Ezekiel 26–27

Prophecy Against Tyre

26It was the eleventh year of our captivity, on the first day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: ²“Human, the city of Tyre has spoken against Jerusalem: ‘The city that traded with the nations is destroyed. Now we can be the trading center. Since the city of Jerusalem is ruined, we can make money.’ ³So this is what the Lord God says: I am against you, Tyre. I will bring many nations against you, like the sea beating its waves on your island shores. ⁴They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers. I will also scrape away her ruins and make her a bare rock. ⁵Tyre will be an island where fishermen dry their nets. I have spoken, says the Lord God. The nations will steal treasures from Tyre. ⁶Also, her villages on the shore across from the island will be destroyed by war. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Nebuchadnezzar to Attack Tyre

⁷“This is what the Lord God says: I will bring a king from the north against Tyre. He is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the greatest king, with his horses, chariots, horsemen, and a great army. ⁸He will fight a battle and destroy your villages on the shore across from the island. He will set up devices to attack you. He will build a road of earth to the top of the walls. He will raise his shields against you. ⁹He will bring logs to pound through your city walls, and he will break down your towers with his iron bars. ¹⁰His horses will be so many that they will cover you with their dust. Your walls will shake at the noise of horsemen, wagons, and chariots. The king of Babylon will enter your city gates as men enter a city where the walls are broken through. ¹¹The hoofs of his horses will run over your streets. He will kill your army with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall down to the ground. ¹²Also, his men will take away your riches and will steal the things you sell. They will break down your walls and destroy your nice houses. They will throw your stones, wood, and trash into the sea. ¹³So I will stop your songs; the music of your harps will not be heard anymore. ¹⁴I will make you a bare rock, and you will be a place for drying fishing nets. You will not be built again, because I, the Lord, have spoken, says the Lord God.

¹⁵“This is what the Lord God says to Tyre: The people who live along the seacoast will shake with fear when they hear about your defeat. Those of you who are injured and dying will groan. ¹⁶Then all the leaders of the seacoast will get down from their thrones, take off their beautiful needlework clothes, and show how afraid they are. They will sit on the ground and tremble all the time. When they see you, they will be shocked. ¹⁷They will begin singing a funeral song about you and will say to you:

‘Tyre, you famous city, you have been destroyed!

You have lost your sea power!

You and your people

had great power on the seas.

You made everyone around you

afraid of you.

¹⁸Now the people who live by the coast tremble,

now that you have fallen.

The islands of the sea

are afraid because you have been defeated.’

¹⁹“This is what the Lord God says: I will make you an empty city, like cities that have no people living in them. I will bring the deep ocean waters over you, and the Mediterranean Sea will cover you. ²⁰At that time I will send you down to the place of the dead to join those who died long ago. I will make you live with the dead below the earth in places that are like old ruins. You will not come back from there or have any place in the world of the living again. ²¹Other people will be afraid of what happened to you, and it will be the end of you. People will look for you, but they will never find you again, says the Lord God.”

A Funeral Song for Tyre

27The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: ²“Human, sing a funeral song for the city of Tyre. ³Speak to Tyre, which has ports for the Mediterranean Sea and is a place for trade for the people of many lands along the seacoast. ‘This is what the Lord God says:

Tyre, you have said,

“I am like a beautiful ship.”

⁴You were at home on the high seas.

Your builders made your beauty perfect.

⁵They made all your boards

of fir trees from Mount Hermon.

They took a cedar tree from Lebanon

to make a ship’s mast for you.

⁶They made your oars

from oak trees from Bashan.

They made your deck

from cypress trees from the coast of Cyprus

and set ivory into it.

⁷Your sail of linen with designs sewed on it came from Egypt

and became like a flag for you.

Your cloth shades over the deck were blue and purple

and came from the island of Cyprus.

⁸Men from Sidon and Arvad used oars to row you.

Tyre, your skilled men were the sailors on your deck.

⁹Workers of Byblos were with you,

putting caulk ⁿ in your ship’s seams.

All the ships of the sea and their sailors

came alongside to trade with you.

¹⁰“ ‘Men of Persia, Lydia, and Put

were warriors in your navy

and hung their shields and helmets on your sides.

They made you look beautiful.

¹¹Men of Arvad and Cilicia

guarded your city walls all around.

Men of Gammad

were in your watchtowers

and hung their shields around your walls.

They made your beauty perfect.

¹²“ ‘People of Tarshish became traders for you because of your great wealth. They traded your goods for silver, iron, tin, and lead.

¹³“ ‘People of Greece, Tubal, and Meshech became merchants for you. They traded your goods for slaves and items of bronze.

¹⁴“ ‘People of Beth Togarmah traded your goods for work horses, war horses, and mules.

¹⁵“ ‘People of Rhodes became merchants for you, selling your goods on many coastlands. They brought back ivory tusks and valuable black wood as your payment.

¹⁶“ ‘People of Aram became traders for you, because you had so many good things to sell. They traded your goods for turquoise, purple cloth, cloth with designs sewed on, fine linen, coral, and rubies.

¹⁷“ ‘People of Judah and Israel became merchants for you. They traded your goods for wheat from Minnith, and for honey, olive oil, and balm.

^18–19“ ‘People of Damascus became traders for you because you have many good things and great wealth. They traded your goods for wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar, and barrels of wine from Izal. They received wrought iron, cassia, and sugar cane in payment for your good things.

²⁰“ ‘People of Dedan became merchants for you, trading saddle blankets for riding.

²¹“ ‘People of Arabia and all the rulers of Kedar became traders for you. They received lambs, male sheep, and goats in payment for you.

²²“ ‘The merchants of Sheba and Raamah became merchants for you. They traded your goods for all the best spices, valuable gems, and gold.

²³“ ‘People of Haran, Canneh, Eden, and the traders of Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad became merchants for you. ²⁴They were paid with the best clothes, blue cloth, cloth with designs sewed on, carpets of many colors, and tightly wound ropes.

²⁵“ ‘Trading ships

carried the things you sold.

You were like a ship full of heavy cargo

in the middle of the sea.

²⁶The men who rowed you

brought you out into the high seas,

but the east wind broke you to pieces

in the middle of the sea.

²⁷Your wealth, your trade, your goods,

your seamen, your sailors, your workers,

your traders, your warriors,

and everyone else on board

sank into the sea

on the day your ship was wrecked.

²⁸The people on the shore shake with fear

when your sailors cry out.

²⁹All the men who row

leave their ships;

the seamen and the sailors of other ships

stand on the shore.

³⁰They cry loudly about you;

they cry very much.

They throw dust on their heads

and roll in ashes to show they are sad.

³¹They shave their heads for you,

and they put on rough cloth to show they are upset.

They cry and sob for you;

they cry loudly.

³²And in their loud crying

they sing a funeral song for you:

“No one was ever destroyed like Tyre,

surrounded by the sea.”

³³When the goods you traded went out over the seas,

you met the needs of many nations.

With your great wealth and goods,

you made kings of the earth rich.

³⁴But now you are broken by the sea

and have sunk to the bottom.

Your goods and all the people on board

have gone down with you.

³⁵All those who live along the shore

are shocked by what happened to you.

Their kings are terribly afraid,

and their faces show their fear.

³⁶The traders among the nations hiss at you.

You have come to a terrible end,

and you are gone forever.’ ”