Bible Strands
Ezekiel 28:17
Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord speaks through the prophet Ezekiel to a ruler addressed as a guardian cherub, immediately after pronouncing expulsion from the mountain of God for violence and sin.
The words — The Hebrew גָּבָהּ (gāḇāh) translates literally as "it was haughty" or "grew proud," marking the internal condition that triggers the subsequent corruption of wisdom.
The thread — The link between pride and downfall appears in Proverbs 16:18, while the specific mechanism of pride arising from internal assets is noted in Ezekiel 28:5 and extended through the tree imagery of Ezekiel 31:10.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to identify that the corruption of wisdom precedes divine judgment, demanding a clear-eyed assessment of what fuels their own confidence.
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
King James Version
Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 28:5 By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.
- Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- Ezekiel 31:10 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,
- James 4:6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Ezekiel 28:2 “Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.
- Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Psalms 147:6 The LORD sustains the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground.
- Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.
- Ezekiel 32:10 I will cause many peoples to be appalled over you, and their kings will shudder in horror because of you when I brandish My sword before them. On the day of your downfall each of them will tremble every moment for his life.’
- Job 40:11 Unleash the fury of your wrath; look on every proud man and bring him low.