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Chapter 26

Against Tyre.[a][b] In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, Tyre has said in regard to Jerusalem:

Aha! The gateway to the nations has been shattered;
    she has opened her doors to me.
Now that she lies in ruins,
    her wealth will be mine.

Therefore, thus says the Lord God:

Behold, I am against you, O Tyre,
    and as the sea raises up its waves,
    I will raise up many nations against you.
They will destroy your walls, O Tyre,
    and demolish your towers.
I will scrape away your soil
    and reduce you to a bare rock.
You shall become a drying ground for nets
    in the midst of the sea.
Thus I have decreed, says the Lord God,
    you will become the prey of the nations,
and your towns on the mainland will be destroyed.
    Thus, everyone will know that I am the Lord.

For thus says the Lord God: From the north I will bring against Tyre King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a large and powerful army.

He will put to the sword
    the inhabitants of your neighboring towns.
He will construct siege-works against you,
    surround you with a siege-ramp,
    and raise his shields against you.
He will direct the power of his battering rams
    against your walls
    and demolish your towers with his axes.
10 His horses shall be so great in number
    that you will be covered with their dust.
Your very walls will shake
    from the noise of cavalry, wheels, and chariots
when he enters your gates,
    like those entering a city
    whose walls have been breached.
11 All of your streets will be trampled
    by the hoofs of his horses.
He will put your people to the sword
    and throw your massive pillars to the ground.
12 Your riches will be plundered,
    and your merchandise will be looted.
They will tear down your walls,
    and your fine houses will be destroyed.
Your stones and timber and even your rubble,
    they will cast into the sea.
13 I will silence the music of your songs;
    the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard.
14 I will make Tyre a bare rock,
    a place where nets are spread to dry.
You shall never again be rebuilt,
    for I, the Lord, have spoken,
    says the Lord God.

15 Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Will not the islands quake at the noise of your fall, amid the groaning of your wounded and the slaughter taking place in your midst? 16 Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones, remove their robes, and take off their embroidered garments. Their bodies having been overcome with incessant trembling, they will sit on the ground, totally appalled at you. 17 Then they will raise a lament over you:

How you have perished, swept from the sea,
    O greatly renowned city!
You were once mighty on the sea,
    you and your inhabitants,
who used to spread terror
    on all the mainland.
18 Now the coastlands tremble
    on the day of your fall;
the islands of the sea
    are appalled at your passing.

19 For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a ruined city, like other deserted cities, when I raise the deep over you and its mighty waters cover you, 20 then I will thrust you down with those who have descended into the pit, to the people of past ages, and I will force you to live in the netherworld, in the ruins of primeval times, with those who have gone down into the pit, so that you will never again be inhabited or take your place in the land of the living. 21 I will bring you to a horrible end, and you will be no more. People will search for you, but you will never be found again.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 26:1 The fate of Tyre seems to set a pattern, and Ezekiel lingers over it, mingling gloomy laments of great poetic power with prophecies of destruction. At the beginning of the sixth century B.C., this fortified island enjoyed an exceptional status, being as it was at the forefront of commercial activity and in possession of immense wealth.
  2. Ezekiel 26:1 The siege of Tyre proved difficult; it was begun by Nebuchadnezzar in 585 B.C. and lasted thirteen years, ending with the surrender of the city.

A Prophecy Against Tyre

26 In the eleventh month of the twelfth[a] year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:(A) “Son of man, because Tyre(B) has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha!(C) The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea(D) casting up its waves. They will destroy(E) the walls of Tyre(F) and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. Out in the sea(G) she will become a place to spread fishnets,(H) for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder(I) for the nations,(J) and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar[b](K) king of Babylon, king of kings,(L) with horses and chariots,(M) with horsemen and a great army. He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works(N) against you, build a ramp(O) up to your walls and raise his shields against you. He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons.(P) 10 His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the warhorses, wagons and chariots(Q) when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through. 11 The hooves(R) of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars(S) will fall to the ground.(T) 12 They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea.(U) 13 I will put an end(V) to your noisy songs,(W) and the music of your harps(X) will be heard no more.(Y) 14 I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt,(Z) for I the Lord have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.

15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands(AA) tremble(AB) at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan(AC) and the slaughter takes place in you? 16 Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered(AD) garments. Clothed(AE) with terror, they will sit on the ground,(AF) trembling(AG) every moment, appalled(AH) at you. 17 Then they will take up a lament(AI) concerning you and say to you:

“‘How you are destroyed, city of renown,
    peopled by men of the sea!
You were a power on the seas,
    you and your citizens;
you put your terror
    on all who lived there.(AJ)
18 Now the coastlands tremble(AK)
    on the day of your fall;
the islands in the sea
    are terrified at your collapse.’(AL)

19 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths(AM) over you and its vast waters cover you,(AN) 20 then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit,(AO) to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place[c] in the land of the living.(AP) 21 I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more.(AQ) You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign Lord.”(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 26:1 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text does not have month of the twelfth.
  2. Ezekiel 26:7 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Ezekiel and Jeremiah
  3. Ezekiel 26:20 Septuagint; Hebrew return, and I will give glory