Ezekiel Chapter 26
Showing all 21 verses for Ezekiel Chapter 26.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"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, "
"This message came from the LORD to Ezekiel on the first day of a month, in the eleventh year of his exile in Babylon."
I care about specific moments in your life, not vague generalities. When something matters, I meet you exactly where you are, on the day you're actually living, not some abstract 'someday.'
"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: "
"Son of man, Tyre has said about Jerusalem, 'Excellent! The city that controlled the trade routes is smashed. Now that gateway is broken, business will come flooding to me instead. Now that she's ruined, I'll be filled up.'"
Don't celebrate when someone else's world falls apart, even if it benefits you. Rejoicing at another person's ruin - even quietly, even just in your own head while you calculate the upside - closes something in you that I want to keep open.
"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. "
"So this is what the Lord GOD says: Watch out, Tyre - I am against you. I will bring many nations up against you, like the sea sending wave after wave crashing in."
What you lean on for security can become unstable ground if you've made it your whole identity. Build your life on love and honesty, not on whatever currently keeps the waves at bay - because waves keep coming.
"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. "
"They will tear down Tyre's walls and smash her towers. I will scrape away her soil until nothing is left but bare rock."
Nothing built on pride lasts forever, however solid its walls look today. I'm not interested in tearing you down for its own sake, but I want you to build your life on something that can't be scraped away - not stone but love.
"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. "
"Tyre will become a place out in the sea where fishermen spread their nets to dry. I have spoken it, says the Lord GOD, and she will be plundered by the nations."
Status and glamour are fragile things to build a life around. I'd rather you have something quiet and real - even as plain as a net drying in the sun - than a grand image that can be stripped away overnight.
"And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD. "
"Her surrounding towns on the mainland will be killed by the sword, and they will know that I am the LORD."
Your choices ripple out to people connected to you, for better or worse. Live in a way that what surrounds you is protected by your integrity, not endangered by your pride.
"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. "
"This is what the Lord GOD says: Watch, I am bringing Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon against Tyre, from the north - a king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a huge army."
I work through real people and real circumstances in your life, not just through dramatic miracles. Pay attention to what's actually unfolding around you - that's often exactly where I'm at work.
"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. "
"He will kill your mainland towns with the sword. He will build a siege ramp against you, raise a mound, and set up a wall of shields against you."
I don't deal in vague threats - when consequences come, they're real and specific, so take real and specific steps now, in your own life, rather than hoping vague good intentions will be enough.
"And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. "
"He will set battering machines against your walls and tear down your towers with his axes."
Whatever you've built to keep yourself untouchable, ask honestly whether it's really love and trust that protects you, or just thick walls. Walls without love inside them eventually come down.
"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. "
"His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of cavalry, wagon wheels, and chariots when he enters your gates the way soldiers pour through a breached city wall."
Some warnings deserve to be taken as seriously and vividly as they're given. When I'm trying to get your attention about something in your life, don't wave it away as background noise.
"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. "
"His horses' hooves will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground."
Strength that only exists to dominate or defend pride eventually gets overrun. Real strength - the kind that lasts - is found in humility and love, not fortifications.
"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. "
"They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise. They will tear down your walls, destroy your fine houses, and dump your stones, timber, and rubble into the sea."
What you accumulate for its own sake can be scattered as quickly as it was gathered. Hold your possessions loosely; hold people and integrity tightly.
"And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. "
"I will silence the sound of your songs; the music of your harps will no longer be heard."
Real joy isn't something that can be stockpiled through wealth or status; celebrations built only on prosperity can vanish along with the prosperity. Build joy on something that can't be silenced by circumstances.
"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. "
"I will make you like the top of a bare rock. You will become a place to spread fishing nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken it, says the Lord GOD."
When I say something is finished, it's finished - not to punish you forever, but because clinging to what's over keeps you from what's next. Let dead things stay dead so new things can grow.
"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? "
"This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: Won't the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and slaughter happens in your midst?"
What happens to you matters to more people than you realise; your fall or your flourishing ripples outward. That's exactly why it's worth living well - not for applause, but because your life touches others.
"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. "
"All the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones, take off their robes and embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves in trembling and sit on the ground, shuddering constantly, appalled at you."
Even people who seem untouchable are watching each other, and everyone eventually faces their own version of 'how did the mighty fall.' Don't build your confidence on comparing yourself to others who look secure; nobody actually is.
"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! "
"They will sing a funeral song for you, saying: 'How you have been destroyed, city inhabited by seafarers, the famous city that was strong on the sea - she and her people, who spread their fear over everyone who used her waters!'"
I don't take pleasure in anyone's downfall, even someone who caused fear in others. Grief and honesty can sit together - you can mourn a loss while still telling the truth about what it was.
"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. "
"Now the coastlands will tremble on the day of your fall - yes, the islands out in the sea will be shaken by your downfall."
When something that seemed permanent falls, it's natural for it to shake your own sense of stability too. That unsettled feeling is worth sitting with honestly, rather than rushing past it.
"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; "
"For this is what the Lord GOD says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities with no one living in them, when I bring the ocean depths up over you and cover you with great waters -"
The same things you rely on for your identity can become overwhelming if you let them define you completely. Keep your foundation somewhere deeper than what can rise up and cover you.
"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; "
"When I bring you down with those who go into the pit, to the people of long ago, and set you in the depths of the earth, in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will never be inhabited again - and I will set beauty in the land of the living -"
There's a difference between fame that fades into a forgotten ruin and a life that has real, lasting substance. Chase the second kind - it's not about being remembered, it's about being real.
"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. "
"I will make you an object of horror, and you will no longer exist. Though people search for you, you will never be found again, says the Lord GOD."
Don't build your one life on something that can vanish without a trace. Build it on love, honesty, and connection to me - the things that are still there when everything else has been searched for and not found.