Ezekiel 27
Lexham English Bible
A Lament for Doomed Tyre
27 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] 2 “And you, son of man,[c] raise a lament against Tyre. 3 And you must say to Tyre, the one who sits at the entrance of the sea as the merchant of the peoples to the many coastlands, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh:
Tyre, you yourself said[d]
“I am perfect in beauty!”[e]
4 In the heart of the seas are your boundaries;
your builders perfected your beauty.
5 They built with pine trees from Senir
all of your boards for you;
they took cedars from Lebanon
to make a sailing mast for you.[f]
6 They made your oars
with oaks from Bashan;
your deck they made with inlaid ivory,
with cypress trees from the coastlands of Cyprus.[g]
7 Your sail was fine linen with colorful weaving from Egypt
to serve as a banner for you;[h]
blue and purple cloth from the coastlands of Cyprus[i]
was your awning.
8 The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvan
were your rowers;
your skilled men,[j] O Tyre, were from your own people,[k]
and they were your seamen.
9 The elders of Gebal and its skilled men[l] were among you[m]
as the repairers of the seam of your boat;
all of the ships of the sea and their mariners were among you[n]
to barter your wares.
10 Persia and Lud and Put
were among your soldiers;[o]
small shield and helmet hung among you[p]
and gave to you your adornment.
11 The people[q] of Arvan and Helech
were on your walls all around,
and Gammadites
were in your towers.
They hung their quivers[r] on your walls all around;
they perfected your beauty.
12 “‘Tarshish was your trader; from the abundance of all of their wealth, with silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your merchandise. 13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders; in exchange for people[s] and an object of bronze they gave you your wares. 14 From Beth Togarmah they exchanged horses and war horses and mules for your wares. 15 The people[t] of Dedan were trading with you, many coastlands composed the region of your influence;[u] they brought back horns of ivory and ebony as your payment. 16 Edom[v] was trading with you because of the abundance of your products, trading with malachite, purple wool yarn and colorful weaving, and fine white fabric and black corals and rubies; all these they exchange for your merchandise. 17 Judah and the land of Israel were trading with you with wheat from Minnith and millet and honey and olive oil and balm; all these they gave for your wares. 18 Damascus was trading with you because of[w] the abundance of your products, because of the abundance of all of your wealth, trading with the wine of Helbon and white wool. 19 Vedan and Javan from Uzal, they exchanged wrought iron, cinnamon,[x] and reed spice for your merchandise; all this was for your wares. 20 Dedan was trading with you, with garments of woven material for riding. 21 Arabia and all of the leaders of Kedar were your customers;[y] with young rams and adult rams and goats they were trading with them with you. 22 The traders of Sheba and Raamah were trading with you, with the finest of every spice and with every precious stone and gold; they exchanged all these for your merchandise. 23 Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traders of Sheba, Assyria, and Kilmad were trading with you. 24 They were trading with you in finery, in mantles of blue cloth and colorful embroidered work and with rugs of variegated cloth in twisted cords and knotted tightly; these were among your merchandise.[z] 25 The ships of Tarshish were carrying for you your wares, and you were filled, and you became very heavy in the heart of the seas.
26 “‘Into many waters
the rowers brought you;
but the east wind[aa] wrecked you
in the heart of the seas.
27 Your wealth and your merchandise, your wares,
your mariners, and your seamen,
your shipwrights[ab] and the barterers of your wares
and all of your soldiers[ac] who are in you,
along[ad] with all of your crew who are in the midst of you,
they will fall in the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall.
28 At the sound of the shout[ae] of your seamen,
the pasturelands will shake.
29 And they will go down from their ships,
all of those holding an oar,
mariners, all of the seamen of the sea
will stand on the land,
30 and they will lament[af] over you with their voice,
and they will cry out[ag] bitterly,
and they will throw[ah] dust on their heads,
and they will roll[ai] in the dust.
31 They will shave themselves bald for your sake,[aj]
and they will dress[ak] themselves in sackcloth,
and they will weep[al] over you with a bitterness of soul[am]
and with bitter wailing.
32 And they will raise[an] over you with their wailing a lament,
and they will chant[ao] a lament over you:
‘Who is like Tyre,
like this destruction in the midst of the sea?’
33 When your merchandise went out from the seas,
you satisfied many peoples with the abundance of your wealth,
and by your wares
you made rich the kings of the world.
34 Now you are broken by seas
in the depths of waters;
your wares and all of your crew
in the midst of you have sunk.
35 All of the inhabitants of the coastlands
are appalled over you,
and their kings shudder[ap] in horror;
they distort their faces![aq]
36 The traders among the peoples hiss over you;
you have become a horror,
and you shall be no more forever!’”[ar]
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 27:1 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 27:1 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 27:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 27:3 Literally “you you said”
- Ezekiel 27:3 Literally “of beauty”
- Ezekiel 27:5 Literally “on you”
- Ezekiel 27:6 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
- Ezekiel 27:7 Literally “to be for you as a banner”
- Ezekiel 27:7 Or “Elishah”
- Ezekiel 27:8 Literally “wise men”
- Ezekiel 27:8 Literally “in you”
- Ezekiel 27:9 Literally “wise men”
- Ezekiel 27:9 Literally “in you”
- Ezekiel 27:9 Literally “in you”
- Ezekiel 27:10 Literally “in your army as the men of war your”
- Ezekiel 27:10 Literally “in you”
- Ezekiel 27:11 Or “children,” or “sons”
- Ezekiel 27:11 Or “shields” (cf. NJPS; NIV)
- Ezekiel 27:13 Or “for a human person/soul”
- Ezekiel 27:15 Or “children”
- Ezekiel 27:15 Literally “hand”
- Ezekiel 27:16 Reading Edom for Aram
- Ezekiel 27:18 Literally “for”
- Ezekiel 27:19 Or “cassia”
- Ezekiel 27:21 Literally “traders of your hand”
- Ezekiel 27:24 Literally “in your trading/marketplace” (cf. NET)
- Ezekiel 27:26 Literally “the wind of the east”
- Ezekiel 27:27 Literally “the repairers/strengtheners of your seams”
- Ezekiel 27:27 Literally “the men of your war”
- Ezekiel 27:27 Hebrew “and”
- Ezekiel 27:28 Or “cry”
- Ezekiel 27:30 Hebrew “lamented”
- Ezekiel 27:30 Hebrew “cried out”
- Ezekiel 27:30 Hebrew “threw”
- Ezekiel 27:30 Hebrew “rolled”
- Ezekiel 27:31 Literally “And they made bald for you with baldness”
- Ezekiel 27:31 Hebrew “dressed”
- Ezekiel 27:31 Hebrew “wept”
- Ezekiel 27:31 Or “of their inner self”
- Ezekiel 27:32 Hebrew “raised”
- Ezekiel 27:32 Hebrew “chanted”
- Ezekiel 27:35 Literally “they have bristling hair”
- Ezekiel 27:35 Literally “they are distorted as to faces”
- Ezekiel 27:36 Literally “there is not you until eternity/endless ages” (cf. NRSV)
Ezekiel 27
International Standard Version
A Message Condemning Tyre
27 This message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of Man, compose a mourning song for Tyre. 3 Tell Tyre, who lives at the gateway to the Mediterranean[a] Sea, who serves as the international merchant to many coastal districts: ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“Tyre, you’ve been claiming,
“I am beauty perfected.’
4 You’ve set your national boundary in international waters.
Your builders made you downright beautiful!”’”[b]
Tyre’s Luxurious Sailing Vessels
5 ‘They brought in a ship
made with pine planking from Senir,
configured with a mast carved from a cedar from Lebanon,
6 equipped with oars
made from oaks from Bashan,
with ivory-inlaid cypress wood[c] decking
imported from the coastlands of Cypress,
7 with sails made with embroidered Egyptian linen,
festooned with blue banners,
and with your sun shades made
with purple cloth from Cypress.
8 Your sailors were conscripted
from Sidon and Arvad,
and your officers served aboard
as pilots.
9 The wise men and elders from Gebal accompanied you,
serving as ship’s carpenters.
All the maritime navies and their seaman also accompanied you
to assist you in doing business internationally.”
Tyre’s International Makeup
10 “Soldiers from Persia,[d] Lud,[e] and Libya,[f]
served in your army.
They were your mighty soldiers.
Their helmets and shields adorned your barracks walls,
and they won battle decorations for you.
11 Mercenaries from Arvad and Helech
stood guard duty on your walls,
while brave men manned your towers.
They hung their shields all around your walls—
just the right touch to perfect your interior decorating!”[g]
Tyre’s Trading Partners
12 ‘Tarshish was your business partner because of your phenomenal wealth. They traded silver, iron, tin, and lead for your merchandise. 13 Greece, Tubal,[h] and Meshech[i] bartered with you, exchanging slaves and bronze vessels for your wares. 14 Beth-togarmah traded horses, war horses, and mules in exchange for what you had to sell. 15 Men from the low country south of Edom[j] and many of the coastlands were your markets for ivory tusks and ebony that they brought to trade with you.
16 “Aram was one of your customers because you had so much merchandise. They paid by trading turquoise, purple yarn, embroidered goods, Egyptian linen,[k] coral, and rubies. 17 The territories of Judah and Israel were your clients, too. They traded wheat from their distribution centers,[l] baked goods, honey, oil, and ointments for your merchandise.
18 “Because you have so much to sell and are so rich, Damascus has been your trading partner, exchanging wine from Helbon, unbleached wool, 19 and casks of wine from Izal[m] for your wrought iron, cassia wood, and aromatic reeds.
20 “Dedan traded with you, exchanging riding blankets. 21 Arabia, including all the princes of Kedar, came to you, shopping for lambs, rams, and goats. 22 Traders from Sheba and Raamah paid for the best of what you had to offer with all types of spices, precious stones, and gold. 23 Haran, Canneh, Eden,[n] merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad did business with you, 24 trading garments made into the finest blue and embroidered mantels, and also multi-colored carpets, ropes, and other merchandise. 25 Ocean-going fleets[o] carried your merchandise.”
Tyre’s Coming Storm
“How filled you were!
How glorious you were,
at home in the heart of the sea!
26 But your rowers have brought you
into dangerous waters.
The east wind has broken you
in the heart of the ocean!
27 Your wealth, your products, your merchandise
your sailors, your pilots,
your tailors, your salesmen,
all your mercenaries with you—
your entire company with you—
will fall into the midst of the sea
on the day when you’re overthrown!
28 When your ships’ captains cry out,
the pasturelands along the coast will cry out!
29 Everyone who handles an oar will abandon ship,
they’ll head straight for dry land,
30 and they will cry so loud
you won’t be able to make yourself heard!
How bitterly they’ll cry!
They’ll throw dust on their heads
and wallow in ashes.
31 They’ll shave their heads bald because of you.
They’ll dress themselves in sackcloth
and weep for you with deep bitterness of heart,
with the most pitiful of mourning.
32 In the depth of their despair
they’ll compose a lament for you.
This is what they’ll say:
‘Who is like Tyre?
Who is so silent in the midst of the sea?’
33 Your merchandise went out over the oceans
to satisfy many nations;
with the abundance of your wealth
you enriched the kings of the earth.
34 “But now it’s your time to be wrecked
at the bottom of the sea!
Your products and your workers have sunk,
and so have you!
35 Everyone who lives by the sea
is appalled at your destruction.
Their leaders are terrified—
their faces reflect their fears!
36 Traders circulate among the people, hissing at you.
What a horror you’ve become!
Now you will cease to exist
forever and ever!”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 27:3 The Heb. lacks Mediterranean
- Ezekiel 27:4 Or you perfectly beautiful
- Ezekiel 27:6 Lit. daughter of Assyria
- Ezekiel 27:10 I.e. modern Iran
- Ezekiel 27:10 I.e., fourth son of Shem, progenitor of the Lydians. The Heb. name Lud means strife.
- Ezekiel 27:10 Lit. Put; i.e. the third son of Ham (cf. Gen 10:6); the Heb. name means bow
- Ezekiel 27:11 Lit. your beauty
- Ezekiel 27:13 I.e. a son of Noah’s son Japheth; this people resided in what is now modern eastern Turkey
- Ezekiel 27:13 I.e. a son of Noah’s son Japheth; this people resided in what is now modern Armenia
- Ezekiel 27:15 Lit. The descendants of Dedan; i.e., a son of Cush (cf. Gen 10:7) or a grandson of Abraham through Keturah (Gen 25:3)
- Ezekiel 27:16 Lit. byssus; i.e. a white cotton cloth
- Ezekiel 27:17 Lit. from Minnith; perhaps a site in Ammon, east of the Jordan River
- Ezekiel 27:19 Or Uzal, i.e., a city located in a wine growing region between Haran and the Tigris River
- Ezekiel 27:23 These cities are thought to have been located in ancient Mesopotamia
- Ezekiel 27:25 Lit. Ships of Tarshish; i.e., a class of vessel capable of travelling the oceans
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