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Ezekiel Prophesies Against Tyre

26 And it was in the eleventh[a] year, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[b] to me, saying,[c] “Son of man,[d] because[e] Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Ah! The gates of the peoples are broken; it has swung open to me; I shall be filled, for it lies in ruins!’ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Look! I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring up against you many nations like the stirring up of the sea stirring up its waves.[f] And I will destroy the walls of Tyre, and they will demolish its towers, and I will scrape away its earthen dirt from it, and I will make it into a bare rock.[g] It will become a place for spreading out dragnets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken,’ declares[h] the Lord Yahweh. ‘And it will become as plunder for the nations, and its daughters who are in the field with the sword, they will be killed; and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”

For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am bringing to Tyre Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, from the north, the king of kings, with horse and with chariot and with horsemen and his assembly and many people. Your daughters he will kill in the field with the sword, and he will place[i] against you siege works, and he will build against you a siege ramp, and he will raise against you a shield, and the thrust of his battering ram he will direct against your walls, and your towers he will break down with his weapons. 10 From the abundance of his horses he will cover you with their fine dust; at the sound of horseman and wheel and chariot your walls will shake, at his coming into your gates like the entrance of a city that is being broken through. 11 With the hooves of his horses he will trample all of your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong stone pillars[j] will tumble down to the earth. 12 And they will plunder your wealth, and they will loot your merchandise, and they will break down your walls, and the houses of your delight they will break down, and your stones and your timbers and your earthen dirt they will cast into the midst of the water. 13 And, I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres will not be heard any longer. 14 And I will make you into a bare rock,[k] a place for the spreading out of dragnets. You will not be built again, for I, Yahweh, I have spoken,” declares[l] the Lord Yahweh.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 26:1 Literally “one ten”
  2. Ezekiel 26:1 Literally “was”
  3. Ezekiel 26:1 Literally “to say”
  4. Ezekiel 26:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  5. Ezekiel 26:2 Hebrew “because that”
  6. Ezekiel 26:3 Literally “with respect to its waves”
  7. Ezekiel 26:4 Literally “to barrenness of rock”
  8. Ezekiel 26:5 Literally “declaration of”
  9. Ezekiel 26:8 Hebrew “give”
  10. Ezekiel 26:11 Literally “the stone pillars of strength your”
  11. Ezekiel 26:14 Literally “to barrenness of rock”
  12. Ezekiel 26:14 Literally “declaration of”

A Prophecy Against Tyre

26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month,[a] the Lord’s message came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre[b] has said about Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will become rich,[c] now that she[d] has been destroyed,’ therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look,[e] I am against you,[f] O Tyre! I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will scrape her soil[g] from her and make her a bare rock. She will be a place where fishing nets are spread, surrounded by the sea. For I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, and her daughters[h] who are in the field will be slaughtered by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take note that[i] I am about to bring King Nebuchadrezzar[j] of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north, with horses, chariots, and horsemen, an army and hordes of people. He will kill your daughters in the field with the sword. He will build a siege wall against you, erect a siege ramp against you, and raise a great shield against you. He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his weapons.[k] 10 He will cover you with the dust kicked up by his many horses.[l] Your walls will shake from the noise of the horsemen, wheels, and chariots when he enters your gates like those who invade through a city’s broken walls.[m] 11 With his horses’ hooves he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will tumble down to the ground. 12 They will steal your wealth and loot your merchandise. They will tear down your walls and destroy your luxurious[n] homes. Your stones, your trees, and your soil he will throw[o] into the water.[p] 13 I will silence[q] the noise of your songs; the sound of your harps will be heard no more. 14 I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place where fishing nets are spread. You will never be built again,[r] for I, the Lord, have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 26:1 tc Date formulae typically include the month. According to D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 2:34, n. 27) some emend to “in the twelfth year in the eleventh month,” relying partially on the copy of the LXX from Alexandrinus, where Albright suggested that “eleventh month” may have dropped out due to haplography.sn April 23, 587 b.c.
  2. Ezekiel 26:2 sn Tyre was located on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel.
  3. Ezekiel 26:2 tn Heb “I will be filled.”
  4. Ezekiel 26:2 sn That is, Jerusalem.
  5. Ezekiel 26:3 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something and has been translated here as a verb.
  6. Ezekiel 26:3 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘hinnenî ’êlékâ’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
  7. Ezekiel 26:4 tn Or “debris.”
  8. Ezekiel 26:6 sn That is, the towns located inland that were under Tyre’s rule.
  9. Ezekiel 26:7 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws attention to something.
  10. Ezekiel 26:7 tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-uṣur has an an “r” rather than an “n.”
  11. Ezekiel 26:9 tn Heb “swords.”
  12. Ezekiel 26:10 tn Heb “From the abundance of his horses he will cover you (with) their dust.”
  13. Ezekiel 26:10 tn Heb “like those who enter a breached city.”
  14. Ezekiel 26:12 tn Heb “desirable.”
  15. Ezekiel 26:12 tn Heb “set.”
  16. Ezekiel 26:12 tn Heb “into the midst of the water.”
  17. Ezekiel 26:13 tn Heb “cause to end.”
  18. Ezekiel 26:14 sn This prophecy was fulfilled by Alexander the Great in 332 b.c.