Ezekiel 28:2
Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Study Note
Study Note
The oracle against the prince of Tyre — 'your heart is proud, and you have said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas' — is the most sustained prophetic analysis of the sin of hubris in the Hebrew Bible. The prince's self-deification is presented as the logical end of successful wisdom applied exclusively to commercial enrichment (verses 3-5) without acknowledgment of the source or limits of that wisdom. The passage has generated centuries of interpretation identifying the prince of Tyre with Satan (as in the parallel oracle of 28:12-19), reading the fall from the garden of Eden as a second layer of meaning. The verse articulates the prophetic tradition's diagnosis of empire: economic success produces the idolatry of self-sufficiency that inevitably precedes catastrophic divine judgment.
Other Translations
Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art man, and not God, though thou didst set thy heart as the heart of God;—
`Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because thy heart hath been high, And thou dost say: A god I <FI>am<Fi> , The habitation of God I have inhabited, In the heart of the seas, And thou <FI>art<Fi> man, and not God, And thou givest out thy heart as the heart of God,
Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, This is what the Lord has said: Because your heart has been lifted up, and you have said, I am a god, I am seated on the seat of God in the heart of the seas; but you are man and not God, though you have made your heart as the heart of God:
Cross References
Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch …
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars …
For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon …
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed …
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet …
And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten …
And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his …
Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I …