Ezekiel 26:1-6 · Bible study
Ezekiel 26:1-6 Commentary: Study: Tyre's Judgment for Gloating
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
This study examines Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre, its date soon after Jerusalem's fall, and the lessons about pride and divine judgment.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God judges Tyre for rejoicing over Jerusalem's fall, promising total ruin through many nations, reducing the proud city to a bare rock where fishermen dry nets.
- Key words: 'Aha' (taunt), 'scrape her dust', 'bare rock', 'spreading of nets', 'daughters in the field' (mainland towns).
- Main debate: Why is the month omitted in the date? Commentators suggest it is either the month after Jerusalem's fall (Wesley) or the omission is intentional to focus on the year (Keil).
- Theological theme: God's sovereignty over nations: he defends his people and humbles the proud, using history as his instrument.
- Best use: A warning against pride and gloating, and a reminder that God alone exalts and brings down; useful for teaching on divine justice and the fleeting nature of human wealth.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
1In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken; it has swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will be filled,’
3therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, O Tyre, I am against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.
4They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock.
5She will become a place to spread nets in the sea, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. She will become plunder for the nations,
6and the villages on her mainland will be slain by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’
WEB World English Bible 2000
1In 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! She who was the gateway of the peoples has been returned to me. I will be replenished, now that she is laid waste;’
3therefore the Lord Yahweh says, ‘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.
4They will destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers. I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock.
5She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the middle of the sea; for I have spoken it,’ says the Lord Yahweh. ‘She will become plunder for the nations.
6Her daughters who are in the field will be slain with the sword. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.’
KJV King James Version 1769
1And 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,
2Son 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:
3Therefore 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.
4And 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.
5It 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.
6And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
1And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the firstdayof the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2Son 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:
3therefore 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.
4And 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.
5She 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.
6And her daughters that are in the field shall be slain with the sword: and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
1And it cometh to pass, in the eleventh year, in the first of the month, there hath been a word of Jehovah unto me, saying: `Son of man,
2Because that Tyre hath said of Jerusalem: Aha, she hath been broken, the doors of the peoples, She hath turned round unto me, I am filled--she hath been laid waste,
3Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am against thee, O Tyre, And have caused to come up against thee many nations, As the sea causeth its billows to come up.
4And they have destroyed the walls of Tyre, And they have broken down her towers, And I have scraped her dust from her, And made her for a clear place of a rock.
5A spreading place of nets she is in the midst of the sea, For I--I have spoken--an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, And she hath been for a spoil to nations.
6And her daughters who are in the field, by sword they are slain, And they have known that I am Jehovah,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
1And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, [that] the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, because Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken, the gate of the peoples! she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished [now] she is laid waste;
3therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth its waves to come up.
4And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers. And I will scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock.
5She 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 for the nations.
6And her daughters that are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I [am] Jehovah.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
1And it came to pass in the eleventh year, the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2Son of man, because Tyre hath said of Jerusalem: Aha, the gates of the people are broken, she is turned to me: I shall be filled, now she is laid waste.
3Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold I come against thee, O Tyre, and I will cause many nations to come up to thee, as the waves of the sea rise up.
4And they shall break down the walls of Tyre, and destroy the towers thereof: and I will scrape her dust from her, and make her like a smooth rock.
5She shall be a drying place for nets in the midst of the sea, because I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and she shall be a spoil to the nations.
6Her daughters also that are in the field, shall be slain by the sword: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Ezekiel 26:1-6 pronounces a divine judgment against Tyre for rejoicing over Jerusalem's fall. The sin is clear: Tyre saw the destruction of the 'gateway of the peoples' as an opportunity for economic gain (Clarke, Barnes). God's response is decisive: 'Behold, I am against you, O Tyre' (v.3). The imagery of scraping dust down to bare rock and making the city a place for spreading nets (v.4-5) signals total desolation. Most commentators connect this to the island city of Tyre, not the mainland settlement (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Keil and Delitzsch). The dating in the eleventh year places this prophecy in the same year Jerusalem was taken, though the month is omitted. Wesley and the Cambridge Bible suggest it comes soon after the city's fall. The main actor throughout is God himself; the 'many nations' (v.3) are his instruments. The prophecy is understood as a warning against pride and gloating, and a demonstration that God defends his people and his purposes.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Intentionally omitted month: The dating format with year and day but no month is unusual; some argue the omission focuses attention on the year of Jerusalem's fall.
- Month understood from context: Wesley and the Cambridge Bible suggest the month is the one following Jerusalem's destruction (likely the fifth month), as the prophecy presupposes the city's fall.
- Textual corruption: A minority older view considers the month may have been lost in transmission, but no manuscript evidence supports this.
What is clear: God will judge Tyre for its pride and rejoicing over Jerusalem's fall, reducing the great city to ruin and desolation.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Date and month omission | The prophecy is set in the eleventh year of Jehoiachin's captivity, the same year Jerusalem fell. The month is not specified. | Some (Wesley, Cambridge Bible) infer the month from context, likely the fifth month after Jerusalem's destruction. Others (Keil) simply note the omission as unusual without speculating. |
| Fulfillment: immediate vs ultimate | The prophecy points to destruction through 'many nations,' beginning with Nebuchadnezzar's siege. | Clarke and others note that Nebuchadnezzar's siege lasted 13 years and subdued the mainland, but the island city was not fully destroyed until Alexander the Great. Some see a double fulfillment; others view the prophecy as looking ahead to final desolation. |
| The 'bare rock' imagery | The image describes total ruin, with no dust left, implying the city would be stripped of its accumulated soil and structures. | Some (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) see this as literal scraping of the island rock, fulfilled in later invasions. Others take it as hyperbolic language of complete destruction. |
| Who are the 'many nations'? | God raises up successive nations against Tyre, beginning with Babylon. | Some commentators limit it to Nebuchadnezzar's coalition; others, like Clarke, see a reference to multiple future conquests by different powers (Persia, Greece, Rome). |
Historical & Cultural Context
Tyre was an ancient Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast, famous for its maritime trade and wealth. The city consisted of a mainland settlement (often called Old Tyre or Palaetyre) and a fortified island city half a mile offshore, which was the heart of Tyrian power (Barnes, Cambridge Bible). Tyre had a long history with Israel: Hiram, king of Tyre, supplied materials for David's house and Solomon's temple (
). But later, Tyre stood aloof, and its merchants grew proud (Ezekiel 27:2-3). The 'eleventh year' in Ezekiel 26:1 is the eleventh year of King Jehoiachin's captivity, which corresponds to 586 BC, the year Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar ("Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, with cedar trees, carpenters, and masons; and they built David a house."
— 2 Samuel 5:11 (WEB)
). The exact month is not given; some older commentators suggest it was the fifth month, the month after Jerusalem's destruction (Wesley), while others note the omission is striking but not ultimately significant (Keil). Tyre's exclamation 'Aha!' (v.2) echoes the taunt of enemies in the Psalms ("In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city."
— Jeremiah 39:2 (WEB)
). The 'daughters in the field' (v.6) refer to Tyre's dependent towns on the mainland (Barnes, Cambridge Bible), which would be the first to fall. The prophecy's language, scraping dust, bare rock, nets, is deliberately stark, promising that Tyre would cease to be a thriving city and become a place for fishermen to dry their nets, a reversal of her former glory."Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, ‘Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!’"
— Psalm 35:21 (WEB)
Textual Notes
The supplied commentaries and translations (WEB, KJV, ASV, BSB, YLT, Darby, Douay-Rheims) show no significant textual variants for Ezekiel 26:1-6. The main difference is the spelling of 'Tyre' (Tyrus in some older versions). The omission of the month in verse 1 is consistent across all sources.
Reception History
Ezekiel 26:1-6 has been received as a vivid example of divine judgment against commercial pride. Early church fathers, such as Jerome in his commentary on Ezekiel, saw Tyre as a type of the world's arrogance, brought low by God. Medieval interpreters often applied its warnings to cities and nations that oppose God's people. Protestant Reformers (Calvin, Luther) highlighted the certainty of God's word: 'for I have spoken it' (v.5). Matthew Henry's eighteenth-century devotional commentary emphasizes the lesson against gloating over enemies' misfortunes. In modern scholarship, the passage is studied for its historical insight into Nebuchadnezzar's campaigns and the eventual fate of Tyre, fulfilled in part by Alexander the Great. The image of a proud city reduced to a fisherman's rock has been cited in literature and sermons as a warning against human self-sufficiency.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The sin of gloating: Tyre rejoiced over Jerusalem's fall, seeing it as a commercial opportunity. This reveals a heart that values profit over people and mocks God's purposes.
- The certainty of divine judgment: God declares 'I am against you' and brings many nations like waves. No fortress, wealth, or island location can shield the proud.
- The final result: Total desolation: walls destroyed, dust scraped away, a bare rock, a place for nets. What was once a center of commerce becomes a forgotten fishing spot.
Five-point outline
- Date and context: The prophecy comes in the eleventh year, soon after Jerusalem's fall, connecting Tyre's fate to Judah's.
- The accusation: Tyre said 'Aha!' and 'I will be filled', the sin of prideful greed and schadenfreude.
- The judgment pronounced: God will bring many nations, as the sea brings waves, a fitting image for an island city.
- The execution described: Destruction of walls and towers, scraping of dust, slaying of mainland daughters, making Tyre a bare rock for nets.
- The recognition of God: The end result is that 'they will know that I am Yahweh', judgment has a revelatory purpose.
Illustration hooks
- A business owner who celebrates a competitor's bankruptcy, only to later lose everything in a market crash. The lesson: rejoicing over another's fall invites your own.
- A coastal city battered by storms, where each wave removes a little more beach. God's judgment comes like persistent waves, not a single storm.
- An abandoned factory in a once-thriving town, now overgrown and used only occasionally by children to play. The memory of bustling industry fades to silence.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God judge people for their attitudes, not just their actions? Tyre's gloating heart is the sin.
- How can I guard against pride when I see others fail? What does it mean to mourn with those who mourn?
- Is the prophecy about Tyre still relevant today, or is it just ancient history? It shows God's character as just and his concern for the nations.
Leading a Discussion
This passage confronts us with the sin of pride and gloating over others' misfortunes. Tyre's reaction to Jerusalem's fall is shockingly self-centered. God's judgment is immediate and severe. As you discuss, consider where you see similar attitudes in yourself or your community.
Discussion questions
- What does Tyre's statement in verse 2 reveal about its values? How did Tyre view Jerusalem's role in the world?
- Why does God compare his judgment to 'the sea causing its waves to come up' (v.3)? What does that image communicate about the nature of divine judgment?
- The prophecy promises that Tyre would become 'a bare rock' and 'a place for spreading nets' (v.4-5). How does this fit with what we know of Tyre's later history, including Alexander the Great's siege?
- What is the significance of the 'eleventh year' dating in relation to Jerusalem's fall? How does that context shape the meaning of the passage?
- Verse 6 ends with 'then they will know that I am Yahweh.' What does this teach us about God's purpose in judgment? Is it only punishment, or does it have a larger goal?
- How might this passage challenge our attitudes toward competitors, rivals, or those we consider enemies? What would it look like to 'weep with those who weep' instead of celebrating their downfall?
- In what ways can wealth, security, or location (like Tyre's island fortress) become sources of pride? How does God dismantle human confidence so that he alone is known?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Jeremiah 39:2 | In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. |
| Ezekiel 1:2 | In the fifth of the month, which was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, |
| Ezekiel 8:1 | In the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, the Lord Yahweh’s hand fell on me there. |
| Ezekiel 20:1 | In the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of Yahweh, and sat before me. |
| Joshua 19:29 | The border turned to Ramah, to the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah. It ended at the sea by the region of Achzib; |
| II Samuel 5:11 | Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, with cedar trees, carpenters, and masons; and they built David a house. |
| Psalms 35:21 | Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, “Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!” |
| Psalms 40:15 | Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that tell me, “Aha! Aha!” |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
6 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights the commercial rivalry behind Tyre's glee at Jerusalem's fall. She exults not from malice but from mercantile jealousy, seeing Jerusalem as a trade competitor whose ruin will divert commerce into her own markets. The plural "peoples" underscores that Jerusalem was a central hub, and Tyre's "Aha!" is the cry of a rival who sees her rival broken.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary stresses that all prophecy rests on moral foundations, not literal predictions. Tyre’s sin was pride and rejoicing over Judah’s fall, seeing Jerusalem as a broken door that now opened trade routes. The prophet’s threats are deliberately hyperbolic, aimed at showing God’s moral rule rather than forecasting exact historical events.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights Tyre's cruel greed: when Jerusalem fell, Tyre rejoiced, seeing the broken gate as its own chance to gain wealth. But God declares this malicious joy will be punished by total destruction—scraping Tyre bare like a bare rock, fit only for fishermen's nets.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill highlights the sin of Tyre: it rejoiced over Jerusalem's fall not from malice alone but from commercial greed, expecting to profit by its rival's ruin. He notes that God's judgment was complete, reducing the once-great city to a bare rock where fishermen dry their nets, a fulfillment confirmed by later travelers.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch highlight that Tyre's sin was envying Jerusalem's spiritual influence over the nations, which they viewed as an obstacle to their own commercial ambitions. This malicious joy brought God's judgment: the many nations Tyre hoped to attract for profit would instead come as destroyers, like waves overwhelming the city.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley notes that God gave Ezekiel this prophecy immediately after Tyre gloated over Jerusalem's fall. The graphic language of scraping and sweeping, leaving not even dust, shows the destruction would be total. Tyre would be stripped bare like the rock on which it stood, with all its dependent towns laid waste.