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Chapter 27

Lamentation over Tyre. This word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, raise lament over Tyre, and say to Tyre which is enthroned at the entrance to the sea and serves as the center of trade between the nations and many coastlands: Thus says the Lord God:

O Tyre, you often used to declare,
    “I am a ship perfect in beauty.”
Your frontiers bordered the high seas,
    and your builders perfected your beauty.
They used cypress from Senir[a]
    to construct all your planks;
they took cedar of Lebanon
    to make a mast above you.
From oaks of Bashan,
    they made your oars;
they constructed your deck with cypress[b]
    from the coasts of Kittim.
Fine embroidered linen from Egypt
    was used for your sail
    and also for your flag.
Purple and scarlet from the coasts of Elishah[c]
    served as your awnings.
The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad
    served as your oarsmen.
Skilled men of Zemer were aboard
    to act as your sailors.
The elders and craftsmen were available
    to caulk your seams.
All the ships of the sea with their sailors
    came to you to trade for your wares.
10 Men from Persia and Lud and Put[d]
    served as warriors in your army.
They proudly displayed on your walls
    their shields and helmets to bring you splendor.
11 Men of Arvad and Helech
    guarded your walls on every side,
    while the men of Gamad manned your towers.
They hung their shields all around your walls,
    thereby perfecting your beauty.

12 [e]Tarshish[f] traded with you because of the vast abundance of your wealth, exchanging silver, iron, tin, and lead for your wares. 13 [g]Javan, Tubal, and Meshech also traded with you, exchanging slaves and articles of bronze for your merchandise.

14 Beth-togarmah exchanged horses, steeds, and mules for your wares. 15 The Rhodians dealt with you; many islands engaged in trade with you and paid you with ivory tusks and ebony. 16 Edom traded with you because of the large variety of your products; for your wares they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies. 17 Judah and the land of Israel also traded with you, exchanging for your goods wheat, figs, honey, oil, and balm.

18 Damascus traded with you because of your great wealth, offering to you wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar. 19 [h]Danites and Javanites traded wrought iron, cassia, and aromatic cane from Uzal for your wares, 20 while Dedan traded with you for saddle blankets.

21 Arabia and all the sheikhs of Kedar were your customers, paying you with lambs, rams, and goats. 22 Merchants from Sheba and Raamah traded with you, offering in exchange the finest spices, every kind of precious stones, and gold.

23 Haran, Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you,[i] 24 offering in return rich garments, embroidered purple cloaks, and materials of many colors bound with cords that were firmly woven.

25 The ships of Tarshish were employed
    as carriers for your wares.
Therefore, you were filled and heavily laden
    as you sailed the high seas.
26 Your oarsmen rowed through deep waters
    on their journey home.
But the east wind[j] wrecked you
    when you were far out at sea.
27 Your riches, your goods, your cargo,
    your sailors and your crew,
your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,
    and all their warriors and passengers
sank into the depths of the sea
    on the day of your shipwreck.
28 The coasts will begin to quake
    upon hearing the cries of your sailors.
29 Then those who handle the oars
    will begin to desert their ships.
The sailors and all the seafaring people
    will remain ashore.
30 They will mourn aloud over you
    and weep bitterly.
They will throw dust on their heads
    and roll in ashes.
31 They will shave their heads for you
    and put on sackcloth.
For you, they will weep in anguish
    and with heartfelt bitterness.
32 In their mourning, they will raise a dirge
    and lament over you:
Who was ever destroyed like Tyre
    in the midst of the sea?
33 When your goods were unloaded,
    you satisfied a multitude of peoples.
You enriched the kings of the earth
    with your abundant wealth and merchandise.
34 Now you have been demolished by the sea
    in the watery depths.
Your merchandise and all your crew
    have gone down with you.
35 All who dwell on the coastlands
    are aghast at your fate.
Their kings are horrified;
    their faces are convulsed.
36 The merchants among the nations
    now hiss at you.
Destruction has overwhelmed you,
    and you will be no more.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 27:5 Senir: the massif of Mount Hermon.
  2. Ezekiel 27:6 Cypress: in Hebrew, Kittim. The name is used here in a broad sense to include the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean.
  3. Ezekiel 27:7 Coasts of Elishah: identification uncertain; elsewhere described as near places on the Mediterranean.
  4. Ezekiel 27:10 Put: in Africa, near the Indian Ocean.
  5. Ezekiel 27:12 A section in prose is introduced into the middle of the lament; it provides valuable information on international trade in the sixth century B.C., especially in the Palestinian area.
  6. Ezekiel 27:12 Tarshish: a city founded on the Spanish coast by people from Tyre; it symbolizes the far-off places of the then known world.
  7. Ezekiel 27:13 Tubal, and Meshech: south of the Caucasus. Beth-togarmah: in Armenia. Rhod[es]: the Hebrew has “Dedan” (v. 20), which was in Arabia. Helbon: an Assyrian city.
  8. Ezekiel 27:19 References are to tribes in southern Arabia.
  9. Ezekiel 27:23 Mesopotamian cities.
  10. Ezekiel 27:26 East wind: the Babylonians, who, like the wind, destroy every country and people.