Okay, so here is a breakdown of the alleged prophecy in Ezekiel 26:
1
In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
2
"Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,'
3
These lines set of the context of the prophecy, and outline the author's complaint against Tyre.
therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves.
Alright, so here's a bit of a prediction, but a pretty trivial one. That a wealthy city would be attacked by its neighbors, in the region, at the time of writing, is a safe bet. In some respects, this did indeed come true (though "many" is a bit of a stretch) but this is sufficiently vague, obvious that we can't really treat this as a "prophecy."
4
They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock.
Okay, so here's something a bit more specific. Unfortunately, this part of the prophecy is also a clear failure. Tyre is not a bare rock. It hasn't been, at any point in its history. Its walls have been breached, and the city has been raze, once, by Alexander, but it has never been a "bare rock."
Chalk up one failure for our prophet, here.
5
Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. She will become plunder for the nations,
Well, she did become plunder for nations, though this again is kind of trivial to be considered a prophecy. The notion of a "place to spread fishnets" once again refers to this notion of the city being swept away and reduced to a "bare rock," which never happened.
6
and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
Okay, this did actually happen. Again, somewhat trivial, as this was expected for most city states at some point. Something important to note, here, though (which this line makes very clear) is that "Tyre" is the *island.* Not the mainland. Tyre was a city state, with the city proper located on the island. The "mainland settlements" need to be specified this way, because they are *not* what people meant when they said "Tyre." They were Tyre's external holdings.
[quote
7
"For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar [1] king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army.
[/quote]
Okay, so Nebuchandezzar II did attack Tyre, with a pretty big army. Again, a pretty easy prediction to make--that the local empire builder would attack a wealthy nearby city state--but sure. This did happen.
8
He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you.
9
He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons.
We don't really have the details here, but this is all basically just what you'd expect if the Babylonian army sought to conquer Tyre.
10
His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the war horses, wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through.
Here the author begins to go awry. In fact, Nebuchadnezzar did not breach the city, and did not conquer it. His army departed after accepting a tribute from Tyre.
11
The hoofs of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground.
12
They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea.
Nebuchadnezzar did not raze or sack Tyre.
13
I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more.
Another misstep by the author. If you go to Tyre, you will hear their music.
14
I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD.
Here is that same "bare rock" prophecy, again--a complete misstep compounded by the additional failed prophecy that Tyre would never be rebuilt.
15
"This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you?
When the Babylonian empire did, somewhat later, conquer Tyre, it probably did have a big impact on their coastal neighbors.
16
Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you.
Eh? Who knows...
17
Then they will take up a lament concerning you and say to you: "How you are destroyed, O city of renown, peopled by men of the sea! You were a power on the seas, you and your citizens; you put your terror on all who lived there.
18
Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the islands in the sea are terrified at your collapse.'
There's nothing resembling a fulfilled prophecy here.
19
"This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters cover you,
20
then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place [2] in the land of the living.
21
I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign LORD."
Here, the author doubles down again on this notion that Tyre would never again be inhabited--a clear mistake.
So, how'd "Ezekiel" (note that the works attributed to Ezekiel were most likely written by several different authors over the course of about a century, so it's not at all clear that this was actually written by Ezekiel at all) do?
Well, he said that Tyre would be attacked, and he got that right.
He said that Tyre would be attacked by Nebuchadnezzar, specifically, and he got that right.
He said that Tyre would be razed and sacked by Nebuchadnezzar, and he got that wrong.
He said that Tyre would be reduced to rubble, that the rubble would be swept away, leaving only bare rock, and that the city would never be rebuilt or reinhabited. He got all of that wrong.
So, when it came to the very easy, broad-strokes predictions, he was right. When it came to the important details, though, he was wrong.
That's why this is a failed prophecy.
