Ezekiel 27-28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 27
The Ship Tyre. 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 You, son of man, raise a lament over Tyre, 3 and say to Tyre, who sits at the entrance to the sea, trader to peoples on many coastlands, Thus says the Lord God:
Tyre, you said, “I am a ship,
perfect in beauty”;(A)
4 In the heart of the sea was your territory;
your builders perfected your beauty.(B)
5 With juniper wood from Senir[a]
they built all your decks;
A cedar from Lebanon they took
to make you a mast.
6 With oaks of Bashan[b]
they fashioned your oars,
Your bridge, of ivory-inlaid cypress wood
from the coasts of Kittim.
7 Fine embroidered linen from Egypt
became your sail;
Your awnings were made of purple and scarlet
from the coasts of Elishah.[c](C)
8 Inhabitants of Sidon[d] and Arvad
were your oarsmen;
Your own sages, Tyre, were on board,
serving as your sailors.(D)
9 The elders and sages of Gebal
were with you to caulk your seams.
Every ship and sailor on the sea
came to you to carry on trade.(E)
10 Persia and Lud and Put
were warriors in your army;
Shield and helmet they hung on you
to enhance your splendor.
11 The men of Arvad and Helech[e]
were on your walls all around
And Gamadites on your towers;
they hung their shields around your walls,
they made your beauty perfect.
12 Tarshish traded with you,
so great was your wealth,
Exchanging for your wares
silver, iron, tin, and lead.
13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech
also traded with you,
Exchanging slaves and bronze vessels
for your merchandise.(F)
14 Horses, steeds, and mules from Beth-togarmah
were exchanged for your wares.
15 Men of Rhodes trafficked with you;
many coastlands were your agents;
Ivory tusks and ebony wood
they brought back as your payment.
16 Edom traded with you for your many wares:
garnets, purple dye, embroidered cloth,
Fine linen, coral, and rubies
they gave you as merchandise.
17 Judah and the land of Israel
trafficked with you:
Minnith wheat, grain,[f] honey, oil, and balm(G)
they gave you as merchandise.
18 Damascus traded with you for your many wares,
so great was your wealth,
exchanging Helbon wine and Zahar wool.
19 Javan exchanged wrought iron, cassia, and aromatic cane
from Uzal for your wares.
20 Dedan traded with you for riding gear.(H)
21 Arabia and the sheikhs of Kedar were your agents,
dealing in lambs, rams, and goats.(I)
22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah also traded with you,
exchanging for your wares the very best spices,
all kinds of precious stones, and gold.
23 Haran, Canneh, and Eden,
the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad,
24 Traded with you, marketing rich garments,
purple cloth, embroidered fabric,
varicolored carpets, and braided cords.
25 The ships of Tarshish sailed for you with your goods;
You were full and heavily laden
in the heart of the sea.
26 Out into deep waters
your oarsmen brought you;
The east wind shattered you
in the heart of the sea.(J)
27 Your wealth, your goods, your wares,
your sailors, your crew,
The caulkers of your seams,
those who traded for your goods,
All the warriors with you,
the whole crowd with you
Sank into the heart of the sea
on the day of your downfall.(K)
28 At the sound of your sailors’ shouts
the waves shudder,(L)
29 Down from their ships
come all who ply the oars;
Sailors, all the seafaring crew,
stand on the shore.
30 They raise their voices over you
and shout their bitter cries;
They pour dust on their heads
and cover themselves with ashes.
31 For you they shave their heads bald
and put on sackcloth;
For you they weep bitterly,
in anguished lament.(M)
32 They raise a lament for you;
they wail over you:
“Who was ever destroyed like Tyre
in the midst of the sea?”(N)
33 By exporting your goods by sea
you satisfied many peoples,
With your great wealth and merchandise
you enriched the kings of the earth.(O)
34 Now you are wrecked in the sea,
in the watery depths;
Your wares and all your crew
have fallen down with you.
35 All who dwell on the coastlands
are aghast over you;
Their kings are terrified,
their faces distorted.
36 The traders among the peoples
now hiss at you;
You have become a horror,
you shall be no more.
Chapter 28
The Prince of Tyre. 1 [g]The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God:
Because you are haughty of heart,
you say, “I am a god!
I sit on a god’s throne
in the heart of the sea!”
But you are a man, not a god;
yet you pretend
you are a god at heart!
3 Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,[h]
nothing secret is too obscure for you!(P)
4 By your wisdom and intelligence
you made yourself rich,
filling your treasuries with gold and silver.
5 Through your great wisdom in trading
you heaped up riches for yourself—
your heart is haughty because of your riches.
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Because you pretend you are a god at heart,
7 Therefore, I will bring against you
strangers, the most bloodthirsty of nations.
They shall draw their swords
against your splendid wisdom,
and violate your radiance.(Q)
8 They shall thrust you down into the pit:
you shall die a violent death
in the heart of the sea.
9 Then, face to face with your killers,
will you still say, “I am a god”?
No, you are a man, not a god,
handed over to those who slay you.
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
handed over to strangers,
for I have spoken—oracle of the Lord God.(R)
11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 Son of man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord God:
[i] You were a seal of perfection,
full of wisdom, perfect in beauty.(S)
13 In Eden, the garden of God, you lived;
precious stones of every kind were your covering:
Carnelian, topaz, and beryl,
chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, garnet, and emerald.
Their mounts and settings
were wrought in gold,
fashioned for you the day you were created.(T)
14 With a cherub I placed you;
I put you on the holy mountain of God,[j]
where you walked among fiery stones.
15 Blameless were you in your ways
from the day you were created,
Until evil was found in you.
16 Your commerce was full of lawlessness, and you sinned.
Therefore I banished you from the mountain of God;
the cherub drove you out
from among the fiery stones.(U)
17 Your heart had grown haughty
because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground,
I made you a spectacle
in the sight of kings.(V)
18 Because of the enormity of your guilt,
and the perversity of your trade,
you defiled your sanctuary.
I brought fire out of you;
it devoured you;
I made you ashes on the ground
in the eyes of all who see you.(W)
19 All the nations who knew you
are appalled on account of you;
You have become a horror,
never to be again.(X)
Against Sidon. 20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 Son of man, turn your face toward Sidon and prophesy against it. 22 Thus says the Lord God:
Watch out! I am against you, Sidon;
I will win glory for myself in your midst.
They shall know that I am the Lord,
when I deliver judgment upon it
and manifest my holiness in it.
23 I will send disease into it;
blood will fill its streets,
Within it shall fall
those slain by the sword
raised against it on every side.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
24 No longer will there be a thorn that tears
or a brier that scratches for the house of Israel
From the surrounding neighbors
who despise them;
thus they shall know that I am the Lord.(Y)
25 Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and I manifest my holiness through them in the sight of the nations, then they shall live on the land I gave my servant Jacob.(Z) 26 They shall dwell on it securely, building houses and planting vineyards. They shall dwell securely while I execute judgment on all their neighbors who treated them with contempt; then they shall know that I, the Lord, am their God.(AA)
Footnotes
- 27:5 Senir: another name for Mount Hermon; cf. Dt 3:9.
- 27:6 Bashan: an area in northern Transjordan, noted for its lush growth and great forests (cf. Is 2:13). Kittim: here, probably Cyprus.
- 27:7 Elishah: perhaps another term for Cyprus.
- 27:8–9 Sidon…Gebal: Phoenician cities in Tyre’s orbit of influence; Gebal is classical Byblos.
- 27:11 Helech: perhaps in Asia Minor; otherwise unknown.
- 27:17 Grain: most commentators have read “figs,” but Hebrew panag more properly describes milled grains or prepared meal.
- 28:1–10 Ezekiel mocks the arrogance of Tyre’s leader, who mistakes the city’s commercial success for evidence of his divinity. At the hands of a foreign army, commissioned by the only God worthy of the name, this leader dies a humiliating, unceremonious death.
- 28:3 Wiser than Daniel: see note on 14:14.
- 28:12–19 Ezekiel describes the leader of Tyre in language that recalls the imagery of Gn 2–3.
- 28:14 The holy mountain of God: the residence of gods in Israelite and non-Israelite myth; cf. Is 14:13. Fiery stones: associated with the divine presence; cf. Ez 1:13; Ps 18:13.
Ben Sira 32:14-24
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
The Providence of God
14 Whoever seeks God must accept discipline;[a]
and whoever resorts to him obtains an answer.(A)
15 Whoever seeks the law will master it,
but the hypocrite will be ensnared by it.(B)
16 Whoever fears the Lord will understand what is right,
and out of obscurity he will draw forth a course of action.(C)
17 The lawless turn aside warnings
and distort the law to suit their purpose.(D)
18 The sensible will not neglect direction;
the proud and insolent are deterred by no fear.
19 Do nothing without deliberation;
then once you have acted, have no regrets.(E)
20 Do not go on a way set with snares,
and do not stumble on the same thing twice.
21 Do not trust the road, because of bandits;
22 be careful on your paths.
23 Whatever you do, be on your guard,
for whoever does so keeps the commandments.
24 Whoever keeps the law preserves himself;
and whoever trusts in the Lord shall not be put to shame.
Footnotes
- 32:14–33:4 God is shown to reveal himself through the discipline of his law, a clear and safe plan of life for the pious. Direction and deliberation are aids in following it (32:14–16, 18–24; 33:1, 3–4). Sinners and hypocrites, hating the law or distorting it, fail in wisdom and are devoid of security (32:15b, 17, 18b; 33:2).
2 John
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
1 [a](A)The Presbyter to the chosen Lady and to her children whom I love in truth—and not only I but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth that dwells in us and will be with us forever. 3 Grace, mercy, and peace[b] will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children[c] walking in the truth just as we were commanded by the Father.(B) 5 But now, Lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing a new commandment but the one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another.(C) 6 For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments;[d] this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning, in which you should walk.(D)
7 (E)Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist.[e] 8 Look to yourselves that you[f] do not lose what we worked for but may receive a full recompense. 9 (F)Anyone who is so “progressive”[g] as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son. 10 [h]If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him in your house or even greet him;(G) 11 for whoever greets him shares in his evil works.
12 [i]Although I have much to write to you, I do not intend to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and to speak face to face so that our joy may be complete.(H) 13 The children of your chosen sister[j] send you greetings.
Footnotes
- 1 The chosen Lady: literally, “elected”; this could also be translated “Kyria (a woman’s name) chosen (by God)” or “the lady Electa” or “Electa Kyria.” The adjective “chosen” is applied to all Christians at the beginning of other New Testament letters (1 Pt 1:1; Ti 1:1). The description is of a specific community with “children” who are its members. The truth: the affirmation of Jesus in the flesh and in contrast to false teaching (2 Jn 7).
- 3 Grace, mercy, and peace: like 1 Timothy; 2 Timothy this letter adds mercy to the terms used frequently in a salutation to describe Christian blessing; it appears only here in the Johannine writings. The author also puts the blessing in relation to truth and love, the watchwords of the Johannine teaching. The Father’s Son: the title that affirms the close relationship of Christ to God; similar variations of this title occur elsewhere (Jn 1:14; 3:35), but the precise wording is not found elsewhere in the New Testament.
- 4 Some of your children: this refers to those whom the Presbyter has recently encountered, but it may also indicate the presence of false doctrine in the community: the Presbyter encourages those who have remained faithful. Walking in the truth: an expression used in the Johannine writings to describe a way of living in which the Christian faith is visibly expressed; cf. 1 Jn 1:6–7; 2:6, 11; 3 Jn 3.
- 6 His commandments: cf. 1 Jn 3:23; 2:7–8; 4:21; obedience to the commandment of faith and love includes all others.
- 7 The antichrist: see 1 Jn 2:18–19, 22; 4:3.
- 8 You (plural): it is not certain whether this means the Christians addressed or includes the Presbyter, since some of the ancient Greek manuscripts and Greek Fathers have “we.”
- 9 Anyone who is so “progressive”: literally, “Anyone who goes ahead.” Some gnostic groups held the doctrine of the Christ come in the flesh to be a first step in belief, which the more advanced and spiritual believer surpassed and abandoned in his knowledge of the spiritual Christ. The author affirms that fellowship with God may be gained only by holding to the complete doctrine of Jesus Christ (1 Jn 2:22–23; 4:2; 5:5–6).
- 10–11 At this time false teachers were considered so dangerous and divisive as to be shunned completely. From this description they seem to be wandering preachers. We see here a natural suspicion of early Christians concerning such itinerants and can envisage the problems faced by missionaries such as those mentioned in 3 Jn 10.
- 12 Our joy: a number of other Greek manuscripts read “your joy.”
- 13 Chosen sister: the community of which the Presbyter is now a part greets you (singular), the community of the Lady addressed.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.