The Downfall of Tyre

26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre(A) said about Jerusalem, ‘Aha!(B) The gateway to the peoples is shattered. She has been turned over to me.[a] I will be filled now that she lies in ruins,’ therefore this is what the Lord God says: See, I am against you, Tyre!(C) I will raise up many nations against you, just as the sea raises its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and turn her into a bare rock. She will become a place in the sea to spread nets, for I have spoken.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “She will become plunder for the nations,(D) and her villages on the mainland will be slaughtered by the sword.(E) Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

For this is what the Lord God says: “See, I am about to bring King Nebuchadnezzar[b] of Babylon, king of kings,(F) against Tyre from the north with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a huge assembly of troops. He will slaughter your villages on the mainland with the sword. He will set up siege works,(G) build a ramp, and raise a wall of shields against you. He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his iron tools. 10 His horses will be so numerous that their dust will cover you. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots. 11 He will trample all your streets with the hooves of his horses.(H) He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. 12 They will take your wealth as spoil and plunder your merchandise.(I) They will also demolish your walls and tear down your beautiful homes. Then they will throw your stones, timber, and soil into the water. 13 I will put an end to the noise of your songs,(J) and the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard. 14 I will turn you into a bare rock, and you will be a place to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken.”(K) This is the declaration of the Lord God.

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Footnotes

  1. 26:2 Or It has swung open for me
  2. 26:7 Lit Nebuchadrezzar

A Message Condemning Tyre

26 During the eleventh year, on the first day of the month of our captivity[a], this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of Man, because Tyre has been saying about Jerusalem,

‘The international gateway is broken down!
    It’s wide open to me!
I will be replenished,
    now that it lies in ruins!’

“Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Watch out! I’m coming to get[b] you, Tyre! I’m about to bring many nations to attack you. They’ll come in wave after wave, like the advancing tide,[c] and will destroy the city walls of Tyre. After they break down her fortified towers, I’ll scrape away the city’s debris, right down to the bare bedrock, and it will become a place where nets will be spread out right in the middle of the Mediterranean[d] Sea. Because I have declared this to happen,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Tyre will be treated as the spoils of war by the invading[e] nations. Furthermore, her citizens[f] who live on the mainland will be executed with swords. That’s how they’ll learn that I am the Lord.’”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Invasion

“This is what the Lord God says: ‘Watch out! I’m about to bring from the north King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, that king of kings. He’ll come with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a vast army. He’ll execute your citizens who live on the mainland with swords. He’ll build siege engines to attack you. Then he’ll construct siege ramps against you and build huge shields to protect themselves[g] against you.

“‘He’ll direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and will breach your fortified towers with axes.[h] 10 There will be so many horses that the dust raised by them will cover you completely. The walls of your city will tremble from the noise of Nebuchadnezzar’s[i] cavalry, wagons, and chariots when they enter through the gates of your city, as men enter a city that has been breached.

11 “‘Their horses will trample all the public places as he executes your inhabitants with swords. The most fortified of your pillars will be torn to the ground. 12 They will plunder your riches and loot your businesses. They’ll tear down your walls and demolish your luxurious homes. They’ll grab the stones, wood, and rubble from the destruction and dump it all into the Mediterranean[j] Sea.

13 “‘I’ll silence the noise of your songs and the music of your harps won’t be heard anymore. 14 I’ll turn you into bare rock, and your city will become a place to spread nets. You will never be built again, because I the Lord have decreed this,’ declares the Lord God.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 26:1 The Heb. lacks of our captivity
  2. Ezekiel 26:3 Lit. coming against
  3. Ezekiel 26:3 Lit. come like the sea brings waves
  4. Ezekiel 26:5 The Heb. lacks Mediterranean
  5. Ezekiel 26:5 The Heb. lacks invading
  6. Ezekiel 26:6 Lit. daughters
  7. Ezekiel 26:8 The Heb. lacks to protect themselves
  8. Ezekiel 26:9 Or swords
  9. Ezekiel 26:10 Lit. their
  10. Ezekiel 26:12 The Heb. lacks Mediterranean