Ezekiel 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,

1It was the eleventh year, on the first day of the month. God's message came to me, Ezekiel.

2Son 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:

2God said, "Son of man, the city of Tyre has spoken against Jerusalem. Tyre said, 'Good! The city that was the gate for all the nations is broken. Now the traders come to me. Jerusalem is ruined, so I will be filled with riches.'"

NoteThe KJV says Tyre will be "replenished." That means filled up with riches, not filled again.

3Therefore 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.

3So the Lord GOD says this: "Tyre, I am against you. I will bring many nations against you. They will come like waves rolling in from the sea."

4And 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.

4"They will knock down the walls of Tyre. They will break her towers. I will scrape the soil off her. She will be nothing but bare rock."

5It 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.

5"She will be a place in the sea where fishermen spread out their nets. I have said it, says the Lord GOD. The nations will carry off everything she has."

6And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

6"Her towns on the mainland will be killed with swords. Then they will know that I am the LORD."

NoteThe KJV calls them Tyre's "daughters which are in the field." These are the smaller towns and villages on the mainland that belonged to Tyre.

7For 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.

7The Lord GOD says this: "I will bring Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, against Tyre. He is a king who rules other kings. He will come from the north with horses and chariots. He will bring riders and huge crowds of soldiers."

8He 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.

8"He will kill the people of your mainland towns with the sword. He will build camps and walls around you. He will pile up a ramp of dirt against your wall. He will lift up his shields against you."

9And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.

9"He will pound your walls with his battering rams. With his axes he will break down your towers."

Note"Engines of war" means battering rams. These were huge heavy beams that soldiers swung to smash a city wall.

10By 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.

10"He will have so many horses that their dust will cover you. His riders, wagons, and chariots will make a great noise. Your walls will shake at the sound. He will ride in through your gates, the way soldiers walk into a city with a broken wall."

11With 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.

11"His horses will trample all your streets with their hooves. He will kill your people with the sword. Your strong stone pillars will fall to the ground."

12And 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.

12"They will take your riches and steal the goods you sell. They will break down your walls and tear down your lovely houses. They will throw your stones, your wood, and your dirt into the water."

13And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.

13"I will stop the sound of your singing. No one will hear your harps anymore."

14And 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.

14"I will make you bare rock. You will be a place where fishermen spread out their nets. You will never be built again. I the LORD have said it, says the Lord GOD."

15Thus 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?

15The Lord GOD says this to Tyre: "The lands along the sea will shake when you fall. The hurt people inside you will cry out as they are killed."

16Then 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.

16"Then the rulers of the sea will step down from their thrones. They will take off their robes and their fancy sewn clothes. Fear will cover them like clothing. They will sit on the ground and shake all the time. They will stare at you, too shocked to speak."

17And 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!

17"They will sing a sad song for you. They will say, 'Look how you are destroyed, city of sailors! You were famous. You were strong on the sea, you and your people. Everyone who sailed there was afraid of you.'"

18Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.

18"Now the lands along the sea shake on the day you fall. The islands in the sea are upset that you are gone."

19For 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;

19The Lord GOD says this: "I will make you an empty city, like cities where nobody lives. I will bring the deep sea up over you. Great waters will cover you."

20When 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;

20"I will send you down with the people who go into the pit, the grave. You will join people who died long, long ago. I will put you deep in the earth, in ruined places from long ago. No one will live in you. And I will give glory to the land of the living."

21I 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.

21"I will make you a thing that frightens people. Then you will be gone. People will look for you, but they will never find you again, says the Lord GOD."