_Say to the prince of Tyrus_ The name of this prince was Ithobalus, according to the Phenician annals. _Because thy heart is lifted up _ In pride and self-conceit; _and thou hast said_ Namely, in thy heart; _I am a god_ I am like a god. _I sit in the seat of God_ Inaccessible by mortals. _In the mid... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel_ In thy own conceit. The fame of Daniel's wisdom was quickly spread over Chaldea, upon his being advanced to several posts of honour and dignity by Nebuchadnezzar. See Daniel 2:8. So here the prophet in an ironical manner upbraids the vain boasts which the prince... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wilt thou yet say_ Or, _Wilt thou then say, before him that slayeth thee, I am God_ Nothing can be more finely expressed than this: the prince of Tyrus thought himself, as a god, as invincible, as secure from all harm; God therefore, by his prophet, asks him here if he would have these proud though... [ Continue Reading ]
_Take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus_ See Ezekiel 27:32. _Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom_, &c. In thine own opinion thou art the perfect pattern of wisdom and all other excellences; thou possessest them in full measure, they are thine by an unalienable tenure, sealed up safely amon... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries_ Thy throne, palace, judgment-seats. The word מקדשׁ, generally rendered _sanctuary_, sometimes signifies a _palace_, in which sense it probably ought to be taken Amos 7:13, where our translation renders it _the king's chapel._ Thus Bishop Patrick understands it, Ex... [ Continue Reading ]
_Set thy face against Zidon_ Direct thy face and thy speech toward Zidon, and fore-tel its destruction by the king of Babylon. Tyre and Zidon were neighbouring cities, and generally partakers of the same prosperity or adversity. We have, indeed, no history that informs us of the particulars of what... [ Continue Reading ]
_There shall be no more a pricking brier_ There shall no more be any nation that shall injure, and be a vexation to the house of Israel; for all their troublesome neighbours, who had been as so many thorns in their sides, shall be destroyed or repressed, and in consequence thereof they shall dwell q... [ Continue Reading ]