Beginning
The Lord warns Ammon
25 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, look towards the people in Ammon.[a] You must tell them my message to warn them. 3 Say to them, “Listen to this message from the Almighty Lord. This is what he says: You shouted happily when enemies made my holy place unclean. You were happy when the land of Israel became an empty place. And you were happy when Judah's people went away as prisoners to a foreign country. 4 So listen to me! I will give you to the people in the east to be their slaves. Their soldiers will come and they will put their tents among you. They will live among you. They will eat your fruit and they will drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah a place where camels eat grass.[b] I will make Ammon a place where sheep rest. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 6 This is what the Almighty Lord says: You were happy when I punished Israel. You clapped your hands together. You stamped your feet on the ground. 7 So listen! I will now use my power to punish you. I will allow other nations to take all your valuable things. I will completely remove you so that you will not be a nation any longer. I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
The Lord warns Moab
8 The Almighty Lord says this: The people in Moab and Seir said, “Judah's people have become the same as all the other nations.” 9 So listen! I will let enemies attack the towns on the border of Moab. I will destroy their greatest cities, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon and Kiriathaim. 10 I will give Moab's people to the people in the east as their slaves, together with the Ammonites. The other nations will not remember the Ammonites any more. 11 I will also punish Moab's people.[c] Then they will know that I am the Lord.
The Lord warns Edom
12 The Almighty Lord says this: Edom's people were cruel to Judah's people when they wanted to punish them.[d] They are guilty because of what they did to Judah's people. 13 So the Almighty Lord God says this: I will use my power to punish Edom. I will destroy Edom's people and animals. Edom will become an empty place. Enemy soldiers will use their swords to kill the people, everywhere from Teman to Dedan. 14 I will use my people, the Israelites, to punish Edom. The Edomites will know that I am very angry with them. They will know that their punishment comes from me. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
The Lord warns the Philistines
15 The AlmightyLord says this: The Philistines were cruel to Judah's people when they wanted to punish them. They hated Judah's people and they wanted to destroy them. They would not stop attacking them. 16 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I will use my power to punish the Philistines. I will kill the Kerethites. I will destroy the people who remain on the coast of the sea.[e] 17 I will punish them very much because of the things that they have done. I will show them that I am very angry with them. When and I punish them as they deserve, they will know that I am the Lord. ’
The Lord warns Tyre[f]
26 The Lord gave this message to me on the first day of the month, in the 11th year:
2 ‘Son of man, Tyre's people have said, “Good! An enemy has destroyed Jerusalem! Traders from that city went out to many nations. Now we will do that instead of them. We will become rich because Jerusalem is no longer a strong city.”
3 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I have become your enemy, Tyre. I will bring many nations to attack you. They will be like the waves of the sea as they hit you. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre. They will knock down its strong towers. I will then remove all the stones that remain. The city will become a rock with nothing on it. 5 On that rock, in the middle of the sea, men will dry the nets that they use to catch fish. That is what I say, says the Almighty Lord. Armies from other nations will take Tyre's valuable things for themselves. 6 Soldiers will use their swords to kill people in the small towns on the coast near Tyre. Then people will know that I am the Lord.
7 This is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I will bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to attack Tyre from the north. He is a powerful king. He will bring his great army with soldiers on horses and chariots. 8 His soldiers will destroy your towns and villages on the coast. They will build heaps of earth around your walls. They will hold up their shields like a wall as they attack you. 9 They will use heavy pieces of wood to knock down the city's walls. They will use their weapons to knock down the strong towers.
10 King Nebuchadnezzar's army will have many horses. As they attack you, the dirt from their feet will cover you. The noise of the riders on the horses and the chariots' wheels will cause the city's walls to shake. They will break through the city's gates and walls. 11 The horses will run along all the streets. The soldiers will kill your people with their swords. The strong pillars of your buildings will fall to the ground. 12 The soldiers will take your riches and valuable things for themselves. They will break down your walls. They will destroy your beautiful homes. They will throw into the sea all the wood and stones that remain from your buildings. 13 I will stop the noise of your songs. Nobody will hear the sound of your harps any longer. 14 Tyre will be a rock in the sea with no buildings on it. Men will dry their nets on it. Nobody will never build the city again. That is what I, the Almighty Lord, have said. So it will certainly happen!
15 This is what the Almighty Lord says to Tyre: All the people who live on the coast of the sea will hear the news. When they know that you have fallen to the ground, they will shake with fear.[g] They will hear the loud cries of your people when they die in the battle. 16 Then the rulers of the towns on the coast of the sea will be very sad. They will no longer sit on their thrones. They will remove their beautiful royal clothes. They will sit on the ground as they shake with fear. They will not stop shaking when they hear what has happened to you. 17 Then they will sing this funeral song about you:
“City that was famous for your great sailors,
now your power has gone!
In the past, you made many people afraid,
as your brave men travelled across the sea.
18 Now you have fallen to the ground
and people who live on the coast shake with fear.
Now your power has gone
and those people are very afraid.”
19 This is what the Almighty Lord says: I will make you an empty place, like cities where nobody lives. The great waves of the sea will completely cover you. 20 Then I will cause you to you to fall deep down into the earth. You will be part of the world of dead people who lived a long time ago. You will join other cities that became heaps of stones long ago. You will remain there. You will never again be a city in the world where people are alive. 21 I will cause terrible things to happen to you. You will come to a complete end. People will look for you, but they will never find you. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’
A funeral song about Tyre
27 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, sing a funeral song about Tyre. 3 Tyre is a city on the coast of the sea. From there, traders go across the sea to sell things to people in many other countries. This is what the Almighty Lord says to Tyre:
“Tyre, you say that you are completely beautiful.
4 Your borders reached into the middle of the sea.
Your builders made you like a great ship.
5 They used wood from the pine trees of Senir.
They used a cedar tree from Lebanon to make your mast.[h]
6 They used oak trees from Bashan to make your oars.
They used pine wood from the coasts of Cyprus to make your deck.[i]
They made it beautiful with ivory.
7 They used good linen from Egypt to make your sail.
They made it pretty with many colours.
The sail was like a flag that everyone could see.
They made tents of cloth to cover your deck.
It was blue and purple cloth that came from Cyprus island.
8 Men from Sidon and Arvad used the oars to move the ship.
Your own clever men from Tyre were your sailors.
9 Leaders from Gebal went with you.
They brought men who knew how to mend the ship.
Sailors of ships from many countries
came to buy things from you.
10 There were brave soldiers from Persia, Lydia and Libya in your army.
They hung their shields and their helmets on your walls.
They caused people to give you honour.
11 Men from Arvad and Helech were guards who stood on your walls.
Soldiers from Gammad were in your strong towers.
They hung their weapons on your walls.
They made you look very beautiful.
12 You had many valuable things to sell. So traders came from Tarshish to buy things from you. They brought silver and other good metals to pay for those things.
13 Traders from Greece, Tubal and Meshech also came to buy things from you. They paid you with slaves and with things made of bronze.
14 Men from Beth Togarmah came. They paid you with horses to use in war or for work, and also with mules.
15 Traders came to you from Rhodes and from other countries beside the sea. They paid you with ivory and with ebony wood.[j]
16 Because you had so many things to sell, traders came to you from Syria. They paid you with different jewels, with valuable purple cloth, with other beautiful cloth and with good linen.
17 Traders came to you from Judah and Israel. They paid you with wheat from Minnith, with figs, with honey, with olive oil and with medicine.
18 Traders from Damascus came to you because you had many valuable things to sell. They sold you wine from Helbon and white wool from Zahar.
19 Greek men from Uzal came to buy your things. They paid you with iron and different spices.
20 Traders from Dedan sold you blankets for your horses.
21 Men from Arabia and the rulers of Kedar came to buy your things. They brought lambs, male sheep and goats to sell to you.
22 Traders from Sheba and Raamah came to buy things from you. They brought the best kinds of spices, jewels and gold to sell to you.
23 Traders came to you from Haran, Canneh and Eden, as well as from Sheba, Asshur and Kilmad. 24 They brought beautiful clothes made with expensive cloth. They also brought carpets that were made with threads of many different colours.[k] And they brought strong ropes. They brought these things to sell in your markets. 25 Big ships from Tarshish carried your valuable things across the sea.
You, Tyre, were like a great ship in the middle of the sea.
You were full with a heavy load of many things.
26 Your sailors took you into the great waves of the sea.
There, a strong east wind has caused you to break into small pieces.
27 All your valuable things and your riches will fall into the deep sea.
All your sailors, your captains, your traders and your soldiers
will also fall into the sea.
Yes, everyone in you will drown in the sea
on that day when you break into pieces.
28 When your sailors call out for help,
the cities on the coast of the sea will shake.
29 All the sailors of other ships will leave their ships.
The sailors and their captains will stand on the shore of the sea.
30 They will weep loudly because they are very upset about you.
They will throw dirt on their heads.
They will lie down in ashes.
31 They will cut all the hair off their heads.
They will wear sackcloth.
They will weep and be very upset
because of the terrible thing that has happened to you.
32 As they weep, they will sing this funeral song about you:
‘Tyre was the greatest city.
But now it lies at the bottom of the sea
and nobody knows that it is there.’
33 Your valuable things went to many people
in nations across the sea.
People were happy with the things that they received from you.
Even kings in far places became rich because of you.
34 Now the sea has broken you into pieces.
You have fallen to the bottom of the deep sea.
All your valuable things and the people who worked in you
lie at the bottom of the sea.
35 The people who live on the coast of the sea are afraid,
because of what has happened to you.
Their kings shake with fear.
Their faces look very sad.
36 Traders from other nations keep away from you.
A terrible thing has happened to you.
It will be the end of you for ever.” ’
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