Ezekiel 27-29

Amplified Bible

Dirge for Tyre

27 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ²“Now you, son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for Tyre, ³and say to Tyre, who lives at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
⁴
“Your borders are in the heart of the seas;
Your builders have perfected your beauty.
⁵
“They have made all your planks of fir trees from ^[a]Senir;
They have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
⁶
“Of the oaks of Bashan they have made your oars;
They have made your deck of boxwood from the coastlands of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory.
⁷
“Your sail was of fine embroidered linen from Egypt
So that it became your distinguishing mark (insignia);
Your [ship’s] awning [which covered you] was blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah [of Asia Minor].
⁸
“The inhabitants of Sidon and [the island] of Arvad were your oarsmen;
Your skilled and wise men, O Tyre, were with you; they were your pilots.
⁹
“The elders of ^[b]Gebal and its skilled and wise men were with you, repairing your leaks;
All the ships of the sea with their mariners were with you to deal in your merchandise.

¹⁰“Persia and Lud and Put (Libya) were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and the helmet on you; they gave you splendor. ¹¹The men of Arvad with your army were upon your walls, all around, and the Gammadim (men of valor) were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls, all around; they perfected your beauty.

¹²“Tarshish [in Spain] was your customer and traded with you because of the abundance of your riches of all kinds; with silver, iron, tin, and lead they paid for your wares. ¹³Javan (Greece), Tubal and Meshech (Asia Minor) traded with you; with the lives of men [taken as slaves] and vessels of bronze they paid for your merchandise. ¹⁴Those from Beth-togarmah (Armenia) traded for your wares with [chariot] horses, war horses, and mules. ¹⁵The men of ^[c]Dedan were your traders. Many coastlands were your markets; ivory tusks and ebony they brought to you in payment or as gifts. ¹⁶^[d]Aram traded with you because of the abundance of the goods you made. They paid for your merchandise with emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies. ¹⁷Judah and the land of Israel, they were your traders; with the wheat of Minnith [in Ammon], cakes, honey, oil, and balm they paid for your goods. ¹⁸^[e]Damascus traded with you because of the abundance of your handiworks and the immense wealth of every kind, with the wine of Helbon [Aleppo] and the white wool [of Sachar in Syria]. ¹⁹Vedan and Javan traded with yarn from Uzal [in Arabia] for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were among your merchandise. ²⁰Dedan traded with you in saddle blankets for riding. ²¹Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, they were your customers for lambs, rams, and goats [favored by you]; for these they were your customers. ²²The merchants of Sheba and Raamah [in Arabia], they traded with you; they paid for your wares with the choicest of all kinds of spices and all kinds of precious stones and gold. ²³Haran and Canneh and Eden [in Mesopotamia], the merchants of Sheba [on the Euphrates], Asshur and Chilmad traded with you. ²⁴They traded with you in choice fabrics and garments, in clothes of blue or violet and embroidered work, and in [treasures of] multi-colored damask and knotted carpets bound with tightly wound cords, which were among your merchandise. ²⁵The ships of Tarshish were the caravans for your merchandise,

And you [Tyre] were replenished and very glorious [heavily laden with an imposing fleet]
In the heart of the seas.

²⁶
“Your rowers have brought you
Into great and deep waters;
The east wind has broken and shipwrecked you
In the heart of the seas.
²⁷
“Your riches, your wares, your merchandise
Your oarsmen and your pilots,
Your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,
And all your men of war who are with you,
With all your company that is in your midst,
Will sink in the heart of the seas
On the day of your ruin.
²⁸
“The pasture lands and the countryside will shake
At the [piercing] sound of the [hopeless, wailing] cry of your pilots.
²⁹
“All who handle the oar,
The mariners and all the pilots of the sea
Will come down from their ships;
They will stand on the shore,
³⁰
And they will make their voice heard [as they wail loudly] over you
And they will cry bitterly.
They will throw dust on their heads;
They will wallow in ashes.
³¹
“And they will make themselves [completely] bald for you
And wrap themselves in sackcloth;
And in bitterness of soul they will weep for you
With bitter mourning and wailing.
³²
“In their wailing they will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for you
And sing a dirge for you:
‘Who is like Tyre,
Like her who is silent [destroyed] in the midst of the sea?
³³
‘When your wares went out to the sea,
You met the desire, and the demand, and the necessities of many people;
You enriched the kings of the earth
With your abundant wealth and merchandise.
³⁴
‘Now you are shattered by the seas
In the depths of the waters;
Your merchandise and all your crew
Have gone down with you.
³⁵
‘All the inhabitants of the coastlands
Are aghast and appalled at you,
And their kings are horribly frightened and shudder;
Their faces twitch and pale.
³⁶
‘The merchants among the people hiss at you [with malicious joy];
You have become a horror and a source of terrors.
You will cease to be ^[f]forever.’”’”

Tyre’s King Overthrown

28 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, ²“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Because your heart is lifted up
And you have said and thought, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of the gods
In the heart of the seas’;
Yet you are [only] a man [weak, feeble, made of earth] and not God,
Though you [imagine yourself to be more than mortal and] think your mind is as [wise as] the mind of God—
³
Behold, you are [imagining yourself] wiser than Daniel;
There is no secret [you think] that is hidden from you;
⁴
With your [own] wisdom and with your [own] understanding
You have acquired your riches and power
And have brought gold and silver into your treasuries;
⁵
By your great wisdom and by your trade
You have increased your riches and power,
And your heart is proud and arrogant because of your wealth;

⁶Therefore thus says the Lord God,

‘Because you have imagined your mind [to be]
Like the mind of God [having thoughts and plans like God Himself],^(A)
⁷
Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers (Babylonians) upon you,
The most ruthless and violent of the nations.
And they will draw their swords
Against the beauty of your wisdom [O Tyre]
And defile your splendor.
⁸
‘They will bring you down to the pit [of destruction],
And you will die the death of all those who die
In the heart of the seas.
⁹
‘Will you still say, “I am a god,”
In the presence of him who kills you?
But you are [only] a man [made of earth] and not God,
In the hands of those who wound and profane you.
¹⁰
‘You will die the death of the uncircumcised [barbarian]
By the hand of strangers,
For I have spoken!’ says the Lord God.”’”

¹¹Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹²“Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“You had the full measure of perfection and the finishing touch [of completeness],
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
¹³
“You were in ^[g]Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The ruby, the topaz, and the diamond;
The beryl, the onyx, and the jasper;
The lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald;
And the gold, the workmanship of your ^[h]settings and your sockets,
Was in you.
They were prepared
On the day that you were created.^(B)
¹⁴
“You were the anointed cherub who covers and protects,
And I placed you there.
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked in the midst of the stones of fire [sparkling jewels].^(C)
¹⁵
“You were blameless in your ways
From the day you were created
Until unrighteousness and evil were found in you.
¹⁶
“Through the abundance of your commerce
You were internally filled with lawlessness and violence,
And you sinned;
Therefore I have cast you out as a profane and unholy thing
From the mountain of God.
And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub,
From the midst of the stones of fire.
¹⁷
“Your heart was proud and arrogant because of your beauty;
You destroyed your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I lay you before kings,
That they might look at you.
¹⁸
“You profaned your sanctuaries
By the great quantity of your sins and the enormity of your guilt,
By the unrighteousness of your trade.
Therefore I have brought forth a fire from your midst;
It has consumed you,
And I have reduced you to ashes on the earth
In the sight of all who look at you.
¹⁹
“All the peoples (nations) who knew you
Are appalled at you;
You have come to a horrible and terrifying end
And will forever cease to be.”’”^(D)

Judgment of Sidon

²⁰Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹“Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her ²²and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,
And I will show My glory and be glorified in your midst.
Then they will know [by personal experience] that I am the Lord when I bring judgment and punishment on her,
And I will manifest My holiness in her.
²³
“For I will send virulent disease to her
And blood into her streets,
And the wounded will fall in her midst
By the sword upon her from every side,
And they shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

²⁴And there will no longer be a briar or a painful thorn to prick the house of Israel from all those around them who treated them with contempt; then they will know [with clarity] that I am the Lord God.”

Israel Regathered

²⁵‘Thus says the Lord God, “When I gather the house of Israel from the nations among whom they are scattered, and I manifest my Holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. ²⁶They shall live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgment on all those around them who despise them. Then they will know [with clarity and confidence] that I am the Lord their God.”’”

Judgment of Egypt

29 In the tenth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Son of man, set your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. ³Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers,
[Boastfully] declaring, ‘My Nile is my own, and I have made it for myself.’
⁴
“I will put hooks in your jaws
And [I will] make the fish of your rivers stick to your scales.
And I will pull you up from the midst of your rivers,
And all the fish of your rivers will stick to your scales.
⁵
“I will abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers;
You will fall on the open field; and you will not be gathered up or buried.
I have given you as food to the [wild] animals of the earth and the birds of the sky.
⁶
“And all the inhabitants of Egypt will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord,
Because they have been [only] a staff made of [fragile] reeds to the house of Israel.
⁷
“When they (Israel) grasped you (Egypt) by the hand,
You broke and tore apart their hands;
When they leaned on you,
You broke and strained their backs.”

⁸‘Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am going to bring a sword on you and cut off (destroy) both man and animal, ⁹and the land of Egypt will be a desolation and a wasteland. And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

“Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine and I have made it,’ ¹⁰behold (hear this), therefore, I am against you and against your rivers (the Nile, its tributaries), and I will make the land of Egypt a complete waste and a desolation, from [northern] Migdol to [southern] ^[i]Syene, even as far as the border of Ethiopia (Cush). ¹¹No man’s foot will pass through it, no animal’s foot will pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. ¹²So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation [plundered and ruined] among desolated lands; and her cities, among cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and [I will] disperse them through the lands.”

¹³‘For thus says the Lord God, “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations among whom they were scattered.^(E) ¹⁴I will reverse the fortunes of Egypt [as I will that of Israel] and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. ¹⁵It will be the lowliest of the kingdoms, and it will ^[j]never again exalt itself above the nations; I will diminish the Egyptians so they will never again rule over the nations. ¹⁶And Egypt will never again have the confidence of the house of Israel; their wickedness will be remembered whenever Israel looks toward them [for help]. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord God.”’”

¹⁷In the twenty-seventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army ^[k]work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became ^[l]bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].” ¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her wealth and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it shall be the wages for his army. ²⁰I have given him the land of Egypt for the hard work which he did [against Tyre], because they did it for Me,” says the Lord God.

²¹“In that day I will make a horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord [when I renew their strength].”

Footnotes

Ezekiel 27:5 A peak of Mount Hermon.
Ezekiel 27:9 A city north of Sidon.
Ezekiel 27:15 The first Dedanites to settle in Arabia may have sailed to Arabia from the island of Rhodes.
Ezekiel 27:16 The people of the kingdom of Aram were descendants of Aram, the son of Shem, son of Noah (Gen 10:22, 23). The territory of the Arameans also included areas later identified as Syria and Mesopotamia.
Ezekiel 27:18 The capital city of Aram.
Ezekiel 27:36 As late as the thirteenth century a.d. the grandeur of the ancient city of Tyre was still visible. As time passed a large part of the western section of “the island” became covered by the sea, and early travelers told of seeing “houses, towers, and streets far down in the deep.” The site gradually disappeared; however, sporadic excavations (subject to the political climate) began in 1947, and many sections of the ancient city have been uncovered. Tyre is located about 50 miles south of Beirut.
Ezekiel 28:13 This speech, though not addressed directly to Satan, seems to be spoken against his evil nature expressing itself in and through the human ruler who grants to himself the honors due only to God. Here may be seen also a foreshadowing of “the beast” who is to attribute to himself divine rights in the time of the end (Dan 7:8-28; 2 Thess 2:1-12; Rev 13; 19:20).
Ezekiel 28:13 Or tambourines.
Ezekiel 29:10 Coptic Souan, Senon; Arab Aswan.
Ezekiel 29:15 There are few stronger contrasts in any modern country than between the ancient glory, dignity, power, and wealth of Egypt and its later diminished significance.
Ezekiel 29:18 The siege against Tyre lasted about thirteen years.
Ezekiel 29:18 Probably from constantly wearing war helmets.