Albert Barnes Commentary Ezekiel 28:1-10

"The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying, 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;- behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is hidden from thee; by thy wisdom and by thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures; by thy great wisdom [and] by thy traffic hast thou increased thy riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of thy riches;- therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast set thy heart as the heart of God, therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit; and thou shalt die the death of them that are slain, in the heart of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou art man, and not God, in the hand of him that woundeth thee. Thou shalt die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah." — Ezekiel 28:1-10 (ASV)

The prophecy against the prince of Tyre. Throughout the east, the majesty and glory of a people were concentrated in the person of their monarch, who in some nations was worshipped as a god.

The prince here is the embodiment of the community. Their glory is his glory; their pride, his pride.

The doom of Tyre could not be complete without denunciation of the prince of Tyre. Idolatrous nations and idolatrous kings were, in the eyes of the prophet, antagonists to the true God. In them was embodied the principle of evil opposing itself to the divine government of the world.

Therefore, some of the fathers saw on the throne not simply a hostile monarch, but the Prince of this world, spiritual wickedness (or wicked spirits) in high places. Whenever evil in any way domineers over good, there is a prince of Tyrus, against whom God utters His voice. The mystery of iniquity is always working, and in that working we recognize the power of Satan, whom God condemns and will destroy.

You have said, I am a god (Ezekiel 28:2) - Compare Ezekiel 29:3; Daniel 4:30; Acts 12:22; 2 Thessalonians 2:4.

I sit in the seat of God - These are words denoting the speaker’s pride; but the situation of the island-city, full of beauty, in the midst of the blue water of the Mediterranean, gives force to the expression. Compare the words describing the lot of Tyre as having been in Eden (Ezekiel 28:13).

You are a man - Rather, you are man.

You are wiser than Daniel (Ezekiel 28:3) - The passage is one of strong irony. Compare Ezekiel 14:14; Daniel 6:3.

But you shall be a man (Ezekiel 28:9) - Rather, yet are you man.

The uncircumcised (Ezekiel 28:10) - The pagan idolaters as opposed to the covenant-people.