Ezekiel 26:9

He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his axes.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Ezekiel delivers this oracle to the exiled community detailing a conquering king’s systematic siege of Tyre. The description follows the immediate preparation of ramps and raised shields in the preceding verse.

The words — The Hebrew וּמְחִי (u/meChi) literally means “and the blow,” paired with קָבָלּוֹ (qaVaLo), “his battering-ram,” to specify the directed force against fortifications. The verb יִתֹּץ (yiTotz), “he will break down,” operates with בְּחַרְבוֹתָיו (beCharvotav), “with his swords/axes,” to complete the dismantling sequence.

The thread — Siege mechanics and fortified collapse recur in 2 Chronicles 26:15, which notes the construction of devices to launch projectiles from towers. The pattern of walls shaking under cavalry and chariot noise continues into Ezekiel 26:10.

Why it lands — The text records the physical destruction of defensive structures without moral commentary. A reader must confront the certainty of engineered ruin before the prophetic judgment unfolds.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וּמְחִ֣יu./me.Chiand/ [the] blow of קָֽבָלּ֔וֹka.va.L/obattering-ram/ his יִתֵּ֖ןyi.Tenhe will set בְּחֹֽמוֹתָ֑יִךְbe./cho.mo.Ta.yi/khon/ walls/ your וּמִ֨גְדְּלֹתַ֔יִךְu./Mig.de.lo.Ta.yi/khand/ towers/ your יִתֹּ֖ץyi.Totzhe will break down בְּחַרְבוֹתָֽיו׃be./char.vo.Ta/vwith/ swords/ his

King James Version

And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.

Cross-references

2 Chronicles 26:15 And in Jerusalem he made skillfully designed devices to shoot arrows and catapult large stones from the towers and corners. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was helped tremendously until he became powerful.