Ezekiel 26:2–28:24

²Mortal, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem,

“Aha, broken is the gateway of the peoples;

it has swung open to me;

I shall be replenished,

now that it is wasted,”^*

³therefore, thus says the Lord God:

See, I am against you, O Tyre!

I will hurl many nations against you,

as the sea hurls its waves.^*

⁴They shall destroy the walls of Tyre

and break down its towers.

I will scrape its soil from it

and make it a bare rock.^*

⁵It shall become, in the midst of the sea,

a place for spreading nets.

I have spoken, says the Lord God.

It shall become plunder for the nations,^*

⁶and its daughter towns inland

shall be killed by the sword.

Then they shall know that I am the Lord.^*

⁷For thus says the Lord God: I will bring against Tyre from the north King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, king of kings, together with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great and powerful army.^*

⁸Your daughter towns inland

he shall put to the sword.

He shall set up a siege wall against you,

cast up a ramp against you,

and raise a roof of shields against you.^*

⁹He shall direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls

and break down your towers with his axes.^*

¹⁰His horses shall be so many

that their dust shall cover you.

At the noise of cavalry, wheels, and chariots

your very walls shall shake

when he enters your gates

like those entering a breached city.^*

¹¹With the hoofs of his horses

he shall trample all your streets.

He shall put your people to the sword,

and your strong pillars shall fall to the ground.^*

¹²They will take your riches

and plunder your merchandise;

they shall break down your walls

and destroy your fine houses.

Your stones and timber and soil

they shall cast into the water.

¹³I will silence the music of your songs;

the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more.^*

¹⁴I will make you a bare rock;

you shall be a place for spreading nets.

You shall never again be rebuilt,

for I the Lord have spoken,

says the Lord God.

¹⁵Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter goes on within you?^{* 16}Then all the princes of the sea shall step down from their thrones; they shall remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They shall clothe themselves with trembling and shall sit on the ground; they shall tremble every moment and be appalled at you.^{* 17}And they shall raise a lamentation over you and say to you:

“How you have vanished^p from the seas,

O city renowned,

once mighty on the sea,

you and your inhabitants,^q

who imposed your^r terror

on all the mainland!^s*

¹⁸Now the coastlands tremble

on the day of your fall;

the coastlands by the sea

are dismayed at your passing.”^*

¹⁹For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you, ²⁰then I will thrust you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of long ago, and I will make you live in the world below, among primeval ruins, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you will not be inhabited or have a place^t in the land of the living.^{* 21}I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more; though sought for, you will never be found again, says the Lord God.^*

Lamentation over Tyre

²⁷The word of the Lord came to me: ²Now you, mortal, raise a lamentation over Tyre,^{* 3}and say to Tyre, which sits at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands: Thus says the Lord God:

O Tyre, you have said,

“I am perfect in beauty.”^*

⁴Your borders are in the heart of the seas;

your builders made perfect your beauty.^*

⁵They made all your planks

of fir trees from Senir;

they took a cedar from Lebanon

to make a mast for you.^*

⁶From oaks of Bashan

they made your oars;

they made your deck of pines^u

from the coasts of Cyprus,

inlaid with ivory.^*

⁷Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt

was your sail,

serving as your ensign;

blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah

was your awning.

⁸The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad

were your rowers;

skilled men of Zemer^v were within you;

they were your pilots.^*

⁹The elders of Gebal and its artisans were within you,

caulking your seams;

all the ships of the sea with their sailors were within you,

to barter for your wares.^*

¹⁰Paras^w and Lud and Put

were in your army,

your mighty warriors;

they hung shield and helmet in you;

they gave you splendor.^*

¹¹Men of Arvad and Helech^x

were on your walls all around;

men of Gamad were at your towers.

They hung their quivers all around your walls;

they made perfect your beauty.^*

¹²Tarshish did business with you out of the abundance of your great wealth; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares.^{* 13}Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.^{* 14}Beth-togarmah exchanged for your wares horses, war horses, and mules.^{* 15}The Rhodians^y traded with you; many coastlands were your own special markets; they brought you in payment ivory tusks and ebony.^{* 16}Edom^z did business with you because of your abundant goods; they exchanged for your wares turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies.^{* 17}Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat from Minnith, millet,^a honey, oil, and balm.^{* 18}Damascus traded with you for your abundant goods—because of your great wealth of every kind—wine of Helbon and wool of Zahar.^{* 19}Vedan and Javan from Uzal^b entered into trade for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were bartered for your merchandise. ²⁰Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding. ²¹Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your favored dealers in lambs, rams, and goats; in these they did business with you.^{* 22}The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; they exchanged for your wares the best of all kinds of spices and all precious stones and gold.^{* 23}Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you.^{* 24}These traded with you in choice garments, in clothes of blue and embroidered work, and in carpets of colored material, bound with cords and made secure; in these they traded with you.^{c 25}The ships of Tarshish traveled for you in your trade.

So you were filled and heavily laden

in the heart of the seas.^*

²⁶Your rowers have brought you

into the high seas.

The east wind has wrecked you

in the heart of the seas.^*

²⁷Your riches, your wares, your merchandise,

your sailors and your pilots,

your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,

and all your warriors within you,

with all the company

that is with you,

sink into the heart of the seas

on the day of your ruin.^*

²⁸At the sound of the cry of your pilots

the pasturelands shake,^*

²⁹and down from their ships

come all who handle the oar.

The sailors and all the pilots of the sea

stand on the shore^*

³⁰and wail aloud over you

and cry bitterly.

They throw dust on their heads

and wallow in ashes;^*

³¹they make themselves bald for you

and put on sackcloth,

and they weep over you in bitterness of soul,

with bitter mourning.^*

³²In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you

and lament over you:

“Who was ever destroyed^d like Tyre

in the midst of the sea?^*

³³When your wares came from the seas,

you satisfied many peoples;

with your abundant wealth and merchandise

you enriched the kings of the earth.^*

³⁴Now you are wrecked by the seas,

in the depths of the waters;

your merchandise and all your crew

have sunk with you.^*

³⁵All the inhabitants of the coastlands

are appalled at you,

and their kings are horribly afraid;

their faces are convulsed.^*

³⁶The merchants among the peoples hiss at you;

you have come to a dreadful end

and shall be no more forever.”^*

Proclamation against the King of Tyre

²⁸The word of the Lord came to me: ²Mortal, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God:

Because your heart is proud

and you have said, “I am a god;

I sit in the seat of the gods,

in the heart of the seas,”

yet you are but a mortal and no god,

though you compare your mind

with the mind of a god.^*

³You are indeed wiser than Daniel;^e

no secret is hidden from you;^*

⁴by your wisdom and your understanding

you have amassed wealth for yourself

and have gathered gold and silver

into your treasuries.^*

⁵By your great wisdom in trade

you have increased your wealth,

and your heart has become proud in your wealth.^*

⁶Therefore thus says the Lord God:

Because you compare your mind

with the mind of a god,^*

⁷therefore, I will bring strangers against you,

the most terrible of the nations;

they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom

and defile your splendor.^*

⁸They shall thrust you down to the Pit,

and you shall die a violent death

in the heart of the seas.^*

⁹Will you still say, “I am a god,”

in the presence of those who kill you,

though you are but a mortal and no god,

in the hands of those who pierce you?

¹⁰You shall die the death of the uncircumcised

by the hand of foreigners,

for I have spoken, says the Lord God.^*

Lamentation over the King of Tyre

¹¹Moreover the word of the Lord came to me: ¹²Mortal, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord God:

You were the signet of perfection,^f

full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.^*

¹³You were in Eden, the garden of God;

every precious stone was your covering,

carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone,

beryl, onyx, and jasper,

sapphire,^g turquoise, and emerald;

and worked in gold were your settings

and your engravings.^h

On the day that you were created

they were prepared.^*

¹⁴You were a cherub;ⁱ

I placed you on the holy mountain of God;

you walked among the stones of fire.^*

¹⁵You were blameless in your ways

from the day that you were created,

until iniquity was found in you.^*

¹⁶In the abundance of your trade

you were filled with violence, and you sinned,

so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,

and I drove you out, O guardian cherub,

from among…