Ezekiel 27
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Lamentation over Tyre
27 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Now you, mortal, raise a lamentation over Tyre,(A) 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.”(B)
4 Your borders are in the heart of the seas;
your builders made perfect your beauty.(C)
5 They made all your planks
of fir trees from Senir;
they took a cedar from Lebanon
to make a mast for you.(D)
6 From oaks of Bashan
they made your oars;
they made your deck of pines[a]
from the coasts of Cyprus,
inlaid with ivory.(E)
7 Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt
was your sail,
serving as your ensign;
blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah
was your awning.
8 The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad
were your rowers;
skilled men of Zemer[b] were within you;
they were your pilots.(F)
9 The 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.(G)
10 Paras[c] and Lud and Put
were in your army,
your mighty warriors;
they hung shield and helmet in you;
they gave you splendor.(H)
11 Men of Arvad and Helech[d]
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.(I)
12 Tarshish did business with you out of the abundance of your great wealth; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares.(J) 13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.(K) 14 Beth-togarmah exchanged for your wares horses, war horses, and mules.(L) 15 The Rhodians[e] traded with you; many coastlands were your own special markets; they brought you in payment ivory tusks and ebony.(M) 16 Edom[f] did business with you because of your abundant goods; they exchanged for your wares turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies.(N) 17 Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat from Minnith, millet,[g] honey, oil, and balm.(O) 18 Damascus traded with you for your abundant goods—because of your great wealth of every kind—wine of Helbon and wool of Zahar.(P) 19 Vedan and Javan from Uzal[h] entered into trade for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were bartered for your merchandise. 20 Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding. 21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your favored dealers in lambs, rams, and goats; in these they did business with you.(Q) 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.(R) 23 Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you.(S) 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.[i] 25 The ships of Tarshish traveled for you in your trade.
So you were filled and heavily laden
in the heart of the seas.(T)
26 Your rowers have brought you
into the high seas.
The east wind has wrecked you
in the heart of the seas.(U)
27 Your 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.(V)
28 At the sound of the cry of your pilots
the pasturelands shake,(W)
29 and down from their ships
come all who handle the oar.
The sailors and all the pilots of the sea
stand on the shore(X)
30 and wail aloud over you
and cry bitterly.
They throw dust on their heads
and wallow in ashes;(Y)
31 they make themselves bald for you
and put on sackcloth,
and they weep over you in bitterness of soul,
with bitter mourning.(Z)
32 In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you
and lament over you:
“Who was ever destroyed[j] like Tyre
in the midst of the sea?(AA)
33 When your wares came from the seas,
you satisfied many peoples;
with your abundant wealth and merchandise
you enriched the kings of the earth.(AB)
34 Now you are wrecked by the seas,
in the depths of the waters;
your merchandise and all your crew
have sunk with you.(AC)
35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands
are appalled at you,
and their kings are horribly afraid;
their faces are convulsed.(AD)
36 The merchants among the peoples hiss at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
and shall be no more forever.”(AE)
Ezekiel 27
Evangelical Heritage Version
A Lament Over Tyre
27 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 You, son of man, take up a lament over Tyre. 3 Tell Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea as a merchant traveling to many coastlands, this is what the Lord God says.
Tyre, you say, “I am a perfect beauty.”
4 Your borders were in the heart of the sea.
Your builders perfected your beauty.
5 They built for you a double-decked ship,[a] made of fir[b] from Senir.
They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6 They made your oars of oak from Bashan.
Your planks were made of pine,[c] inlaid with ivory,
from the coasts of Cyprus.[d]
7 Your sail was brightly decorated linen from Egypt,
which also served as your banner.
Your awning was blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.
8 Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad served as your rowers.
Tyre, your own skilled men, who were with you,
manned your sails.
9 Skilled veterans from Gebal[e] were on board with you,
serving as your repairmen.
All the ships of the sea and their sailors
were in your harbor to engage in trade with you.
10 Warriors from Persia, Lud,[f] and Put were in your army.
They hung up their shields and helmets among you.
They enhanced your splendor.
11 Men of Arvad and Cilicia were on your walls all around,
and men of Gammad were on your towers.
They hung their quivers all around on your walls.
They made your beauty perfect.
Tyre’s Trade[g]
12 Tarshish traded with you because of your great wealth of every kind. They traded silver, iron, tin, and lead for your exports.
13 Ionia, Tubal, and Meshek also dealt with you. They traded human beings and articles of bronze for your wares.
14 From Beth Togarmah, horses, war horses, and mules were traded to you because of the abundance of your products.
15 The men of Rhodes[h] also dealt with you. Many coastlands were agents of your trade, bringing back ivory tusks and ebony in payment to you.
16 Edom[i] traded with you because of the abundance of your products. They sold turquoise, purple, and finely embroidered cloth, linen, coral, and rubies[j] to you as exports.
17 Judah and the land of Israel also dealt with you. With wheat of Minnith, flour, honey, oil, and balm they bought your wares.
18 Damascus traded with you because of the abundance of your products, because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth. They sold wine of Helbon, wool from Sahar, 19 and wine casks from Izalla[k] as exports. Wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were traded for your goods.
20 Dedan traded to you saddle blankets used for riding. 21 Arabia and all the rulers of Kedar were your agents for trade in lambs, rams, and goats. They were your agents for those. 22 Merchants of Sheba and Ra’amah dealt with you in all kinds of expensive perfumes and in all kinds of precious stones and gold, which they sold you for your merchandise.
23 Haran, Kanneh, and Eden, and dealers from Sheba, Assyria, and Kilmad were your dealers. 24 They were your dealers in elegant clothing, in purple garments and finely embroidered cloth, in carpets with multicolored trim, tightly wound with ropes for your marketplaces.
25 Tarshish ships traveled for you with your merchandise.
Tyre’s Collapse
So you were full and very heavily loaded in the midst of the seas. 26 Your rowers brought you out into deep water. An east wind broke you up in the heart of the sea. 27 Your wealth, your exports and your imports, your sailors and your pilots, your repairmen, and those who bring you imports, all your warriors on board—in fact, all your company who were on board—will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your collapse.
28 At the sound of the cry of distress from your pilots, the fields on the mainland will quake. 29 All who handle the oars will abandon their ships. The sailors and all the pilots of the sea will stand on shore. 30 They will shout loudly because of you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dirt on their heads and roll in ashes. 31 They will make themselves bald on account of you and put on sackcloth. They will weep bitterly over you, with a bitter lament. 32 In their grief, they will raise a lament over you. They utter this lament over you, “Who is like Tyre, now silenced in the midst of the sea?” 33 When your exports were unloaded from the seas, you satisfied many peoples. By your abundant wealth and your imports, you enriched the kings of the earth. 34 Now you have been broken up by the seas and sunk into the watery depths. Your merchandise and the entire company on board have sunk. 35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled because of you. Their kings’ hair stands on end. Their faces show distress. 36 Traders among the peoples whistle and hiss at you. You have become horrifying, and you will never exist again, forever.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 27:5 Or a ship with a double hull. The Hebrew word indicates that the planks were double. The meaning of many of the nautical terms in this section is uncertain.
- Ezekiel 27:5 The identification of some of the types of trees is uncertain.
- Ezekiel 27:6 The translation pine follows a different word division than that which occurs in the main Hebrew text, which has the reading daughter of Assyria.
- Ezekiel 27:6 The Hebrew reads Kittim. This term may include locations other than Cyprus.
- Ezekiel 27:9 Also called Byblos
- Ezekiel 27:10 Or Lydia
- Ezekiel 27:12 The meaning of many of the terms in verses 12-15 is uncertain.
- Ezekiel 27:15 The Greek text reads Rhodes, a Mediterranean island. The Hebrew reads Dedan, a desert oasis in Arabia, which is dealt with in verse 20.
- Ezekiel 27:16 The translation Edom follows some Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions. Most Hebrew manuscripts read Aram, but verse 18 deals with that country under the heading Damascus, and the commodities in this verse fit better with Edom.
- Ezekiel 27:16 The identification of some of the precious items is uncertain.
- Ezekiel 27:19 In the translation, words from the beginning of verse 19 complete the sentence of verse 18. The Hebrew text at the beginning of verse 19 seems to read Dan and Javan paid for your wares, traversing back and forth, a sentence which does not fit this context.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.