Ezekiel

The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

1The LORD spoke to me again. He said:

2Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;

2"Now, son of man, sing a sad funeral song about the city of Tyre.

3And 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.

3Say to Tyre, the city that sits at the doorway of the sea and trades with people on many coasts: This is what the Lord GOD says. Tyre, you have said, 'I am perfect and beautiful.'

NoteA funeral song, or lament, was sung when someone died. Here God tells Ezekiel to sing one for a city that is still standing.

4Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

4Your land reaches out into the middle of the sea. The people who built you made you perfectly beautiful.

5They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.

5They made all your planks from cypress trees on Mount Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make your mast.

6Of 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.

6They made your oars from oak trees in Bashan. They made your deck from wood off the coasts of Cyprus, set with ivory.

7Fine 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.

7Your sail was fine linen from Egypt with stitched designs, and it flew like a flag. Your covering was blue and purple cloth from the coasts of Elishah.

8The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.

8Men from Sidon and Arvad rowed you. Your own skilled men, Tyre, were your ship captains.

9The 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.

9The older workmen of Gebal were on board to fix your leaks. Every ship at sea pulled up beside you to trade for your goods.

Note"Calkers" in the old wording were workers who packed the seams of a ship so water could not leak in.

10They 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.

10Men from Persia, Lydia, and Put were soldiers in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on you, and that made you look grand.

11The 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.

11Men of Arvad and Helech guarded your walls all around. Men of Gammad stood in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls and made your beauty complete.

12Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.

12Tarshish traded with you because you had so many goods. They paid you with silver, iron, tin, and lead.

13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.

13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you too. They paid you with slaves and with bronze pots and tools.

14They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.

14The men of Beth-togarmah paid you with horses, war horses, and mules.

15The 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.

15The men of Dedan traded with you, and many coastlands bought from you. They paid you with elephant tusks and dark ebony wood.

16Syria 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.

16Aram bought from you because you had so many products. They paid with turquoise, purple cloth, stitched designs, fine linen, coral, and rubies.

17Judah, 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.

17Judah and the land of Israel traded with you. They paid with wheat from Minnith, cakes, honey, olive oil, and healing balm.

18Damascus 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.

18Damascus traded with you because you had so many goods and so much wealth. They paid with wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar.

19Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.

19They also brought casks of wine from Izal. Worked iron, cassia, and sweet cane were traded for your goods.

20Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.

20Dedan sold you cloths that go under a rider's saddle.

21Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.

21Arabia and all the leaders of Kedar bought from you. They traded lambs, rams, and goats with you.

22The 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.

22The traders of Sheba and Raamah did business with you. They paid with gold, the finest spices, and precious stones.

23Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.

23Haran, Canneh, and Eden traded with you. So did the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad.

24These 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.

24In your market they sold you fine blue clothing, cloth with stitched designs, and colorful rugs tied tight with twisted cords.

25The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.

25The ships of Tarshish carried your goods. You were loaded down with heavy cargo out in the middle of the sea.

NoteThe old word "replenished" here means filled up, not filled again.

26Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.

26Your rowers took you out into deep water. But the east wind will smash you far out at sea.

27Thy 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.

27On the day you fall, everything sinks into the sea: your wealth, your goods, your sailors, your captains, your repairmen, your traders, your soldiers, and every person on board.

28The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.

28The land around will shake when your captains cry out.

29And 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;

29Everyone who pulls an oar will leave his ship. The sailors and all the sea captains will stand on the shore.

30And 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:

30They will cry out loud about you and weep bitterly. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.

31And 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.

31They will shave their heads bare for you and put on rough cloth. They will weep for you with deep pain and bitter crying.

32And 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?

32As they cry, they will sing a sad song about you: 'Was there ever a city like Tyre, now silenced out in the sea?

33When 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.

33When your goods sailed out over the sea, you gave many nations what they wanted. Your great wealth made kings of the earth rich.

34In 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.

34Now the sea has broken you apart in deep water. Your goods and all your people have gone down with you.

35All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.

35Everyone living on the coasts is shocked at what happened to you. Their kings shake with fear, and their faces twist.

36The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.

36The traders among the nations hiss at you. Your end is terrible, and you will never exist again.'"

NoteHissing was a way people showed shock and scorn, like booing today.