Ezekiel 26:14

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.

And I will make {H5414} thee like the top {H6706} of a rock {H5553}: thou shalt be a place to spread {H4894} nets {H2764} upon {H4894}; thou shalt be built {H1129} no more: for I the LORD {H3068} have spoken {H1696} it, saith {H5002} the Lord {H136} GOD {H3069}.

I will reduce you to bare rock, you will be a place for drying fish nets, you will never be built again, for I, ADONAI, have spoken,' says Adonai ELOHIM."

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.’

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.

Ezekiel 26:14 is part of a series of prophecies delivered by the prophet Ezekiel against the powerful Phoenician city of Tyre. This specific verse pronounces a definitive and irreversible judgment against the once-mighty maritime hub.

Context

The prophecy against Tyre, beginning in Ezekiel 26:1, was given because Tyre rejoiced at the destruction of Jerusalem, seeing it as an opportunity to gain more trade. Tyre was renowned for its wealth, strategic location, and perceived invincibility, built on an island off the coast. Ezekiel's prophecies detail how God would bring many nations against it, culminating in its utter desolation. While Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged mainland Tyre for 13 years, the ultimate fulfillment of Tyre being made "like the top of a rock" and "built no more" is widely attributed to Alexander the Great's siege in 332 BC, when he used the rubble of the old city to build a causeway to the island city, effectively scraping it clean and rendering it desolate.

Key Themes

  • Divine Judgment and Sovereignty: This verse powerfully demonstrates God's absolute sovereignty over nations and their destinies. Tyre's pride and indifference to God's people brought about its downfall, showing that no earthly power is beyond divine reckoning.
  • Irreversible Desolation: The phrases "like the top of a rock" and "built no more" emphasize the permanent and complete nature of Tyre's destruction. It would not merely be conquered but utterly laid waste, becoming a barren, exposed place.
  • Humiliation of Pride: A city known for its vast trade and opulent wealth would be reduced to a mere drying ground for fishermen's nets, a stark symbol of its complete loss of glory and status.
  • Fulfillment of Prophecy: Ezekiel's detailed predictions against Tyre are a profound testament to the certainty of God's word and His ability to declare future events with precision.

Linguistic Insights

The Hebrew phrase translated "like the top of a rock" (כְּצִי הַסֶּלַע, ketsi hasselaʻ) conveys a sense of barrenness and exposure, a place stripped bare of its former structures. The imagery of "to spread nets upon" (מִשְׁטַח חֲרָמִים, mishtach charamim) vividly contrasts Tyre's former bustling harbors with its future as a desolate, open space suitable only for drying fishing nets. The declaration "thou shalt be built no more" (לֹא תִבָּנֶה עוֹד, lo tîbāneh ʻôd) is a categorical and final pronouncement of permanent ruin, sealed by the emphatic "for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD."

Practical Application

Ezekiel 26:14 serves as a powerful reminder for all generations:

  • Beware of Pride: The downfall of Tyre illustrates the danger of national and individual pride, especially when it leads to arrogance against God or His people.
  • God's Unchanging Word: The historical fulfillment of this prophecy reinforces the reliability and authority of God's Word. What God declares, He will bring to pass.
  • Temporal vs. Eternal: The verse highlights the transient nature of earthly power, wealth, and glory compared to the enduring truth and power of God. Our ultimate trust should be in Him, not in fleeting worldly achievements.
Note: Commentary was generated by an advanced AI, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

  • Job 12:14

    Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

  • Malachi 1:4

    Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.

  • Deuteronomy 13:16

    And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.

  • Ezekiel 26:4

    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.

  • Ezekiel 26:5

    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.

  • Isaiah 14:27

    For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul [it]? and his hand [is] stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

  • Numbers 23:19

    God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

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