Old/New Testament
A Funeral Song for Tyre
27 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 2 “Human being, sing a funeral song for the city of Tyre. 3 Speak to Tyre that is at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. For the people of many lands along the seacoast, Tyre is a place for trade. ‘This is what the Lord God says:
Tyre, you have said,
“I am like a beautiful ship.”
4 You were at home on the high seas.
Your builders have made your beauty perfect.
5 Your builders made all your boards
of fir trees from Mount Hermon.
They have taken a cedar tree from Lebanon.
They took it to make a ship’s mast for you.
6 They made your oars
from oak trees in Bashan.
They made your deck
from cypress trees from the coast of Cyprus.
Your deck has ivory set into it.
7 Your sail of linen with designs sewed on it came from Egypt.
Your sail became like a flag for you.
Your cloth shades over the deck were blue and purple.
They came from the island of Cyprus.
8 Men from Sidon and Arvad used oars to row you.
Tyre, your skilled men were the sailors on your deck.
9 Workers of Byblos were on board ship with you.
They put caulk[a] in your ship’s seams.
All the ships of the sea and their sailors
came alongside to trade with you.
10 “‘Men of Persia, Lydia and Put
were soldiers in your army.
They hung their shields and helmets on your walls.
Their victories made you famous.
11 Men of Arvad and Celicia
guarded your city walls all around.
Men of Gammad
were in your watchtowers.
They hung their shields around your walls.
They made your beauty perfect.
12 “‘Tarshish traded with you for many kinds of things. They paid for them with silver, iron, tin and lead.
13 “‘People of Greece, Tubal and Meshech traded with you. They traded slaves and bronze things for the things you sell.
14 “‘People of Beth Togarmah traded work horses, war horses and mules for the things you sell.
15 “‘People of Rhodes traded with you. You sold your things on many coastlands. They paid you with ivory tusks and valuable black wood.
16 “‘Aram traded with you because you had so many good things to sell. They traded turquoise, purple cloth and cloth with designs sewed on. They also traded fine linen, coral and rubies for the things you sell.
17 “‘Judah and Israel traded with you. They paid for the things you sell with wheat from Minnith. They also paid with honey, olive oil and balm.
18 “‘Damascus traded with you because you have many good things. They paid for them with wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar.
19 “‘The Greeks from Uzal traded for the things you sold. They paid with wrought iron, cassia and sugar cane for your good things.
20 “‘Dedan traded saddle blankets to you.
21 “‘Arabia and all the rulers of Kedar traded with you. They traded lambs, male sheep and goats to you.
22 “‘The traders of Sheba and Raamah traded with you. They paid with all the best spices, valuable gems and gold.
23 “‘Haran, Canneh, Eden and the traders of Sheba, Asshur and Kilmad traded with you. 24 They paid with the best clothes, blue cloth and cloth with designs sewed on. They traded carpets of many colors and tightly wound ropes.
25 “‘Trading ships
carried the things you sold.
You were like a ship full of heavy cargo
in the middle of the sea.
26 The men who rowed you
brought you out into the high seas.
But the east wind has broken you to pieces
in the middle of the sea.
27 Your wealth, your trade and the things you sell will sink.
Your seamen, your sailors and your workers will sink.
Your traders, your soldiers,
and everyone else on board
will sink into the sea.
This will happen on the day your ship is wrecked.
28 The people on the shore will shake with fear
when your sailors cry out.
29 All the men who row
will leave their ships.
The seamen and the sailors of other ships
will stand on the shore.
30 They will cry loudly about you.
They will cry very much.
They will throw dust on their heads.
They will roll in ashes to show they are sad.
31 They will shave their heads for you.
And they will put on rough cloth to show they are upset.
They will cry very much for you.
They will cry loudly.
32 And in their loud crying
they will sing a funeral song for you.
“No one was ever destroyed like Tyre,
surrounded by the sea.”
33 The things you traded went out over the seas.
You met the needs of many nations.
With your great wealth and things you sold,
you made kings of the earth rich.
34 But now you are broken by the sea.
You have sunk to the bottom.
The things you sell and all your people
have gone down with you.
35 All those who live along the shore
are shocked by what happened to you.
Their kings are terribly afraid.
Their faces show their fear.
36 The traders among the nations hiss at you.
You have come to a terrible end.
And you are gone forever.’”
Prophecy Against the King of Tyre
28 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 2 “Human being, say to the ruler of Tyre: ‘This is what the Lord God says:
You are too proud.
And you say, “I am a god.
I sit on the throne of a god
in the middle of the seas.”
You think you are as wise as a god.
But you are a man, not a god.
3 You think you are wiser than Daniel.
You think you can find out all secrets.
4 Through your wisdom and understanding
you have made yourself rich.
You have gained gold and silver.
And you have saved it in your storerooms.
5 Through your great skill in trading,
you have made your riches grow.
You are too proud
because of your riches.
6 “‘So this is what the Lord God says:
You think you are wise
like a god.
7 But I will bring foreign people against you.
They will be the cruelest nation.
They will pull out their swords
and destroy all that your wisdom has built.
And they will dishonor your greatness.
8 They will kill you.
You will die a terrible death
like those who are killed at sea.
9 While they are killing you,
you will not be able to say anymore, “I am a god.”
You will be only a man, not a god,
when your murderers kill you.
10 You will die like an unclean person.
Foreigners will kill you.
I have spoken, says the Lord God.’”
11 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 12 “Human being, sing a funeral song for the king of Tyre. Say to him: ‘This is what the Lord God says:
You were an example of what was perfect.
You were full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You had a wonderful life,
like those in Eden, the garden of God.
Every valuable gem was on you:
ruby, topaz and emerald,
yellow quartz, onyx and jasper,
sapphire, turquoise and chrysolite.
Your jewelry was made of gold.
It was prepared on the day you were created.
14 I appointed a living creature to guard you.
I put you on the holy mountain of God.
You walked among the gems of fire.
15 Your life was right and good.
This was from the day you were created,
until evil was found in you.
16 Because you traded with countries far away,
you learned to be cruel, and you sinned.
So I threw you down in disgrace from the mountain of God.
And the living creature who guarded you
forced you out from among the gems of fire.
17 You became too proud
because of your beauty.
You ruined your wisdom
because of your greatness.
I threw you down to the ground.
Your example taught a lesson to other kings.
18 You dishonored your places of worship
through your many sins and dishonest trade.
So I set your city on fire.
And it burned up.
I turned you into ashes on the ground
for all those watching to see.
19 All the nations who knew you
are shocked about you.
Your punishment was so terrible.
And you are gone forever.’”
Prophecy Against Sidon
20 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 21 “Human being, look toward the city of Sidon and prophesy against her. 22 Say: ‘This is what the Lord God says:
I am against you, Sidon.
I will show my greatness among you.
Then people will know that I am the Lord
when I have punished Sidon.
I will show my holiness by defeating her.
23 I will send diseases to Sidon,
and blood will flow in her streets.
Those who are wounded in Sidon will fall dead.
She will be attacked from all sides.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
God Will Help Israel
24 “‘No more will neighboring nations be like thorny branches or sharp stickers to hurt Israel. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.
25 “‘This is what the Lord God says: I will gather the people of Israel from the nations where they are scattered. I will show my holiness when the nations see what I do to my people. Then they will live in their own land—the land I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 Then they will live safely in the land. They will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live in safety after I have punished all the nations around who hate them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”
Prophecy Against Egypt
29 It was the tenth year, in the tenth month of our captivity. It was on the twelfth day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 2 “Human being, look toward the king of Egypt. And prophesy against him and all Egypt. 3 Say: ‘This is what the Lord God says:
I am against you, king of Egypt.
You are like a great crocodile that lies in the Nile River.
You say, “The Nile is mine.
I made it for myself.”
4 But I will put hooks in your jaws.
I will make the fish of the Nile stick to your sides.
I will pull you up out of your rivers,
with all the fish sticking to your sides.
5 I will leave you in the desert.
I will leave you and all the fish from your rivers.
You will fall on the open field.
You will not be picked up or buried.
I have given you to the wild animals.
And I have given you to the birds of the sky for food.
6 Then all the people who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.
“‘Israel tried to lean on you for help. But you were like a crutch made out of a weak stalk of grass. 7 When their hands grabbed you, you splintered and tore open their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke and made all their backs twist.
8 “‘So this is what the Lord God says: I will cause an enemy to attack you. He will kill your men and animals. 9 Then Egypt will become an empty desert. They will know that I am the Lord.
“‘This is because you said, “The Nile River is mine. And I have made it.” 10 So, I am against you. I am against your rivers. I will destroy the land of Egypt. It will be empty desert from Migdol in the north to Aswan in the south. It will be empty all the way to the southern border of Cush. 11 No man or animal will walk through it. No one will live in Egypt for 40 years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt the emptiest country of all. And her cities will be the emptiest of all ruined cities for 40 years. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. And I will spread them among the countries.
13 “‘This is what the Lord God says: After 40 years I will gather Egypt from the nations where they have been scattered. 14 I will bring back the Egyptian captives. I will make the Egyptians return to southern Egypt. They will return to the land that they came from. They will become a weak kingdom there. 15 It will be the weakest kingdom. It will never again rule other nations. I will make it so weak it will never again rule over the nations. 16 The Israelites will never again depend on Egypt. Egypt’s punishment will remind the Israelites of their sin. They turned to Egypt for help and not to God. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.’”
Egypt Is Given to Babylon
17 It was the twenty-seventh year of our captivity, in the first month. It was on the first day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 18 “Human being, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army fight hard against Tyre. Every soldier’s head was rubbed bare. Every shoulder was rubbed raw. But Nebuchadnezzar and his army gained nothing from fighting Tyre. 19 So this is what the Lord God says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And Nebuchadnezzar will take away Egypt’s people. He will take Egypt’s wealth and its valuable things as pay for his army. 20 I have given Nebuchadnezzar the land of Egypt. It is a reward for working hard to defeat Egypt for me. That is what the Lord God says.
21 “On that day I will make Israel grow strong again. I will let you, Ezekiel, speak to them. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”
Wives and Husbands
3 In the same way, you wives should accept the authority of your husbands. Then, if some husbands have not obeyed God’s teaching, they will be persuaded to believe. You will not need to say a word to them. They will be persuaded by the way their wives live. 2 Your husbands will see the pure lives that you live with your respect for God. 3 It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. 4 No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. This beauty will never disappear, and it is worth very much to God. 5 It was the same with the holy women who lived long ago and followed God. They made themselves beautiful in this way. They accepted the authority of their husbands. 6 Sarah obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him her master. And you women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid.
7 In the same way, you husbands should live with your wives in an understanding way. You should show respect to them. They are weaker than you. But God gives them the same blessing that he gives you—the grace that gives true life. Do this so that nothing will stop your prayers.
Suffering for Doing Right
8 Finally, all of you should live together in peace. Try to understand each other. Love each other as brothers. Be kind and humble. 9 Do not do wrong to a person to pay him back for doing wrong to you. Or do not insult someone to pay him back for insulting you. But ask God to bless that person. Do this, because you yourselves were called to receive a blessing. 10 The Scripture says,
“A person must do these things
to enjoy life and have many, happy days.
He must not say evil things.
He must not tell lies.
11 He must stop doing evil and do good.
He must look for peace and work for it.
12 The Lord sees the good people.
He listens to their prayers.
But the Lord is against
those who do evil.” Psalm 34:12-16
13 If you are always trying to do good, no one can really hurt you. 14 But you may suffer for doing right. Even if that happens, you are blessed.
“Don’t be afraid of the things they fear.
Do not dread those things.
15 But respect Christ as the holy Lord in your hearts.” Isaiah 8:12-13
Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have. 16 But answer in a gentle way and with respect. Always feel that you are doing right. Then, those who speak evil of your good life in Christ will be made ashamed. 17 It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong. Yes, it is better, if that is what God wants. 18 Christ himself died for you. And that one death paid for your sins. He was not guilty, but he died for those who are guilty. He did this to bring you all to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit. 19 And in the spirit he went and preached to the spirits in prison. 20 These were the spirits who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for them while Noah was building the boat. Only a few people—eight in all—were saved by water. 21 That water is like baptism that now saves you—not the washing of dirt from the body, but the promise made to God from a good heart. And this is because Jesus Christ was raised from death. 22 Now Jesus has gone into heaven and is at God’s right side. He rules over angels, authorities, and powers.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.