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Isaiah 23
Contemporary English Version
Isaiah 23
Contemporary English Version
The City of Tyre Will Be Punished
23 (A) This is a message from distant islands about the city of Tyre:[a]
Cry, you seagoing ships![b]
Tyre and its houses
lie in ruins.[c]
2 Mourn in silence,
you shop owners of Sidon,[d]
you people on the coast.
Your sailors crossed oceans,
making your city rich.
3 Your merchants sailed the seas,
making you wealthy by trading
with nation after nation.
They brought back grain
that grew along the Nile.[e]
4 Sidon, you are a mighty fortress
built along the sea.
But you will be disgraced
like a married woman
who never had children.[f]
5 When Egypt hears about Tyre,
it will tremble.
6 All of you along the coast
had better cry and sail
far across the ocean.[g]
7 Can this be the happy city
that has stood for centuries?
Its people have spread
to distant lands;
8 its merchants were kings
honored all over the world.
Who planned to destroy Tyre?
9 The Lord All-Powerful planned it
to bring shame and disgrace
to those who are honored
by everyone on earth.
10 People of Tyre,[h]
your harbor is destroyed!
You will have to become farmers
just like the Egyptians.[i]
Tyre Will Be Forgotten
11 The Lord's hand has reached
across the sea,
upsetting the nations.
He has given a command
to destroy fortresses
in the land of Canaan.
12 The Lord has said
to the people of Sidon,
“Your celebrating is over—
you are crushed.
Even if you escape to Cyprus,
you won't find peace.”
13 Look what the Assyrians have done to Babylonia! They have attacked, destroying every palace in the land. Now wild animals live among the ruins.[j] 14 Not a fortress will be left standing, so tell all the seagoing ships[k] to mourn.
15 The city of Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years, which is the lifetime of a king. Then Tyre will be like that evil woman in the song:
16 You're gone and forgotten,
you evil woman!
So strut through the town,
singing and playing
your favorite tune
to be remembered again.
17 At the end of those 70 years, the Lord will let Tyre get back into business. The city will be like a woman who sells her body to everyone of every nation on earth, 18 but none of what is earned will be kept in the city. That money will belong to the Lord, and it will be used to buy more than enough food and good clothes for those who worship the Lord.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 23.1 Tyre: A fortress city built on an island in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of what is now Lebanon.
- 23.1 seagoing ships: See the note at 2.16.
- 23.1 Tyre … ruins: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 23.2 Sidon: A coastal city just north of Tyre.
- 23.3 along the Nile: The Hebrew text has “grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile,” but Shihor is probably a name for a region near the lower part of the Nile.
- 23.4 children: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 23.6 far across the ocean: The Hebrew text has “to Tarshish,” probably meaning a long distance.
- 23.10 People of Tyre: The Hebrew text has “the people of Tarshish,” which stands for the colonies of Tyre.
- 23.10 Egyptians: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
- 23.13 ruins: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 13.
- 23.14 seagoing ships: See the note at 2.16.
Isaiah 23
New International Version
Isaiah 23
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 A prophecy against Tyre:(A)
Wail,(B) you ships(C) of Tarshish!(D)
For Tyre is destroyed(E)
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
2 Be silent,(F) you people of the island
and you merchants(G) of Sidon,(H)
whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;(I)
the harvest of the Nile[a](J) was the revenue of Tyre,(K)
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon,(L) and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;(M)
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5 When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish(N) at the report from Tyre.(O)
6 Cross over to Tarshish;(P)
wail, you people of the island.
7 Is this your city of revelry,(Q)
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
8 Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants(R) are princes,
whose traders(S) are renowned in the earth?
9 The Lord Almighty planned(T) it,
to bring down(U) her pride in all her splendor
and to humble(V) all who are renowned(W) on the earth.
10 Till[b] your land as they do along the Nile,
Daughter Tarshish,
for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The Lord has stretched out his hand(X) over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.(Y)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
that her fortresses be destroyed.(Z)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,(AA)
Virgin Daughter(AB) Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus;(AC)
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[c](AD)
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians(AE) have made it
a place for desert creatures;(AF)
they raised up their siege towers,(AG)
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.(AH)
15 At that time Tyre(AL) will be forgotten for seventy years,(AM) the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
you forgotten prostitute;(AN)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years,(AO) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(AP) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(AQ) 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;(AR) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord,(AS) for abundant food and fine clothes.(AT)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:3 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls Sidon, / who cross over the sea; / your envoys 3 are on the great waters. / The grain of the Shihor, / the harvest of the Nile,
- Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
- Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans
Isaiah 23
King James Version
Isaiah 23
King James Version
23 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
4 Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.
5 As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
6 Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.
7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
8 Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
10 Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.
11 He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.
12 And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.
13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.
14 Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
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Ezekiel 26-28
Contemporary English Version
Ezekiel 26-28
Contemporary English Version
Judgment on the City of Tyre
26 (A) Eleven years[a] 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 month. He said:
2 Ezekiel, son of man, the people of the city of Tyre[b] have celebrated Jerusalem's defeat by singing,
“Jerusalem has fallen!
It used to be powerful,
a center of trade.
Now the city is shattered,
and we will take its place.”
3 Because the people of Tyre have sung that song, I have the following warning for them: I am the Lord God, and I am now your enemy! I will send nations to attack you, like waves crashing against the shore. 4 They will tear down your city walls and defense towers. I will sweep away the ruins until all that's left of you is a bare rock, 5 where fishermen can dry their nets along the coast. I promise that you will be robbed 6 and that the people who live in your towns along the coast will be killed. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
7 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia is the world's most powerful king, and I will send him to attack you. He will march from the north with a powerful army, including horses and chariots and cavalry troops. 8 First, he will attack your towns along the coast and kill the people who live there. Then he will build dirt ramps up to the top of your city walls and set up rows of shields around you. 9 He will command some of his troops to use large wooden poles to beat down your walls, while others use iron rods to knock down your watchtowers. 10 He will have so many horses that the dust they stir up will seem like a thick fog. And as his chariots and cavalry approach, even the walls will shake, especially when he proudly enters your ruined city. 11 His troops will ride through your streets, killing people left and right, and your strong columns will crumble to the ground. 12 The troops will steal your valuable possessions; they will break down your walls, and crush your expensive houses. Then the stones and wood and all the remains will be dumped into the sea. 13 (B) You will have no reason to sing or play music on harps, 14 because I will turn you into a bare rock where fishermen can dry their nets. And you will never rebuild your city. I, the Lord God, make this promise.
15 The people of the nations up and down the coast will shudder when they hear your screams and moans of death. 16 (C) The kings will step down from their thrones, then take off their royal robes and fancy clothes, and sit on the ground, trembling. They will be so shocked at the news of your defeat that they will shake in fear 17 and sing this funeral song:
“The great city beside the sea
is destroyed![c]
Its people once ruled the coast
and terrified everyone there.
18 But now Tyre is in ruins,
and the people on the coast
stare at it in horror
and tremble in fear.”
19 I, the Lord God, will turn you into a ghost-town. The ocean depths will rise over you 20 and carry you down to the world of the dead, where you will join people of ancient times and towns ruined long ago. You will stay there and never again be a city filled with people.[d] 21 (D) You will die a horrible death! People will come looking for your city, but it will never be found. I, the Lord, have spoken.
A Funeral Song for Tyre
27 The Lord said:
2 Ezekiel, son of man, sing a funeral song for Tyre,[e] 3 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,
4 and your control of the sea.[f]
You are a ship
built to perfection.
5 Builders used cypress trees
from Mount Hermon
to make your planks
and a cedar tree from Lebanon
for your tall mast.
6 Oak trees from Bashan
were shaped into oars;
pine trees from Cyprus[g]
were cut for your deck,
which was then decorated
with strips of ivory.
7 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.
8 Men from Sidon and Arvad
did the rowing,
and your own skilled workers
were the captains.
9 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[h] 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,[i] and people from nations along the coast gave you ivory and ebony[j] in exchange for your goods. 16 Edom[k] traded emeralds, purple cloth, embroidery, fine linen, coral, and rubies. 17 Judah and Israel gave you their finest wheat, fancy figs,[l] 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[m] 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 (E) Large, seagoing ships[n] 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[o]
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.[p]
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:
2 Ezekiel, son of man, tell the king of Tyre[q] 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. 3 You think you're wiser than Daniel[r] and know everything.[s]
4 Your wisdom has certainly made you rich, because you have storehouses filled with gold and silver. 5 You're a clever businessman and are extremely wealthy, but your wealth has led to arrogance!
6 You compared yourself to a god, so now I, the Lord God, 7 will make you the victim of cruel enemies. They will destroy all the possessions you've worked so hard to get. 8 Your enemies will brutally kill you, and the sea will be your only grave.
9 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[t] and tell him I am saying:
At one time, you were perfect,[u] 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[v] and were ready for you on the day you were born. 14 I appointed a winged creature to guard your home[w] 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 (F) The Lord said:
21 Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the city of Sidon[x] 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.
Footnotes
- 26.1 Eleven years: Probably late in 587 b.c.
- 26.2 Tyre: One of the two major cities of Phoenicia; Sidon was the other.
- 26.17 The great city … is destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 26.20 You will stay there … with people: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 27.2 Tyre: See the note at 26.2.
- 27.4 and your control of the sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 27.6 pine trees from Cyprus: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 27.12 southern Spain: The Hebrew text has “Tarshish,” which may have been a Phoenician city in southern Spain.
- 27.15 Rhodes: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Dedan.”
- 27.15 ebony: A valuable black wood.
- 27.16 Edom: Some Hebrew manuscripts and one ancient translation; most Hebrew manuscripts “Syria.”
- 27.17 their finest wheat, fancy figs: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 27.19 Vedan and Javan near Uzal: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 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.
- 27.31 sackcloth: See the note at 7.18.
- 27.32 Tyre, you were greater … the bottom of the sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 28.2 Tyre: See the note at 26.2.
- 28.3 Daniel: See the note at 14.14.
- 28.3 and know everything: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 28.12 Tyre: See the note at 26.2.
- 28.12 you were perfect: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 28.13 They were all set in gold: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 28.14 I appointed a winged creature to guard your home: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 28.21 Sidon: See the note at 26.2.
Ezekiel 26-28
New International Version
Ezekiel 26-28
New International Version
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) 2 “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,’ 3 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. 4 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. 5 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) 6 and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “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. 8 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. 9 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)
A Lament Over Tyre
27 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, take up a lament(AS) concerning Tyre. 3 Say to Tyre,(AT) situated at the gateway to the sea,(AU) merchant of peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘You say, Tyre,
“I am perfect in beauty.(AV)”
4 Your domain was on the high seas;
your builders brought your beauty to perfection.(AW)
5 They made all your timbers
of juniper from Senir[d];(AX)
they took a cedar from Lebanon(AY)
to make a mast for you.
6 Of oaks(AZ) from Bashan
they made your oars;
of cypress wood[e] from the coasts of Cyprus(BA)
they made your deck, adorned with ivory.
7 Fine embroidered linen(BB) from Egypt was your sail
and served as your banner;
your awnings were of blue and purple(BC)
from the coasts of Elishah.(BD)
8 Men of Sidon and Arvad(BE) were your oarsmen;
your skilled men, Tyre, were aboard as your sailors.(BF)
9 Veteran craftsmen of Byblos(BG) were on board
as shipwrights to caulk your seams.
All the ships of the sea(BH) and their sailors
came alongside to trade for your wares.
10 “‘Men of Persia,(BI) Lydia(BJ) and Put(BK)
served as soldiers in your army.
They hung their shields(BL) and helmets on your walls,
bringing you splendor.
11 Men of Arvad and Helek
guarded your walls on every side;
men of Gammad
were in your towers.
They hung their shields around your walls;
they brought your beauty to perfection.(BM)
12 “‘Tarshish(BN) did business with you because of your great wealth of goods;(BO) they exchanged silver, iron, tin and lead for your merchandise.
13 “‘Greece,(BP) Tubal and Meshek(BQ) did business with you; they traded human beings(BR) and articles of bronze for your wares.
14 “‘Men of Beth Togarmah(BS) exchanged chariot horses, cavalry horses and mules for your merchandise.
15 “‘The men of Rhodes[f](BT) traded with you, and many coastlands(BU) were your customers; they paid you with ivory(BV) tusks and ebony.
16 “‘Aram[g](BW) did business with you because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise,(BX) purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen,(BY) coral(BZ) and rubies for your merchandise.
17 “‘Judah and Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat(CA) from Minnith(CB) and confections,[h] honey, olive oil and balm(CC) for your wares.(CD)
18 “‘Damascus(CE) did business with you because of your many products and great wealth of goods.(CF) They offered wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar 19 and casks of wine from Izal(CG) in exchange for your wares: wrought iron, cassia(CH) and calamus.
20 “‘Dedan(CI) traded in saddle blankets with you.
21 “‘Arabia(CJ) and all the princes of Kedar(CK) were your customers; they did business with you in lambs, rams and goats.
22 “‘The merchants of Sheba(CL) and Raamah traded with you; for your merchandise they exchanged the finest of all kinds of spices(CM) and precious stones, and gold.(CN)
23 “‘Harran,(CO) Kanneh and Eden(CP) and merchants of Sheba, Ashur(CQ) and Kilmad traded with you. 24 In your marketplace they traded with you beautiful garments, blue fabric, embroidered work and multicolored rugs with cords twisted and tightly knotted.
25 “‘The ships of Tarshish(CR) serve
as carriers for your wares.
You are filled with heavy cargo
as you sail the sea.(CS)
26 Your oarsmen take you
out to the high seas.
But the east wind(CT) will break you to pieces
far out at sea.
27 Your wealth,(CU) merchandise and wares,
your mariners, sailors and shipwrights,
your merchants and all your soldiers,
and everyone else on board
will sink into the heart of the sea(CV)
on the day of your shipwreck.
28 The shorelands will quake(CW)
when your sailors cry out.
29 All who handle the oars
will abandon their ships;
the mariners and all the sailors
will stand on the shore.
30 They will raise their voice
and cry bitterly over you;
they will sprinkle dust(CX) on their heads
and roll(CY) in ashes.(CZ)
31 They will shave their heads(DA) because of you
and will put on sackcloth.
They will weep(DB) over you with anguish of soul
and with bitter mourning.(DC)
32 As they wail and mourn over you,
they will take up a lament(DD) concerning you:
“Who was ever silenced like Tyre,
surrounded by the sea?(DE)”
33 When your merchandise went out on the seas,(DF)
you satisfied many nations;
with your great wealth(DG) and your wares
you enriched the kings of the earth.
34 Now you are shattered by the sea
in the depths of the waters;
your wares and all your company
have gone down with you.(DH)
35 All who live in the coastlands(DI)
are appalled(DJ) at you;
their kings shudder with horror
and their faces are distorted with fear.(DK)
36 The merchants among the nations scoff at you;(DL)
you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more.(DM)’”
A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre
28 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man(DN), say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘In the pride of your heart
you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne(DO) of a god
in the heart of the seas.”(DP)
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
though you think you are as wise as a god.(DQ)
3 Are you wiser than Daniel[i]?(DR)
Is no secret hidden from you?
4 By your wisdom and understanding
you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
in your treasuries.(DS)
5 By your great skill in trading(DT)
you have increased your wealth,(DU)
and because of your wealth
your heart has grown proud.(DV)
6 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Because you think you are wise,
as wise as a god,
7 I am going to bring foreigners against you,
the most ruthless of nations;(DW)
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom(DX)
and pierce your shining splendor.(DY)
8 They will bring you down to the pit,(DZ)
and you will die a violent death(EA)
in the heart of the seas.(EB)
9 Will you then say, “I am a god,”
in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,(EC)
in the hands of those who slay you.(ED)
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised(EE)
at the hands of foreigners.
I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament(EF) concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘You were the seal of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.(EG)
13 You were in Eden,(EH)
the garden of God;(EI)
every precious stone(EJ) adorned you:
carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
topaz, onyx and jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise(EK) and beryl.[j]
Your settings and mountings[k] were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.(EL)
14 You were anointed(EM) as a guardian cherub,(EN)
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,(EO)
and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, guardian cherub,(EP)
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud(EQ)
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.(ER)
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire(ES) come out from you,
and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes(ET) on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.(EU)
19 All the nations who knew you
are appalled(EV) at you;
you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more.(EW)’”
A Prophecy Against Sidon
20 The word of the Lord came to me: 21 “Son of man, set your face against(EX) Sidon;(EY) prophesy against her 22 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘I am against you, Sidon,
and among you I will display my glory.(EZ)
You will know that I am the Lord,
when I inflict punishment(FA) on you
and within you am proved to be holy.(FB)
23 I will send a plague upon you
and make blood flow in your streets.
The slain will fall within you,
with the sword against you on every side.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.(FC)
24 “‘No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns.(FD) Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.
25 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I gather(FE) the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered,(FF) I will be proved holy(FG) through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.(FH) 26 They will live there in safety(FI) and will build houses and plant(FJ) vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment(FK) on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.(FL)’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 26:1 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text does not have month of the twelfth.
- Ezekiel 26:7 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Ezekiel and Jeremiah
- Ezekiel 26:20 Septuagint; Hebrew return, and I will give glory
- Ezekiel 27:5 That is, Mount Hermon
- Ezekiel 27:6 Targum; the Masoretic Text has a different division of the consonants.
- Ezekiel 27:15 Septuagint; Hebrew Dedan
- Ezekiel 27:16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Edom
- Ezekiel 27:17 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Ezekiel 28:3 Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature
- Ezekiel 28:13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
- Ezekiel 28:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Ezekiel 26-28
King James Version
Ezekiel 26-28
King James Version
26 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:
3 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.
4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.
6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
7 For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.
9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.
10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.
11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.
12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.
13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.
14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
15 Thus saith the Lord God to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?
16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.
17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!
18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.
19 For thus saith the Lord God; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;
20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;
21 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God.
27 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
2 Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;
3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.
4 Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.
5 They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.
6 Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim.
7 Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee.
8 The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.
9 The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.
10 They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.
11 The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.
12 Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.
13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.
14 They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.
15 The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony.
16 Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.
17 Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.
18 Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.
19 Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.
20 Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.
21 Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.
22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.
23 Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.
24 These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.
25 The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.
26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.
27 Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.
28 The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.
29 And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land;
30 And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:
31 And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
32 And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?
33 When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.
34 In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.
35 All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.
36 The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.
28 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
6 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.
9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.
10 Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
20 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
21 Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it,
22 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
23 For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
24 And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord God.
25 Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.
26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.
Joel 3:4-8
Contemporary English Version
Joel 3:4-8
Contemporary English Version
4 (A) You people of Tyre and Sidon[a] and you Philistines, why are you doing this? Are you trying to get even with me? I'll strike back before you know what's happened. 5 You've taken my prized possessions, including my silver and gold, and carried them off to your temples.[b] 6 You have dragged the people of Judah and Jerusalem from their land and sold them to the Greeks.
7 But I'll make the people of Judah determined to come home, and what happened to them will happen to you. 8 I'll hand over your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans,[c] who live far away. I, the Lord, have spoken!
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Joel 3:4-8
New International Version
Joel 3:4-8
New International Version
4 “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon(A) and all you regions of Philistia?(B) Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.(C) 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.[a](D) 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,(E) that you might send them far from their homeland.
7 “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,(F) and I will return(G) on your own heads what you have done. 8 I will sell your sons(H) and daughters to the people of Judah,(I) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,(J) a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.(K)
Footnotes
- Joel 3:5 Or palaces
Joel 3:4-8
King James Version
Joel 3:4-8
King James Version
4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.
7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:
8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
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Amos 1:9
Contemporary English Version
Amos 1:9
Contemporary English Version
Judgment on Phoenicia
9 (A) The Lord said:
I will punish Phoenicia[a]
for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They broke their treaty
and dragged off my people[b]
from town after town
to sell them as slaves
to the Edomites.
Amos 1:9
New International Version
Amos 1:9
New International Version
9 This is what the Lord says:
Amos 1:9
King James Version
Amos 1:9
King James Version
9 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:
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Amos 1:10
Contemporary English Version
Amos 1:10
Contemporary English Version
10 That's why I will send flames
to burn down the city of Tyre
along with its fortresses.
Amos 1:10
New International Version
Amos 1:10
New International Version
10 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
that will consume her fortresses.(A)”
Amos 1:10
King James Version
Amos 1:10
King James Version
10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.
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Zechariah 9:2-4
Contemporary English Version
Zechariah 9:2-4
Contemporary English Version
2 Judgment will also fall
on the nearby city
of Hamath,
as well as on Tyre and Sidon,[a]
whose people are clever.
3 Tyre has built a fortress
and piled up silver and gold,
as though they were dust
or mud from the streets.
4 Now the Lord will punish Tyre
with poverty;
he will sink its ships
and send it up in flames.
Footnotes
- 9.2 Tyre and Sidon: Phoenician cities.
Zechariah 9:2-4
New International Version
Zechariah 9:2-4
New International Version
2 and on Hamath(A) too, which borders on it,
and on Tyre(B) and Sidon,(C) though they are very skillful.
3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.(D)
4 But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy(E) her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.(F)
Zechariah 9:2-4
King James Version
Zechariah 9:2-4
King James Version
2 And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.
3 And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.
4 Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.
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New International Version (NIV) 
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