Ezekiel 27

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

1The word of the LORD came to me again. He said:

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

2"Now, son of man, sing a sad song about the city of Tyre." Son of man is what God called Ezekiel.

Note"Tyrus" is the old spelling of Tyre. A "lamentation" is a sad song people sang when someone or something was gone.

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: You sit at the doorway of the sea. You buy and sell for people on many coasts. This is what the Lord GOD says: Tyre, you said, "I am perfectly beautiful."

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

4Your land reaches out into the middle of the seas. The people who built you made you 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 boards from cypress trees from Senir. They took a cedar tree from Lebanon to be your mast. A mast is the tall pole that holds up the sail.

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 of Bashan. They made your deck from wood brought from Cyprus. They set ivory into it, the hard white material from elephant tusks.

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 cloth from Egypt with pretty stitching in it. People could see it far away, like a flag. Blue and purple cloth from Elishah covered you.

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

8Men from Zidon and Arvad rowed you. Your own skilled men steered you.

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.

9Older, skilled workers from Gebal were on board. They filled the cracks in your wood so no water came in. Ships from all over the sea came to trade with you.

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, Lud, and Phut fought in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls. They 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 from Arvad helped guard your walls all around. Men from Gammad stood in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls. They 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 good things. 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 gave you people to be slaves, and pots made of bronze.

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

14Men from the house of Togarmah came to your market. They brought horses, war horses, and mules to trade.

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 bought from you. Many coastlands were your market. 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.

16Syria traded with you because you made so many things. They brought blue-green stones, purple cloth, stitched cloth, fine linen, coral, and red stones.

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 brought wheat from Minnith, cakes, honey, olive oil, and balm. Balm is a sweet-smelling sap used as medicine.

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 many goods and great wealth. They brought wine from Helbon and white wool.

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

19Traders from Dan and Javan came and went. They brought worked iron, cassia, and sweet cane to your market. Cassia and sweet cane are plants that smell good.

20Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.

20Dedan traded with you in fine cloths that people put on animals to ride.

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 traded with you. They brought lambs, rams, and goats.

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 traded with you. They brought the finest spices, precious stones, and gold.

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 traders 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.

24They sold you all kinds of things in your market. They brought blue clothes, stitched cloth, and rugs of many colors. The rugs were rolled up and tied tight with 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 filled with heavy loads out in the middle of the sea. You looked grand there.

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

26Your rowers took you far out on deep water. The east wind broke you apart in the middle of the 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 will sink into the sea. Your riches, your market, and all your goods will go down. So will your sailors, your captains, and the men who fixed your ship. So will your traders, your soldiers, and everyone else on board.

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

28The land near the shore 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;

29All the men who row will leave their ships. The sailors and the sea captains will stand on the land.

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 hard. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.

NoteThrowing dust on your head, rolling in ashes, shaving your head, and wearing rough sackcloth were all ways people showed great sadness back then.

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 because of you. They will put on sackcloth, rough cloth worn when people are very sad. They will weep for you with deep, bitter sadness.

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 weep they will sing a sad song about you. They will say, "Was any city ever like Tyre? Now she is silent in the middle of 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, you gave many people what they needed. You made the kings of the earth rich with all your goods.

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 deep in the 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 you. Their kings shake with fear. Their faces show how afraid they are.

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

36Traders in other lands hiss at you. Your end is terrible. You will never be a city again.

NoteTo "hiss" here means to make a sharp sound of shock, the way people react when something huge falls.