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Word against Tyre

26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, Tyre has said this about Jerusalem, ‘O, the gate to the nations is broken. It has opened to me. I will do well, now that she is laid waste.’ So the Lord God says, ‘I am against you, O Tyre. And I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. Then I will clean away what is left from her and make her nothing but rock. She will be a place to spread fish nets out in the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God. ‘The nations will take her riches. And her villages on the land across the sea from her will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

For the Lord God says, “I will bring Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north. He will come with horses, war-wagons, horsemen, and a large army. And he will kill with the sword those in your villages. He will build battle-walls around you. He will build up earth so they can go over your walls. He will build walls and make battle-coverings around you. He will roll down large objects to knock down your walls, and will break down your towers with axes. 10 There will be so many horses that you will be covered by their dust. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wheels and war-wagons, when he comes through your gates as men come into a city that has been broken open. 11 The feet of his horses will run all over your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. 12 They will take your riches and good things as prizes of war. They will break down your walls and destroy your beautiful houses. And they will throw your stones and wood into the sea. 13 I will put an end to the music of your songs. And the sound of your harps will be heard no more. 14 I will make you nothing but rock. You will be a place for nets to be spread. You will never be built again, for I the Lord have spoken,” says the Lord God.

15 The Lord God says to Tyre, “Will not the lands beside the sea shake at the sound of your fall, when those who have been hurt cry in pain, when your people are killed? 16 Then all the leaders of the sea will step down from their thrones and take off their beautiful clothing. They will clothe themselves with fear. They will sit on the ground and not be able to stop shaking, full of fear and wonder because of you. 17 They will cry in sorrow for you and say, ‘How you have been destroyed from the seas, O well-known city where many people once lived! You were powerful on the sea. You and all your people who lived here were filled with fear. 18 Now the islands shake in fear on the day of your fall. Yes, the lands which are by the sea are afraid because of how you are destroyed.’” 19 The Lord God says, “I will lay waste your city and make you like a destroyed city where no one lives. I will bring up the deep sea over you, and the many waters will cover you. 20 Then I will send you down with those who go down to the grave, to the people of long ago. I will make you stay in the lower parts of the earth, like in waste places of long ago, with those who go down to the grave. So you will not have people living in you, and you will not have a place in the land of the living. 21 I will fill you with fear and destroy you. People will look for you, but you will never be found again,” says the Lord God.

Prophecy Against Tyre

26 (A)In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: (B)“Son of man, because (C)Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, (D)‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ therefore thus says the Lord God: (E)Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up (F)many nations against you, (G)as the sea brings up its waves. They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and (H)make her a bare rock. She (I)shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, (J)for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. And she shall become plunder for the nations, and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. (K)Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“For thus says the Lord God: (L)Behold, I will bring against Tyre (M)from the north Nebuchadnezzar[a] king of Babylon, (N)king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. He will kill with the sword (O)your daughters on the mainland. (P)He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise (Q)a roof of shields against you. (R)He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10 His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached. 11 With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. 12 They will plunder (S)your riches and loot (T)your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and (U)soil they will cast into the midst of the waters. 13 (V)And I will stop the music of your songs, and (W)the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. 14 (X)I will make you a bare rock. (Y)You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, (Z)for I am the Lord; I have spoken, declares the Lord God.

15 “Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Will not (AA)the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, (AB)when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst? 16 Then all (AC)the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and (AD)remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; (AE)they will sit on the ground and (AF)tremble every moment and (AG)be appalled at you. 17 And they will (AH)raise a lamentation over you and say to you,

“‘How you have perished,
    you who were inhabited from the seas,
O city renowned,
    (AI)who was mighty on the sea;
she and her inhabitants (AJ)imposed their terror
    on all her inhabitants!
18 Now the coastlands tremble
    on the day of your fall,
and the coastlands that are on the sea
    are dismayed at your passing.’

19 “For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, (AK)when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, 20 then (AL)I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, (AM)with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty (AN)in the land of the living. 21 I will bring you (AO)to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. (AP)Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord God.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 26:7 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar; so throughout Ezekiel

A Prophecy Against Tyre

26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month,[a] the Lord’s message came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre[b] has said about Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will become rich,[c] now that she[d] has been destroyed,’ therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look,[e] I am against you,[f] O Tyre! I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will scrape her soil[g] from her and make her a bare rock. She will be a place where fishing nets are spread, surrounded by the sea. For I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, and her daughters[h] who are in the field will be slaughtered by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take note that[i] I am about to bring King Nebuchadrezzar[j] of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north, with horses, chariots, and horsemen, an army and hordes of people. He will kill your daughters in the field with the sword. He will build a siege wall against you, erect a siege ramp against you, and raise a great shield against you. He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his weapons.[k] 10 He will cover you with the dust kicked up by his many horses.[l] Your walls will shake from the noise of the horsemen, wheels, and chariots when he enters your gates like those who invade through a city’s broken walls.[m] 11 With his horses’ hooves he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will tumble down to the ground. 12 They will steal your wealth and loot your merchandise. They will tear down your walls and destroy your luxurious[n] homes. Your stones, your trees, and your soil he will throw[o] into the water.[p] 13 I will silence[q] the noise of your songs; the sound of your harps will be heard no more. 14 I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place where fishing nets are spread. You will never be built again,[r] for I, the Lord, have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.

15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Oh, how the coastlands will shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan at the massive slaughter in your midst! 16 All the princes of the sea will vacate[s] their thrones. They will remove their robes and strip off their embroidered clothes; they will clothe themselves with trembling. They will sit on the ground; they will tremble continually and be shocked at what has happened to you.[t] 17 They will sing this lament over you:[u]

“‘How you have perished—you have vanished[v] from the seas,
O renowned city, once mighty in the sea,
she and her inhabitants, who spread their terror![w]
18 Now the coastlands will tremble on the day of your fall;
the coastlands by the sea will be terrified by your passing.’[x]

19 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you desolate like the uninhabited cities, when I bring up the deep over you and the surging[y] waters overwhelm you, 20 then I will bring you down to bygone people,[z] to be with those who descend to the Pit. I will make you live in the lower parts of the earth among[aa] the primeval ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will not be inhabited or stand[ab] in the land of the living. 21 I will bring terrors on you, and you will be no more! Though you are sought after, you will never be found again, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 26:1 tc Date formulae typically include the month. According to D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 2:34, n. 27) some emend to “in the twelfth year in the eleventh month,” relying partially on the copy of the LXX from Alexandrinus, where Albright suggested that “eleventh month” may have dropped out due to haplography.sn April 23, 587 b.c.
  2. Ezekiel 26:2 sn Tyre was located on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel.
  3. Ezekiel 26:2 tn Heb “I will be filled.”
  4. Ezekiel 26:2 sn That is, Jerusalem.
  5. Ezekiel 26:3 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.
  6. Ezekiel 26:3 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘hinnenî ’êlékâ’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
  7. Ezekiel 26:4 tn Or “debris.”
  8. Ezekiel 26:6 sn That is, the towns located inland that were under Tyre’s rule.
  9. Ezekiel 26:7 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something.
  10. Ezekiel 26:7 tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-uṣur has an an “r” rather than an “n.”
  11. Ezekiel 26:9 tn Heb “swords.”
  12. Ezekiel 26:10 tn Heb “From the abundance of his horses he will cover you (with) their dust.”
  13. Ezekiel 26:10 tn Heb “like those who enter a breached city.”
  14. Ezekiel 26:12 tn Heb “desirable.”
  15. Ezekiel 26:12 tn Heb “set.”
  16. Ezekiel 26:12 tn Heb “into the midst of the water.”
  17. Ezekiel 26:13 tn Heb “cause to end.”
  18. Ezekiel 26:14 sn This prophecy was fulfilled by Alexander the Great in 332 b.c.
  19. Ezekiel 26:16 tn Heb “descend from.”
  20. Ezekiel 26:16 tn Heb “and they will be astonished over you.”
  21. Ezekiel 26:17 tn Heb “and they will lift up over you a lament and they will say to you.”
  22. Ezekiel 26:17 tn Heb “O inhabitant.” The translation follows the LXX and understands a different Hebrew verb, meaning “cease,” behind the consonantal text. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:72, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:43.
  23. Ezekiel 26:17 tn Heb “she and her inhabitants who placed their terror to all her inhabitants.” The relationship of the final prepositional phrase to what precedes is unclear. The preposition probably has a specifying function here, drawing attention to Tyre’s inhabitants as the source of the terror mentioned prior to this. In this case, one might paraphrase verse 17b: “she and her inhabitants, who spread their terror; yes, her inhabitants (were the source of this terror).”
  24. Ezekiel 26:18 tn Heb “from your going out.”
  25. Ezekiel 26:19 tn Heb “many.”
  26. Ezekiel 26:20 tn Heb “to the people of antiquity.”
  27. Ezekiel 26:20 tn Heb “like.” The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition כ (kaf, “like”) to ב (bet, “in, among”).
  28. Ezekiel 26:20 tn Heb “and I will place beauty.” This reading makes little sense; many, following the lead of the LXX, emend the text to read: “nor will you stand,” with the negative particle before the preceding verb understood by ellipsis; see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:73. D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 2:47) offers another alternative, taking the apparent first person verb form as an archaic second feminine form and translating “nor radiate splendor.”