Ezekiel 26:19-21

D. The Doom of Tyre 26:19-21

TRANSLATION

(19) For thus says the Lord GOD: When I shall make you a desolation, like the cities which are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon you, and the great waters shall cover You; (20) then will I bring you down with them that go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, like the places which are desolate from of old, with those who go down to the pit, in order that you may not be inhabited; and I will set glory in the land of the living. (21) I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; though you be sought for, you shall never be found again (oracle of the Lord GOD).

COMMENTS

Tyre would become as desolate as an uninhabited city. The sea would wash over the bare rock that once was covered with the palaces of merchant princes (Ezekiel 26:19).[390] The prophet apparently thought of the sinking into the depth of the water as leading to the world of the dead that lay beneath them. Tyre would descend into the nether world the pit the abode of the dead.[391] There she would join the people Of old, the dead of former ages, the inhabitants of other cities left desolate. From the time of its destruction the city would not be re-inhabited. But while Tyre with all its pomp and power would exist only in the spirit world beyond, God would manifest His glory in the land of the living, i.e., in this present world. The everlasting kingdom of God in all of its power and glory would be established (Ezekiel 26:20).

[390] Massive walls about the fortress island kept the water of the sea at bay.

[391] The image may haw been suggested by Isaiah 14:9 where it is used of Babylon.

God would use the destruction of Tyre to bring terror to the hearts of other pompous powers (I will make you a terror).[392] The once proud metropolis would leave no trace of her former glory. Tyre would be in the abode of the dead. No one would be able to find her in the land of the living (Ezekiel 26:21). Two more specific predictions regarding Tyre come to view in the last two verses of chapter 26.

[392] NASB renders, I will bring terrors upon you, which is a possible translation. This translation would raise the question as to whether the terrors referred to what transpired prior to the destruction of Tyre, or after Tyre descended into the pit.

8. Prediction Eight Tyre to be depopulated. You will not be inhabited (Ezekiel 26:20). Again, the prediction applies to Phoenician Tyre, not subsequent villages which may have had the same name or partially occupied the same site. See comments on pre diction seven.

9. Prediction Nine: Tyre would never be found again (Ezekiel 26:21). Does the prophet mean to say that the city would be so destroyed that its very location would be lost? It is difficult to believe that the actual location of the city could be lost when it formerly occupied completely an island. Probably the meaning is that Phoenician Tyre once destroyed would never be found. The glorious and glamorous city would disappear forever.