And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.

EZEKIEL 26:12KJV
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Ezekiel 26:12 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 26:12 mean?

Ezekiel 26:12 describes the devastation that God announces against Tyre, a wealthy trading city. Its attackers will take its wealth and goods, tear down its defenses and homes, and throw the remains into the water.

God speaks through Ezekiel, addressing Tyre as “thy.” The image of stones, timber, and dust entering the water pictures the city’s buildings being reduced to rubble and swept away from their place on the shore.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 26:12

  • “make a spoil” — שָׁלַל (shalal): This means to plunder or take goods by force. Here, it depicts Tyre’s wealth passing into the hands of its attackers.
  • “pleasant” — חֶמְדָּה (ḥemdah): This word carries the sense of something desirable or precious. It suggests that the houses were valued possessions, not merely shelter.

Why Ezekiel 26:12 matters

  • Tyre’s trade is central to what is taken. The word “merchandise” points to goods the city depended on for commerce, alongside its accumulated “riches.”
  • The damage reaches from the city’s defenses to private homes. The mention of both “walls” and “pleasant houses” shows that the destruction extends beyond military targets.
  • The water image fits Tyre’s coastal setting. The city had a prominent island settlement, so the sea was part of its physical setting as well as its trading life.

Where else these words appear

“merchandise” Hebrew H7404 · used in 4 verses

  • Ezekiel 28:5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
  • Ezekiel 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
  • Ezekiel 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

“spoil” Hebrew H7997 · used in 12 verses

  • Ruth 2:16 And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.
  • Isaiah 59:15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
  • Ezekiel 38:13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

“pleasant” Hebrew H2532 · used in 25 verses

  • Genesis 27:15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
  • Isaiah 2:16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
  • Daniel 11:8 And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.

“prey” Hebrew H962 · used in 39 verses

  • Genesis 34:27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
  • 2 Kings 7:16 And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
  • Isaiah 33:23 Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey.