: When I shall make you a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep on you, and the great waters shall cover you;

20 then I will bring you down with those who descend into the pit, to the people of old time, and will make you to dwell in the lower parts of the earth, in the places that are desolate of old, with those who go down to the pit, that you be not inhabited; and I will set glory in the land of the living:

21 I will make you a terror, and you shall no more have any being; though you are sought for, yet you will never be found again, says the Lord Yahweh.

Ezekiel 26 (KJV)

1 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,

2 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:

3 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.

4 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.

5 It 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.

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

7 For 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.

8 He 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.

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

10 By 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.

11 With 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.

12 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.

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

14 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, saith the Lord God.

15 Thus 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?

16 Then 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.

17 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!

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

19 For 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;

20 When 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;

21 I 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.

Ezekiel 26 (ASV)

1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the firstdayof the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gate of the peoples; she is turned unto me; I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste:

3 therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth its waves to come up.

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

5 She shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah; and she shall become a spoil to the nations.

6 And her daughters that are in the field shall be slain with the sword: and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

7 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and a company, and much people.

8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field; and he shall make forts against thee, and cast up a mound against thee, and raise up the buckler against thee.

9 And he shall set his battering engines against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.

10 By 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 wagons, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.

11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets; he shall slay thy people with the sword; and the pillars of thy strength shall go down to the ground.

12 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 waters.

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

14 And I will make thee a bare rock; thou shalt be a place for the spreading of nets; thou shalt be built no more: for I Jehovah have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah.

15 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to Tyre: shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?

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

17 And they shall take up a lamentation over thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, that was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, that caused their terror to be on all that dwelt there!

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

19 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: 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 the great waters shall cover thee;

20 then will I bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, to the people of old time, and will make thee to dwell in the nether parts of the earth, in the places that are desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I will set glory in the land of the living.

21 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt no more have any being; though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Summary

The word of the Lord comes against Tyre, the wealthy island-fortress and trading power of the coast. When Jerusalem fell, Tyre's response was not grief but greed: “Aha! she is broken: the gate of the peoples,” the city said, calculating that the destruction of a rival would funnel more trade and wealth its way. Because Tyre treated the fall of God's city as a windfall, the Lord declares himself against her and announces that he will bring many nations against her like the sea heaving up its waves. Her walls will be broken, her towers thrown down, and her very dust scraped away until she becomes a bare rock, a place for spreading fishing nets in the sea. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, will come from the north with horses, chariots, and a great army. The princes of the sea will step down from their thrones, strip off their robes, and tremble at the news of her fall, taking up a lamentation over the renowned city that once filled all who lived in her with terror. The proud city that seemed unsinkable will go down to the pit and be found no more, for the Lord has spoken it.

Key Figures

Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who declares himself against Tyre, summoning the nations like waves of the sea to humble a city that profited from his people's grief.
Tyre — The proud island trading power that gloated over Jerusalem's fall as a chance for gain, destined to be scraped bare like the top of a rock.
Nebuchadnezzar — The king of Babylon, called “king of kings,” whom the Lord brings from the north with a great army as the instrument of Tyre's downfall.
The princes of the sea — The coastal rulers who will descend from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and tremble in mourning at the sound of Tyre's collapse.

Key Verse

Ezekiel 26:4 (WEB)

They shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock.

Lessons Learned

Treating another's ruin as a business opportunity is a sin against the God who sees the heart.
Wealth and strong defenses cannot shield a city or a soul from the judgment of God.
What seems permanent and untouchable to us is fragile in the hand of the Lord.
God can summon the nations themselves to accomplish his purposes in history.

Greed at another's loss invites judgment. Tyre said of fallen Jerusalem, “Aha, she is broken… I shall be replenished” (Ezekiel 26:2, WEB). Profiting from the suffering of others sets us against God.
God opposes the proud. “Behold, I am against you, Tyre” (Ezekiel 26:3, WEB). When a city or a person sets itself up as untouchable, the Lord himself stands in opposition.
Earthly security is no security at all. Tyre's walls and towers will be broken and her dust scraped to bare rock (Ezekiel 26:4, WEB). Defenses that look impregnable cannot withstand the word of God.
God rules the rise and fall of nations. He brings Nebuchadnezzar, “king of kings,” against the city (Ezekiel 26:7, WEB). The movements of empires unfold within the sovereign purposes of the Lord.

What was Tyre's reaction to the fall of Jerusalem, and why did it provoke God's judgment?
How does the image of the sea raising its waves picture the coming judgment on Tyre?
Why might a city as wealthy and well-defended as Tyre have felt invincible?
What does it mean that God himself says, “I am against you, Tyre”?
Where do you tend to place your sense of security, and how does this chapter invite you to rest in God instead?

Tyre saw Jerusalem's destruction purely as a chance to absorb its trade: “she is broken: the gate of the peoples… I shall be replenished” (26:2). The cold, profiteering response to God's grieving people is what draws the Lord's word against the city.
God says he will bring many nations “as the sea causes its waves to come up” (26:3). The relentless, overwhelming image fits an island city; the very element that made Tyre strong becomes a picture of the unstoppable judgment that will engulf her.
Set on an island with massive walls and immense wealth, Tyre seemed beyond the reach of any army. Help the group see how prosperity and strong defenses can breed a false sense of permanence that leaves no room for humility before God.
For God to say “I am against you” is the most fearful word any city or soul can hear. It exposes the truth that no fortification matters when the Maker himself stands opposed; the only safety is to be found on his side, in repentance and trust.
This is a gentle personal-application question. Invite members to name where they quietly trust money, status, or security to keep them safe, and to consider what it would look like to anchor their confidence in the Lord who never falls.