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, ‘Good!(B) The gateway to the peoples is shattered. She has been turned over to me. 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 Yahweh.”

For this is what the Lord God says: “See, I am about to bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, king of kings,(F) against Tyre from the north with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a vast company of troops. He will slaughter your villages on the mainland with the sword. He will set up siege works against you,(G) and will build a ramp[a] 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, Yahweh, have spoken.”(K) This is the declaration of the Lord God.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 26:8 Lit ramp against you

A Message for Tyre

26 On February 3, during the twelfth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity,[a] this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, Tyre has rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Ha! She who was the gateway to the rich trade routes to the east has been broken, and I am the heir! Because she has been made desolate, I will become wealthy!’

“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am your enemy, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the waves of the sea crashing against your shoreline. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down its towers. I will scrape away its soil and make it a bare rock! It will be just a rock in the sea, a place for fishermen to spread their nets, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign Lord. Tyre will become the prey of many nations, and its mainland villages will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I will bring King Nebuchadnezzar[b] of Babylon against Tyre. He is king of kings and brings his horses, chariots, charioteers, and great army. First he will destroy your mainland villages. Then he will attack you by building a siege wall, constructing a ramp, and raising a roof of shields against you. He will pound your walls with battering rams and demolish your towers with sledgehammers. 10 The hooves of his horses will choke the city with dust, and the noise of the charioteers and chariot wheels will shake your walls as they storm through your broken gates. 11 His horsemen will trample through every street in the city. They will butcher your people, and your strong pillars will topple.

12 “They will plunder all your riches and merchandise and break down your walls. They will destroy your lovely homes and dump your stones and timbers and even your dust into the sea. 13 I will stop the music of your songs. No more will the sound of harps be heard among your people. 14 I will make your island a bare rock, a place for fishermen to spread their nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken. Yes, the Sovereign Lord has spoken!

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Footnotes

  1. 26:1 Hebrew In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar year. Since an element is missing in the date formula here, scholars have reconstructed this probable reading: In the eleventh [month of the twelfth] year, on the first day of the month. This reading would put this message on February 3, 585 B.c.; also see note on 1:1.
  2. 26:7 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar.