The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak
    and will come to rest on Damascus –
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
    are on the Lord – ^[a]
2 and on Hamath too, which borders on it,
    and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skilful.
³ Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
    she has heaped up silver like dust,
    and gold like the dirt of the streets.
⁴ But the Lord will take away her possessions
    and destroy her power on the sea,
    and she will be consumed by fire.
⁵ Ashkelon will see it and fear;
    Gaza will writhe in agony,
    and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
    and Ashkelon will be deserted.
⁶ A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
    and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.

Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
    For Tyre is destroyed
    and left without house or harbour.
From the land of Cyprus
    word has come to them.

² Be silent, you people of the island
    and you merchants of Sidon,
    whom the seafarers have enriched.
³ On the great waters
    came the grain of the Shihor;
the harvest of the Nile^[a] was the revenue of Tyre,
    and she became the market-place of the nations.

⁴ Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea,
    for the sea has spoken:
‘I have neither been in labour nor given birth;
    I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.’
⁵ When word comes to Egypt,
    they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre.

⁶ Cross over to Tarshish;
    wail, you people of the island.
⁷ Is this your city of revelry,
    the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
    to settle in far-off lands?
⁸ Who planned this against Tyre,
    the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants are princes,
    whose traders are renowned in the earth?
⁹ The Lord Almighty planned it,
    to bring down her pride in all her splendour
    and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.

¹⁰ Till^[b] your land as they do along the Nile,
    Daughter Tarshish,
    for you no longer have a harbour.
¹¹ The Lord has stretched out his hand over the sea
    and made its kingdoms tremble.
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
    that her fortresses be destroyed.
¹² He said, ‘No more of your revelling,
    Virgin Daughter Sidon, now crushed!

‘Up, cross over to Cyprus;
    even there you will find no rest.’
¹³ Look at the land of the Babylonians,^[c]
    this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians have made it
    a place for desert creatures;
they raised up their siege towers,
    they stripped its fortresses bare
    and turned it into a ruin.

¹⁴ Wail, you ships of Tarshish;
    your fortress is destroyed!

¹⁶ ‘Take up a harp, walk through the city,
    you forgotten prostitute;
play the harp well, sing many a song,
    so that you will be remembered.’

‘“In the pride of your heart
    you say, ‘I am a god;
I sit on the throne of a god
    in the heart of the seas.’
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
    though you think you are as wise as a god.
³ Are you wiser than Daniel?^[a]
    Is no secret hidden from you?
⁴ By your wisdom and understanding
    you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
    in your treasuries.
⁵ By your great skill in trading
    you have increased your wealth,
and because of your wealth
    your heart has grown proud.

‘“Because you think you are wise,
    as wise as a god,
⁷ I am going to bring foreigners against you,
    the most ruthless of nations;
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom
    and pierce your shining splendour.
⁸ They will bring you down to the pit,
    and you will die a violent death
    in the heart of the seas.
⁹ Will you then say, ‘I am a god,’
    in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,
    in the hands of those who slay you.
¹⁰ You will die the death of the uncircumcised
    at the hands of foreigners.