On February 3, during the twelfth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: ²“Son of man, Tyre has rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Ha! She who was the gateway to the rich trade routes to the east has been broken, and I am the heir! Because she has been made desolate, I will become wealthy!’

³“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am your enemy, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the waves of the sea crashing against your shoreline. ⁴They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down its towers. I will scrape away its soil and make it a bare rock! ⁵It will be just a rock in the sea, a place for fishermen to spread their nets, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign Lord. Tyre will become the prey of many nations, ⁶and its mainland villages will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

⁷“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I will bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against Tyre. He is king of kings and brings his horses, chariots, charioteers, and great army. ⁸First he will destroy your mainland villages. Then he will attack you by building a siege wall, constructing a ramp, and raising a roof of shields against you. ⁹He will pound your walls with battering rams and demolish your towers with sledgehammers. ¹⁰The hooves of his horses will choke the city with dust, and the noise of the charioteers and chariot wheels will shake your walls as they storm through your broken gates. ¹¹His horsemen will trample through every street in the city. They will butcher your people, and your strong pillars will topple.

¹²“They will plunder all your riches and merchandise and break down your walls. They will destroy your lovely homes and dump your stones and timbers and even your dust into the sea. ¹³I will stop the music of your songs. No more will the sound of harps be heard among your people. ¹⁴I will make your island a bare rock, a place for fishermen to spread their nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken. Yes, the Sovereign Lord has spoken!

The Effect of Tyre’s Destruction

¹⁵“This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: The whole coastline will tremble at the sound of your fall, as the screams of the wounded echo in the continuing slaughter. ¹⁶All the seaport rulers will step down from their thrones and take off their royal robes and beautiful clothing. They will sit on the ground trembling with horror at your destruction. ¹⁷Then they will wail for you, singing this funeral song:

“O famous island city,

once ruler of the sea,

how you have been destroyed!

Your people, with their naval power,

once spread fear around the world.

¹⁸Now the coastlands tremble at your fall.

The islands are dismayed as you disappear.

¹⁹“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will make Tyre an uninhabited ruin, like many others. I will bury you beneath the terrible waves of enemy attack. Great seas will swallow you. ²⁰I will send you to the pit to join those who descended there long ago. Your city will lie in ruins, buried beneath the earth, like those in the pit who have entered the world of the dead. You will have no place of respect here in the land of the living. ²¹I will bring you to a terrible end, and you will exist no more. You will be looked for, but you will never again be found. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

Chapter 27 The End of Tyre’s Glory

Then this message came to me from the Lord: ²“Son of man, sing a funeral song for Tyre, ³that mighty gateway to the sea, the trading center of the world. Give Tyre this message from the Sovereign Lord:

“You boasted, O Tyre,

‘My beauty is perfect!’

⁴You extended your boundaries into the sea.

Your builders made your beauty perfect.

⁵You were like a great ship

built of the finest cypress from Senir.

They took a cedar from Lebanon

to make a mast for you.

⁶They carved your oars

from the oaks of Bashan.

Your deck of pine from the coasts of Cyprus

was inlaid with ivory.

⁷Your sails were made of Egypt’s finest linen,

and they flew as a banner above you.

You stood beneath blue and purple awnings

made bright with dyes from the coasts of Elishah.

⁸Your oarsmen came from Sidon and Arvad;

your helmsmen were skilled men from Tyre itself.

⁹Wise old craftsmen from Gebal did the caulking.

Ships from every land came with goods to barter for your trade.

¹⁰“Men from distant Persia, Lydia, and Libya served in your great army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls, giving you great honor. ¹¹Men from Arvad and Helech stood on your walls. Your towers were manned by men from Gammad. Their shields hung on your walls, completing your beauty.

¹²“Tarshish sent merchants to buy your wares in exchange for silver, iron, tin, and lead. ¹³Merchants from Greece, Tubal, and Meshech brought slaves and articles of bronze to trade with you.

¹⁴“From Beth-togarmah came riding horses, chariot horses, and mules, all in exchange for your goods. ¹⁵Merchants came to you from Dedan. Numerous coastlands were your captive markets; they brought payment in ivory tusks and ebony wood.

¹⁶“Syria sent merchants to buy your rich variety of goods. They traded turquoise, purple dyes, embroidery, fine linen, and jewelry of coral and rubies. ¹⁷Judah and Israel traded for your wares, offering wheat from Minnith, figs, honey, olive oil, and balm.

¹⁸“Damascus sent merchants to buy your rich variety of goods, bringing wine from Helbon and white wool from Zahar. ¹⁹Greeks from Uzal came to trade for your merchandise. Wrought iron, cassia, and fragrant calamus were bartered for your wares.

²⁰“Dedan sent merchants to trade their expensive saddle blankets with you. ²¹The Arabians and the princes of Kedar sent merchants to trade lambs and rams and male goats in exchange for your goods. ²²The merchants of Sheba and Raamah came with all kinds of spices, jewels, and gold in exchange for your wares.

²³“Haran, Canneh, Eden, Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad came with their merchandise, too. ²⁴They brought choice fabrics to trade—blue cloth, embroidery, and multicolored carpets rolled up and bound with cords. ²⁵The ships of Tarshish were your ocean caravans. Your island warehouse was filled to the brim!

The Destruction of Tyre

²⁶“But look! Your oarsmen

have taken you into stormy seas!

A mighty eastern gale

has wrecked you in the heart of the sea!

²⁷Everything is lost—

your riches and wares,

your sailors and pilots,

your ship builders, merchants, and warriors.

On the day of your ruin,

everyone on board sinks into the depths of the sea.

²⁸Your cities by the sea tremble

as your pilots cry out in terror.

²⁹All the oarsmen abandon their ships;

the sailors and pilots stand on the shore.

³⁰They cry aloud over you

and weep bitterly.

They throw dust on their heads

and roll in ashes.

³¹They shave their heads in grief for you

and dress themselves in burlap.

They weep for you with bitter anguish

and deep mourning.

³²As they wail and mourn over you,

they sing this sad funeral song:

‘Was there ever such a city as Tyre,

now silent at the bottom of the sea?

³³The merchandise you traded

satisfied the desires of many nations.

Kings at the ends of the earth

were enriched by your trade.

³⁴Now you are a wrecked ship,

broken at the bottom of the sea.

All your merchandise and crew

have gone down with you.

³⁵All who live along the coastlands

are appalled at your terrible fate.

Their kings are filled with horror

and look on with twisted faces.

³⁶The merchants among the nations

shake their heads at the sight of you,

for you have come to a horrible end

and will exist no more.’ ”

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