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26 In the eleventh year, in the first of the month, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, “Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! She is broken! She who was the gateway of the peoples has been returned to me. I will be replenished, now that she is laid waste;’ therefore the Lord Yahweh says, ‘Behold, I am against you, Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. They will destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers. I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock. She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the middle of the sea; for I have spoken it,’ says the Lord Yahweh. ‘She will become plunder for the nations. Her daughters who are in the field will be slain with the sword. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.’

“For the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will bring on Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with horses, with chariots, with horsemen, and an army with many people. He will kill your daughters in the field with the sword. He will make forts against you, cast up a mound against you, and raise up the buckler against you. He will set his battering engines against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10 By reason of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, of the wagons, and of the chariots, when he enters into your gates, as men enter into a city which is broken open. 11 He will tread down all your streets with the hoofs of his horses. He will kill your people with the sword. The pillars of your strength will go down to the ground. 12 They will make a plunder of your riches, and make a prey of your merchandise. They will break down your walls, and destroy your pleasant houses. They will lay your stones, your timber, and your dust in the middle of the waters. 13 I will cause the noise of your songs to cease. The sound of your harps won’t be heard any more. 14 I will make you a bare rock. You will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more; for I Yahweh have spoken it,’ says the Lord Yahweh.

15 “The Lord Yahweh says to Tyre: ‘Won’t the islands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made within you? 16 Then all the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling. They will sit on the ground, and will tremble every moment, and be astonished at you. 17 They will take up a lamentation over you, and tell you,

“How you are destroyed,
    who were inhabited by seafaring men,
the renowned city,
    who was strong in the sea,
she and her inhabitants,
    who caused their terror to be on all who lived there!”
18 Now the islands will tremble in the day of your fall.
    Yes, the islands that are in the sea will be dismayed at your departure.’

19 “For the Lord Yahweh says: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I bring up the deep on you, and the great waters cover you; 20 then I will bring you down with those who descend into the pit, to the people of old time, and will make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, in the places that are desolate of old, with those who go down to the pit, that you be not inhabited; and I will set glory in the land of the living. 21 I will make you a terror, and you will no more have any being. Though you are sought for, yet you will never be found again,’ says the Lord Yahweh.”

Against Tyre

26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the Lord’s word came to me:

Human one, because Tyre laughed at Jerusalem:
“The gate of the peoples is broken,
    she lies open before me,
    she is destroyed, but I will succeed!”

The Lord God now proclaims:

Tyre, I’m now against you!
    Just as the sea hurls up its waves,
    I will bring many nations up against you.
When they destroy the walls of Tyre
        and throw down its towers,
    I will scrape off all its dirt
    and make it into a bare rock,
        a place for drying nets
        in the middle of the sea.
I have spoken! This is what the Lord God says.
It will become prey for the nations,
    and its towns around it
    will be put to the sword.
        Then they will know that I am the Lord.

The Lord God proclaims:
I’m bringing Nebuchadrezzar against Tyre,
    the king of Babylon from the north,
    the greatest of all kings,
    with horses, chariots, and charioteers,
    an assembly, a great army.
The towns around you he will destroy with the sword.
    Then he will build towers against you,
    erect siege ramps against you,
        and set up shields.
He will pound his battering ram against your walls;
    with crowbars he will tear down your towers.
10 The dust from all his horses will cover you
    when he enters your gates
    as one who enters a breached city.
        Your walls will quake
        at the thundering of the charioteers and chariot wheels.
11 His horses’ hooves will trample all your courtyards;
    he will cut down your people with the sword,
        and the monuments to your strength he will bring down[a] to the ground.
12 They will destroy your wealth, plunder your goods,
    tear down your walls, and raze your fine houses.
    Your stone, lumber, and rubble they will dump into the sea.

13 I will bring an end to your cacophonous songs;
    the sound of your lyres will never be heard again.
14 I will make you into a bare rock, a place for drying nets,
    and you will never be rebuilt.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
    This is what the Lord God says.

A lament for Tyre

15 The Lord God proclaims to Tyre: Won’t the coastlands quake at the news of your downfall, when the wounded groan, and when the slaughter in your midst goes on and on? 16 All the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones, remove their royal robes, and strip off their fine garments. They will be clothed only in terror as they sit on the ground. They will be so terrified, they won’t stop shuddering because of you. 17 They will sing a lament for you, and they will say:

How you have perished, queen of the sea,
    city once praised,
    who once dominated the sea,
she and her rulers,
who spread their terror abroad,
    every one of them.
18 Now the wastelands tremble on the day of your fall.
    Your expulsion horrifies the islands of the sea.

19 The Lord God proclaims: When I turn you into ruins like uninhabitable cities, when the deep sea washes over you and the raging seas cover you, 20 I will lead you down into the pit, to the everlasting people. I will install you in the world below,[b] in the everlasting ruins, with those who go down to the pit. And so you will neither rule nor radiate splendor in the land of the living. 21 I will terrify you, and you will disappear. You will be sought but never found again. This is what the Lord God says.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 26:11 LXX; MT it will fall
  2. Ezekiel 26:20 Or the land of the lowest places