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A Funeral Song for Tyre

27 The Lord said:

Ezekiel, son of man, sing a funeral song for Tyre,[a] the city that is built along the sea and that trades with nations along the coast. Tell the people of Tyre that the following message is from me:

Tyre, you brag about
your perfect beauty,
    and your control of the sea.[b]

You are a ship
    built to perfection.
Builders used cypress trees
from Mount Hermon
    to make your planks
and a cedar tree from Lebanon
    for your tall mast.
Oak trees from Bashan
    were shaped into oars;
pine trees from Cyprus[c]
    were cut for your deck,
which was then decorated
    with strips of ivory.
The builders used fancy linen
from Egypt for your sails,
    so everyone could see you.
Blue and purple cloth
from Cyprus was used
    to shade your deck.
Men from Sidon and Arvad
    did the rowing,
and your own skilled workers
    were the captains.
Experienced men from Byblos
    repaired any damages.
Sailors from all over
shopped at the stores
    in your port.

10 Brave soldiers from Persia,
Lydia, and Libya
    served in your navy,
protecting you with shields
and helmets,
    and making you famous.
11 Your guards came from
    Arvad and Cilicia,
and men from Gamad
    stood watch in your towers.
With their weapons
hung on your walls,
    your beauty was complete.

12 Merchants from southern Spain[d] traded silver, iron, tin, and lead for your products. 13 The people of Greece, Tubal, and Meshech traded slaves and things made of bronze, 14 and those from Beth-Togarmah traded work horses, war horses, and mules. 15 You also did business with people from Rhodes,[e] and people from nations along the coast gave you ivory and ebony[f] in exchange for your goods. 16 Edom[g] traded emeralds, purple cloth, embroidery, fine linen, coral, and rubies. 17 Judah and Israel gave you their finest wheat, fancy figs,[h] honey, olive oil, and spices in exchange for your merchandise. 18 The people of Damascus saw what you had to offer and brought you wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar. 19 Vedan and Javan near Uzal[i] traded you iron and spices. 20 The people of Dedan supplied you with saddle blankets, 21 while people from Arabia and the rulers of Kedar traded lambs, sheep, and goats. 22 Merchants from Sheba and Raamah gave you excellent spices, precious stones, and gold in exchange for your products. 23 You also did business with merchants from the cities of Haran, Canneh, Eden, Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, 24 and they gave you expensive clothing, purple and embroidered cloth, brightly colored rugs, and strong rope. 25 (A) Large, seagoing ships[j] carried your goods wherever they needed to go.

You were like a ship
loaded with heavy cargo
26     and sailing across the sea,
but you were wrecked
    by strong eastern winds.
27 Everything on board was lost—
    your valuable cargo,
    your sailors and carpenters,
    merchants and soldiers.
28 The shouts of your drowning crew
    were heard on the shore.

29 Every ship is deserted;
rowers and sailors and captains
    all stand on shore,
30     mourning for you.
They show their sorrow
by putting dust on their heads
    and rolling in ashes;
31 they shave their heads
and dress in sackcloth[k]
    as they cry in despair.
32 In their grief they sing
    a funeral song for you:
“Tyre, you were greater
    than all other cities.
But now you lie in silence
    at the bottom of the sea.[l]

33 “Nations that received
your merchandise
    were always pleased;
kings everywhere got rich
    from your costly goods.
34 But now you are wrecked
    in the deep sea,
with your cargo and crew
    scattered everywhere.
35 People living along the coast
    are shocked at the news.
Their rulers are horrified,
and terror is written
    across their faces.
36 The merchants of the world
    can't believe what happened.
Your death was gruesome,
    and you are gone forever.”

Judgment on the King of Tyre

28 The Lord God said:

Ezekiel, son of man, tell the king of Tyre[m] that I am saying:

You are so arrogant that you think you're a god and that the city of Tyre is your throne. You may claim to be a god, though you're nothing but a mere human. You think you're wiser than Daniel[n] and know everything.[o]

Your wisdom has certainly made you rich, because you have storehouses filled with gold and silver. You're a clever businessman and are extremely wealthy, but your wealth has led to arrogance!

You compared yourself to a god, so now I, the Lord God, will make you the victim of cruel enemies. They will destroy all the possessions you've worked so hard to get. Your enemies will brutally kill you, and the sea will be your only grave.

When you face your enemies, will you still claim to be a god? They will attack, and you will suffer like any other human. 10 Foreigners will kill you, and you will die the death of those who don't worship me. I, the Lord, have spoken.

A Funeral Song for the King of Tyre

11 The Lord said:

12 Ezekiel, son of man, sing a funeral song for the king of Tyre[p] and tell him I am saying:

At one time, you were perfect,[q] intelligent, and good-looking. 13 You lived in the garden of Eden and wore jewelry made of brightly colored gems and precious stones. They were all set in gold[r] and were ready for you on the day you were born. 14 I appointed a winged creature to guard your home[s] on my holy mountain, where you walked among gems that dazzled like fire.

15 You were truly good from the time of your birth, but later you started doing wicked things. 16 You traded with other nations and became more and more cruel and evil. So I forced you to leave my mountain, and the creature that had been your protector now chased you away from the jewels.

17 It was your good looks that made you arrogant, and you were so famous that you started acting like a fool. That's why I threw you to the ground and let other kings sneer at you. 18 You have cheated so many other merchants that your places of worship are corrupt. So I set your city on fire and burned it down. Now everyone sees only ashes where your city once stood, 19 and the people of other nations are shocked. Your punishment was horrible, and you are gone forever.

Judgment on Sidon and Peace for Israel

20 (B) The Lord said:

21 Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the city of Sidon[t] 22 and tell its people:

I, the Lord God, am your enemy! People will praise me when I punish you, and they will see that I am holy. 23 I will send deadly diseases to wipe you out, and I will send enemies to invade and surround you. Your people will be killed, and you will know that I am the Lord.

24 When that happens, the people of Israel will no longer have cruel neighbors that abuse them and make them feel as though they are in a field of thorns and briers. And the Israelites will know that I, the Lord God, have done these things.

A Blessing for Israel

25 The Lord God said:

Someday I will gather the people of Israel from the nations where they are now scattered, and every nation will see that I am holy. The Israelites will once again live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will be safe and will build houses and plant vineyards. They will no longer be in danger, because I will punish their hateful neighbors. Israel will know that I am the Lord their God.

Judgment on the King of Egypt

29 (C) Ten years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the Lord spoke to me on the twelfth day of the tenth month.[u] He said:

Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the king of Egypt. Tell him and his people that I am saying:

King of Egypt, you were like a giant crocodile lying in a river. You acted as though you owned the Nile and made it for yourself. But now I, the Lord God, am your enemy! I will put a hook in your jaw and pull you out of the water, and all the fish in your river will stick to your scaly body.[v] I'll throw you and the fish into the desert, and your body will fall on the hard ground. You will be left unburied,[w] and wild animals and birds will eat your flesh. (D) Then everyone in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

You and your nation refused to help the people of Israel and were nothing more than a broken stick. When they reached out to you for support, you broke in half, cutting their arms and making them fall.[x]

So I, the Lord God, will send troops to attack you, king of Egypt. They will kill your people and livestock, until your land is a barren desert. Then you will know that I have done these things.

You claimed that you made the Nile River and control it. 10 Now I am turning against you and your river. Your nation will be nothing but an empty wasteland all the way from the town of Migdol in the north to Aswan in the south, and as far as the border of Ethiopia.[y] 11 No human or animal will even dare travel through Egypt, because no sign of life will be found there for 40 years. 12 It will be the most barren place on earth. Every city in Egypt will lie in ruins during those 40 years, and I will scatter your people throughout the nations of the world.

13 Then after those 40 years have passed, I will bring your people back from the places where I scattered them. 14 They will once again live in their homeland in southern Egypt. But they will be a weak kingdom 15 and won't ever be strong enough to rule nations, as they did in the past. 16 My own people Israel will never again depend on your nation. In fact, when the Israelites remember what happened to you Egyptians, they will realize how wrong they were to turn to you for help. Then the Israelites will know that I, the Lord God, did these things.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia Will Conquer Egypt

17 Twenty-seven years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the Lord spoke to me on the first day of the first month.[z] He said:

18 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia has attacked the city of Tyre. He forced his soldiers to carry so many heavy loads that their heads were rubbed bald, and their shoulders were red and sore. Nebuchadnezzar and his army still could not capture the city. 19 So now I will hand over the nation of Egypt to him. He will take Egypt's valuable treasures and give them to his own troops. 20 Egypt will be his reward, because he and his army have been following my orders. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

21 Ezekiel, when Egypt is defeated, I will make the people of Israel strong, and I will give you the power to speak to them. Then they will know that I, the Lord, have done these things.

Footnotes

  1. 27.2 Tyre: See the note at 26.2.
  2. 27.4 and your control of the sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 27.6 pine trees from Cyprus: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 27.12 southern Spain: The Hebrew text has “Tarshish,” which may have been a Phoenician city in southern Spain.
  5. 27.15 Rhodes: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Dedan.”
  6. 27.15 ebony: A valuable black wood.
  7. 27.16 Edom: Some Hebrew manuscripts and one ancient translation; most Hebrew manuscripts “Syria.”
  8. 27.17 their finest wheat, fancy figs: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  9. 27.19 Vedan and Javan near Uzal: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  10. 27.25 Large, seagoing ships: The Hebrew text has “Ships of Tarshish,” which may have been a Phoenician city in Spain. “Ships of Tarshish” probably means large, seagoing ships.
  11. 27.31 sackcloth: See the note at 7.18.
  12. 27.32 Tyre, you were greater … the bottom of the sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  13. 28.2 Tyre: See the note at 26.2.
  14. 28.3 Daniel: See the note at 14.14.
  15. 28.3 and know everything: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  16. 28.12 Tyre: See the note at 26.2.
  17. 28.12 you were perfect: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  18. 28.13 They were all set in gold: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  19. 28.14 I appointed a winged creature to guard your home: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  20. 28.21 Sidon: See the note at 26.2.
  21. 29.1 Ten years … tenth month: Probably January of 587 b.c.
  22. 29.4 all the fish in your river will stick to your scaly body: All the king's officials will be removed from power and destroyed along with the king himself.
  23. 29.5 You will be left unburied: A proper burial in a royal tomb was extremely important to Egyptian kings, because they often thought of themselves as gods.
  24. 29.7 making them fall: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  25. 29.10 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
  26. 29.17 Twenty-seven … first month: Probably March of 571 b.c.

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