Ezekiel 26:14 · Bible study
Ezekiel 26:14 Commentary: Tyre's Irreversible Ruin
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
How can Tyre be 'built no more' when a later city existed? Study the prophecy's meaning, historical fulfillment, and the nature of God's judgment.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God will reduce Tyre to a barren rock, never to be rebuilt as a great city; the site becomes a place for fishermen to spread nets.
- Key words: 'bare rock' (smooth, scraped clean), 'spreading of nets' (menial fishing activity), 'built no more' (permanent desolation of that location).
- Main debate: How 'built no more' was fulfilled when a later city called Tyre existed, resolved by noting the later city was built on the mainland, not the original island site, and never regained Tyre's former power.
- Theological theme: The certainty and permanence of divine judgment against pride; God's word accomplishes exactly what it declares.
- Best use: Teaching on the reliability of prophecy, the danger of pride, and God's sovereignty over the rise and fall of nations.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread the fishing nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the LORD, have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.’
WEB World English Bible 2000
I will make you a bare rock. You will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more; for I Yahweh have spoken it,’ says the Lord Yahweh.
KJV King James Version 1769
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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
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.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And I have given thee up for a clear place of a rock, A spreading-place of nets thou art, Thou art not built up any more, For I, Jehovah, I have spoken, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
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.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And I will make thee like a naked rock, thou shalt be a drying place for nets, neither shalt thou be built any more: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y te pondré como una peña lisa: tendedero de redes serás; ni nunca más serás edificada: porque yo Jehová he hablado, dice el Señor Jehová.
E te farei como uma rocha exposta; servirás para estender redes; e nunca mais serás reconstruída; porque eu, o SENHOR falei,diz o Senhor DEUS.
Je ferai de toi un rocher nu; tu seras un lieu où l’ on étendra les filets; tu ne seras plus rebâtie. Car moi, l’ Éternel, j’ ai parlé, dit le Seigneur, l’ Éternel.
Und ich will einen bloßen Fels aus dir machen und einen Ort, darauf man Fischgarne aufspannt, daß du nicht mehr gebaut wirst; denn ich bin der HERR, der solches redet, spricht der Herr HERR.
Ja, Ik zal u maken tot een gladde steenrots; gij zult zijn tot uitspreiding der netten, gij zult niet meer gebouwd worden; want Ik, de HEERE, heb het gesproken, spreekt de Heere HEERE.
E ti ridurrò ad essere una roccia nuda; tu sarai un luogo da stendervi le reti; tu non sarai più riedificata, perché io, l’Eterno, son quegli che ho parlato, dice il Signore, l’Eterno.
I uczynię cię wierzchołkiem gładkiej skały; staniesz się miejscem ku wysuszaniu sieci, nie będziesz więcj zbudowany; bom Ja Pan powiedział, mówi panujący Pan.
И сделаю тебя голою скалою, будешь местом для расстилания сетей; не будешь вновь построен: ибо Я, Господь, сказал это, говорит Господь Бог.
我必 使你成為淨光的 磐石，作 曬 網 的地方；你不 得再 被建造，因為 這是 主 耶和華 說的。」
I will make you an uncovered rock: you will be a place for the stretching out of nets; there will be no building you up again: for I the Lord have said it, says the Lord.
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that the prophecy describes a permanent end for the original Tyre. Adam Clarke points to Maundrell's eyewitness account of a site reduced to 'Babel of broken walls' with only fishermen drying nets, a direct fulfilment of the 'bare rock' and 'spreading of nets' imagery. Gill adds that 'thou shalt be built no more' must be understood with restriction: the city would not be rebuilt on the same spot or restored to its former power. Later cities called Tyre, he notes, were built on the mainland, not on the island rock that Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander devastated. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown concur that mainland Tyre fell under Nebuchadnezzar and the insular city, though partially recovered, saw its harbours choked with sand, 'not one entire house left.' Wesley summarises that 'in propriety of speech, was another city.' The shared core is clear: God's word accomplished exactly what it said, and the visible desolation of the original site stands as a permanent sign of judgment.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal site view: The original island city was scraped clean and never rebuilt; later 'Tyre' was a different city on the mainland.
- Status view: 'Built no more' refers to Tyre never regaining its former political/commercial prominence, not the absence of any buildings whatsoever.
- Prophetic telescoping view: The prophecy covers multiple destructions (Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, later conquests) as a single divine act, fulfilled cumulatively.
What is clear: The site would become a bare rock used by fishermen, and the word of the Lord would be accomplished — a permanent and visible judgment on Tyre's pride.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Fulfillment of 'built no more' | Tyre was destroyed and the original island site was left desolate, a bare rock for fishermen. | Whether the prophecy means the physical site was never rebuilt (Gill, Clarke) or that the city never regained its former political/commercial power (Matthew Henry, Wesley). Both sides appeal to the later mainland city as a different city. |
| Primary agent of judgment | Nebuchadnezzar was the first instrument, as named in Ezekiel 26:7. | Some commentators (Clarke, JFB) see Alexander the Great's destruction as the complete fulfillment, since he scraped the city into the sea. Others (Gill) see a series of conquests (Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Antigonus, Saracens) as together fulfilling the prophecy. |
| Scope of the prophecy | The prophecy describes total ruin and is not limited to one historical event. | Whether the prophecy focuses exclusively on the island city (the 'rock' in the sea) or includes the mainland city. Gill and Kimchi note the island city was 'as the top of a rock' and never rebuilt, while the mainland city had a different history. |
| Applicability to God's character | The verse demonstrates God's sovereign word cannot fail. | Whether the primary lesson is about judgment on specific sin (pride) or about the general certainty of prophetic fulfillment. Both are present in commentaries. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Tyre was the proud commercial capital of Phoenicia, built partly on the mainland and partly on an island about half a mile offshore. Ezekiel 26 opens with Tyre gloating over Jerusalem's fall (v.2), calculating that Jerusalem's collapse would divert trade to Tyre. The Lord responds with a multi-stage judgment.
Ezekiel names Nebuchadnezzar as the first instrument (v.7), and the siege described in verses 7, 12 matches what is known of the Babylonian campaign: a land siege that destroyed the mainland city. But the prophecy also looks beyond. The 'scraping her dust into the water' (v.12) and the reduction of the site to a 'bare rock' (v.4,14) anticipate Alexander the Great's siege in 332 BC, when he used rubble from the mainland ruins to build a causeway to the island, literally scraping the old city into the sea. After that, the island city was never rebuilt in its former glory.
Later history confirms the pattern. A new city called Tyre rose on the mainland during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, visited by Paul in Acts 21:3, and described by Jerome as 'most noble and beautiful.' But the original island site remained a barren rock. By the 14th century, the Mamelukes destroyed even the mainland city. Travellers in later centuries found only broken walls and a few fishermen spreading their nets where markets and palaces had stood. This matches the prophecy's intention: the specific location that Tyre occupied, the proud island stronghold, would become a place for drying fishing nets, never again a thriving metropolis.
The cross-references reinforce the theme. Numbers 23:19 underlies 'for I Yahweh have spoken it', God's word does not fail. Job 12:14 declares that when God breaks down, no one can rebuild. The judgment on Tyre is a concrete demonstration of God's sovereign word over the proud cities of the world.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Ezekiel 26:14. The verse is consistent across Hebrew manuscripts and the ancient versions (Greek, Latin, Syriac). The main interpretive challenge is not textual but historical: reconciling the absolute 'built no more' with later cities bearing the name Tyre.
Reception History
Ancient Jewish interpreters (e.g., the Targum) read the verse as a decree of God's word that cannot be annulled. Early Christian writers saw Tyre as a type of worldly pride reduced to nothing, an example echoed in Jerome's commentary, who noted that the Tyre of his day was a beautiful city but built on the mainland, not on the devastated island. The Protestant Reformers (Geneva Bible, Matthew Henry) emphasized the literal fulfillment as evidence of the Bible's truthfulness, often citing Maundrell's travel account. Modern scholarship accepts multiple destructions (Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Saracens) as fulfilling the prophecy across centuries, with the bare rock standing as a permanent sign. The verse has been used in hymns and sermons to warn against trusting in wealth and military security.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God's judgment leaves visible evidence. The 'bare rock' and 'spreading of nets' are not abstract threats, they describe a fisherman using the ruins for an everyday task. Judgement is real and observable.
- God's word determines history. 'For I Yahweh have spoken it' (v.14) concludes the prophecy. Nothing, not Tyre's wealth, its navy, its allies, could overturn that sentence.
- Pride invites a permanent fall. Tyre said 'I shall be replenished' (v.2) over Jerusalem's ruin. The rock that was a throne became a drying rack.
Five-point outline
- The city that delighted in others' ruin. Tyre celebrated Jerusalem's fall (v.2).
- God uses multiple agents. Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander, centuries apart, served the same purpose.
- Total desolation described vividly. Scraped dust, bare rock, never rebuilt.
- The word of the Lord guarantees the outcome. Yahweh speaks; it stands.
- The site becomes a quiet memorial. Fishermen's nets, not merchant ships, occupy the place.
Illustration hooks
- A fisherman in a small boat spreading nets on a flat rock where the world's richest merchants once traded. No one argues with that evidence.
- A family visiting an ancient ruin, reading the tourist sign: 'Here stood a great city. Nothing remains.' The prophecy gave that sentence in advance.
- An abandoned factory lot, now used for local kids to play soccer. The original purpose is gone; something humble replaces it.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does 'never built again' mean God broke His promise when a later Tyre existed?
- If God judged Tyre for gloating, what does that mean for how we respond to others' suffering?
- How can I trust that God's promises about the future, both judgment and salvation, will really happen?
Leading a Discussion
Ezekiel 26:14 concludes a prophecy that stretches from Nebuchadnezzar to Alexander and beyond. Tyre was the New York of the ancient world, wealthy, confident, secure on its island. This verse forces us to ask: does God's word really determine the fate of nations and people? The small-group questions below will help your group move from the text to their own lives.
Discussion questions
- Read Ezekiel 26:2. What did Tyre assume about Jerusalem's fall? What does this tell us about pride and how we compare ourselves to others?
- The judgment includes 'you will be built no more.' Yet a city named Tyre existed in Paul's day (Acts 21:3). How do the commentators resolve this? Does it matter for understanding prophecy today?
- Why does God end the verse with 'for I Yahweh have spoken it'? How does this relate to Numbers 23:19 and Isaiah 14:27?
- Notice the progression in Ezekiel 26: from a great trading city to a bare rock where fishermen dry nets. What does this progression say about the permanence of God's judgment?
- How does God's judgment on Tyre encourage those who feel that evil is winning? What hope is there in God's sovereignty over history?
- In what ways do we, individually or as a church, rely on our own strength like Tyre relied on its wealth and geography? How does this passage call us to humility?
- This prophecy was given more than 2500 years ago and is still visible today. How does the long-term fulfillment affect your confidence in God's promises about the future?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Numbers 23:19 | God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and he won’t do it? Or has he spoken, and he won’t make it good? |
| Deuteronomy 13:16 | You shall gather all its plunder into the middle of its street, and shall burn with fire the city, with all of its plunder, to Yahweh your God. It shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again. |
| Job 12:14 | Behold, he breaks down, and it can’t be built again. He imprisons a man, and there can be no release. |
| Job 40:8 | Will you even annul my judgment? Will you condemn me, that you may be justified? |
| Isaiah 14:27 | For Yahweh of Armies has planned, and who can stop it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” |
| Ezekiel 5:13 | “‘Thus my anger will be accomplished, and I will cause my wrath toward them to rest, and I will be comforted. They will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken in my zeal, when I have accomplished my wrath on them. |
| Ezekiel 5:15 | So it will be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment, to the nations that are around you, when I execute judgments on you in anger and in wrath, and in wrathful rebukes—I, Yahweh, have spoken it— |
| Ezekiel 5:17 | I will send on you famine and evil animals, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood will pass through you. I will bring the sword on you. I, Yahweh, have spoken it.’” |
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
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke sees the prophecy fulfilled in Tyre's lasting desolation. He points to the city's ruins and the few poor fishermen who dry their nets there as visible proof that God kept His word, making the once-great city a bare rock where fishers spread their catch.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes points out that the siege of Tyre was conducted entirely by land, using shield walls and battering rams, with garrisons bearing statues of pagan gods. Yet he notes the victory was completed only when the island citadel was also subdued.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary emphasizes how the prophet's description of Tyre's destruction unfolds in vivid, step-by-step detail: the army's advance, the siege with heavy engines, the assault and capture, ending in total ruin. The city is left a joyless, naked rock in the sea, never to be rebuilt.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note emphasizes that Tyre's destruction will be total and irreversible. The city will become merely a bare rock where fishermen spread their nets, never to be rebuilt. This certainty rests entirely on God's own declaration, not on human circumstances.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill carefully qualifies the prophecy that Tyre would be built no more. He explains it was not an absolute ban on any future rebuilding, but that Tyre would never again be restored to its former glory and royal status, and that its final desolation—now uninhabited except by fishermen—fulfills God's irreversible decree.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB traces the prophecy's fulfillment across centuries, noting that Tyre recovered partly after seventy years but suffered repeated destruction under Alexander, Antigonus, and the Saracens. He concludes that harbors now choked with sand and no house remaining confirm God's word was carried out completely.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
No more - Tho' there was a city of that name built, yet it was built on the continent; and in propriety of speech, was another city.