Ezekiel 27
Expanded Bible
A Funeral Song for Tyre
27 The ·Lord spoke his word [L word of the Lord came] to me, saying: 2 “·Human [T Son of man; 2:1], sing a ·funeral song [lament; dirge] for the city of Tyre. 3 Speak to Tyre, which ·has ports for the Mediterranean Sea [L sits at the gateway to the Sea] and is a ·place for trade [merchant] for the people of many coastlands. ‘This is what the Lord God says:
Tyre, you have said,
“I am ·like a beautiful ship [L perfect in beauty].”
4 ·You were at home on [L Your borders were in the heart of] the high seas.
Your builders made your beauty perfect.
5 They made all your boards
of fir trees from ·Mount Hermon [L Senir].
They took a cedar tree from Lebanon
to make a ship’s mast for you.
6 They made your oars
from oak trees from Bashan.
They made your deck
from cypress trees from the coast of ·Cyprus [L Kittim]
·and set ivory into it [inlaid with ivory].
7 Your sail of ·linen with designs sewed on it [embroidered linen] came from Egypt
and ·became like a flag for you [served as your banner].
Your ·cloth shades over the deck [awnings] were blue and purple
and came from the ·island [coastlands] of ·Cyprus [L Elisha; C a city on the east side of Cyprus and an older name for the island].
8 ·Men [Residents; or Leaders] from Sidon [C a major city twenty-five miles north of Tyre] and Arvad [C a city on the Phoenician coast, north of Sidon] used oars to row you.
Tyre, your skilled men were ·the sailors [or captains; pilots] on your deck.
9 ·Workers [or Veteran craftsmen; L Elders] of Byblos were with you,
putting caulk 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 [L Lud; C a city in Asia Minor], and ·Put [C present-day Libya, in North Africa]
were warriors in your ·navy [army]
and hung their shields and helmets on your sides.
They ·made you look beautiful [gave you splendor].
11 Men of Arvad [v. 8] and ·Cilicia [L Helech; C southeast Asia Minor]
guarded your city walls all around.
Men of Gammad [C an unknown location, perhaps northern Asia Minor]
were in your watchtowers
and hung their shields around your walls.
They made your beauty perfect.
12 “‘People of Tarshish [C probably in southern Spain; Jonah 1:3] became traders for you because of your great wealth. They ·traded [exchanged] your goods for silver, iron, tin, and lead.
13 “‘People of ·Greece [L Javan], Tubal, and Meshech [C both in Asia Minor; 32:26] became merchants for you. They traded your goods for slaves and items of bronze.
14 “‘People of Beth Togarmah [C eastern Asia Minor; present-day Armenia] traded your goods for ·work [or chariot] horses, war horses [C either chariot of cavalry horses], and mules.
15 “‘·People of [L Sons of] Rhodes[a] [C an island off southwest coast of Asia Minor] became merchants for you, selling your goods on many coastlands. They brought back ivory tusks and ·valuable black wood [ebony] as your payment.
16 “‘People of Aram[b] [C Syria] ·became traders for [did business with] you, because you had so many good things to sell. They traded your goods for turquoise, purple cloth, ·cloth with designs sewed on [embroidered work], fine linen, coral, and rubies.
17 “‘People of Judah and Israel became merchants for you. They traded your goods for wheat from Minnith [C a town in Ammon, east of the Jordan River], and for ·meal [millet], honey, olive oil, and balm.
20 “‘People of Dedan [C a territory in southern Edom] became merchants for you, trading saddle blankets for riding.
21 “‘People of Arabia and all the ·rulers [princes] of Kedar became traders for you. They received lambs, ·male sheep [rams], and goats in payment for you.
22 “‘The merchants of Sheba [C the southwestern Arabian peninsula, present-day Yemen] and Raamah [C a city in southern Arabia] became merchants for you. They traded your goods for all the best spices, ·valuable gems [precious stones], and gold.
23 “‘People of Haran [C a city in present-day eastern Turkey], Canneh [C unknown location], Eden [C in Mesopotamia near Haran], and the traders of Sheba [v. 22], Asshur [C a city south of Nineveh], and Kilmad [C an unknown location] became merchants for you. 24 They were paid with the best clothes, blue cloth, ·cloth with designs sewed on [embroidered work], carpets of many colors, ·and tightly wound ropes [or rolled up and tied with cords; or made of tightly knotted cords].
25 “‘·Trading ships [or The ships of Tarshish]
carried ·the things you sold [your merchandise].
You were like a ship full of heavy cargo
in the ·middle [L heart] of the sea.
26 The men who rowed you
brought you out into the high seas,
but the east wind broke you to pieces
in the ·middle [L heart] of the sea.
27 Your wealth, your ·trade [products], your goods,
your seamen, your ·sailors [or captains], your ·workers [or caulkers],
your traders, your ·warriors [soldiers],
and everyone else on board
sank into the ·sea [L heart of the sea]
on the day ·your ship was wrecked [L of your fall].
28 The ·people on the shore shake with fear [L countryside shakes; or waves surge]
when your ·sailors [or captains] cry out.
29 All the men who row
·leave [disembark from; or abandon] their ships;
the seamen and the ·sailors [or captains] of other ships
stand on the shore.
30 They cry loudly about you;
they cry ·very much [bitterly].
They throw dust on their heads
and roll in ashes.
31 They shave their heads for you,
and they put on ·rough cloth [burlap; sackcloth; C signs of sorrow and distress].
They ·cry and sob for you [weep over you with bitter souls];
they ·cry loudly [mourn bitterly].
32 And in their ·loud crying [wailing]
they sing a ·funeral song [lament; dirge] for you:
“·No one was ever destroyed [L Who was…?] like Tyre,
·surrounded by [or like a tower in the middle of; or now silent in the midst of] the sea.”
33 When the goods you traded went out over the seas,
you ·met the needs of [satisfied] many nations.
With your great wealth and ·goods [merchandise],
you made kings of the earth rich.
34 But now you are ·broken [shipwrecked; shattered] by the sea
·and have sunk to the bottom [L in the depths of the waters].
Your ·goods [merchandise] and all the people on board
have gone down with you.
35 All those who live along the ·shore [coastland]
are ·shocked [appalled; aghast] by what happened to you.
Their kings are ·terribly afraid [horrified],
and their faces ·show their fear [are troubled/contorted].
36 The traders among the nations hiss at you.
You have ·come to a terrible end [or become a horror],
and you are gone forever.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 27:15 Rhodes Greek copies read “Rhodes.” Hebrew copies read “Dedan.”
- Ezekiel 27:16 Aram Some Hebrew copies read “Edom.”
- Ezekiel 27:18 barrels of wine Some Hebrew copies read “Vedan and Javan.”
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