Ezekiel 26

International Standard Version

A Message Condemning Tyre

26 During the eleventh year, on the first day of the month of our captivity^[a], this message came to me from the Lord: ² “Son of Man, because Tyre has been saying about Jerusalem,

³ “Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Watch out! I’m coming to get^[b] you, Tyre! I’m about to bring many nations to attack you. They’ll come in wave after wave, like the advancing tide,^{[c] 4} and will destroy the city walls of Tyre. After they break down her fortified towers, I’ll scrape away the city’s debris, right down to the bare bedrock, ⁵ and it will become a place where nets will be spread out right in the middle of the Mediterranean^[d] Sea. Because I have declared this to happen,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Tyre will be treated as the spoils of war by the invading^[e] nations. ⁶ Furthermore, her citizens^[f] who live on the mainland will be executed with swords. That’s how they’ll learn that I am the Lord.’”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Invasion

⁷ “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Watch out! I’m about to bring from the north King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, that king of kings. He’ll come with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a vast army. ⁸ He’ll execute your citizens who live on the mainland with swords. He’ll build siege engines to attack you. Then he’ll construct siege ramps against you and build huge shields to protect themselves^[g] against you.

⁹ “‘He’ll direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and will breach your fortified towers with axes.^{[h] 10} There will be so many horses that the dust raised by them will cover you completely. The walls of your city will tremble from the noise of Nebuchadnezzar’s^[i] cavalry, wagons, and chariots when they enter through the gates of your city, as men enter a city that has been breached.

¹¹ “‘Their horses will trample all the public places as he executes your inhabitants with swords. The most fortified of your pillars will be torn to the ground. ¹² They will plunder your riches and loot your businesses. They’ll tear down your walls and demolish your luxurious homes. They’ll grab the stones, wood, and rubble from the destruction and dump it all into the Mediterranean^[j] Sea.

¹³ “‘I’ll silence the noise of your songs and the music of your harps won’t be heard anymore. ¹⁴ I’ll turn you into bare rock, and your city will become a place to spread nets. You will never be built again, because I the Lord have decreed this,’ declares the Lord God.”

Terror at Tyre’s Destruction

¹⁵ “This is what the Lord God says to Tyre: ‘When your wounded citizens groan while the slaughter takes place among you, the people who live in the coastlands will tremble in terror as they hear about your fall, will they not? ¹⁶ That’s when all the kings of the seafaring nations will abandon their thrones, strip off their fancy clothes, and collapse trembling on the ground. They’ll be so frightened as they observe what has happened to you that they’ll be unable to stop trembling. They will be utterly appalled at you! ¹⁷ They’ll sing this mourning song for you:

¹⁹ “This is what the Lord God says: ‘When I turn your city into a ghost town, when I flood you with deep water that covers you completely, ²⁰ I’ll make sure that you go straight to the Pit,^[m] into the lowest part of the earth, where you’ll be with people who lived in ancient times. You’ll keep company there with the dead, who have gone into the Pit.^[n] As a result, your city^[o] won’t be inhabited. Meanwhile, I will display my glory in the land of the living. ²¹ I’m going to send terrifying calamity in your direction, and you won’t exist any longer. You might be sought after, but you’ll never be found again,’ declares the Lord God.”