Ezekiel 26-29

A Prophecy Against Tyre 1In the eleventh month of the twelfth Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text does not have month of the twelfth. year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2“Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ 3therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. 4They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. 5Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD . She will become plunder for the nations,

6and 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 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Ezekiel and Jeremiah king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army. 8He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you. 9He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons. 10His 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 when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through. 11The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. 12They 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. 13I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more.

14I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD . 15“This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you? 16Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you.

17Then they will take up a lament 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.

18Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the islands in the sea are terrified at your collapse.’ 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 over you and its vast waters cover you, 20then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, 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 Septuagint; Hebrew return, and I will give glory in the land of the living. 21I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign LORD .”

A Lament Over Tyre 1The word of the LORD came to me: 2“Son of man, take up a lament concerning Tyre.

3Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “ ‘You say, Tyre, “I am perfect in beauty.”

4Your domain was on the high seas; your builders brought your beauty to perfection.

5They made all your timbers of juniper from Senir That is, Mount Hermon ; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

6Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of cypress wood Targum; the Masoretic Text has a different division of the consonants. from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, adorned with ivory.

7Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail and served as your banner; your awnings were of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.

8Men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; your skilled men, Tyre, were aboard as your sailors.

9Veteran craftsmen of Byblos were on board as shipwrights to caulk your seams. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to trade for your wares.

10“ ‘Men of Persia, Lydia and Put served as soldiers in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls, bringing you splendor.

11Men 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.

12“ ‘Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin and lead for your merchandise.

13“ ‘Greece, Tubal and Meshek did business with you; they traded human beings and articles of bronze for your wares.

14“ ‘Men of Beth Togarmah exchanged chariot horses, cavalry horses and mules for your merchandise.

15“ ‘The men of Rhodes Septuagint; Hebrew Dedan traded with you, and many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.

16“ ‘Aram Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Edom did business with you because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies for your merchandise.

17“ ‘Judah and Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith and confections, The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. honey, olive oil and balm for your wares. 18“ ‘Damascus did business with you because of your many products and great wealth of goods. They offered wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar

19and casks of wine from Izal in exchange for your wares: wrought iron, cassia and calamus.

20“ ‘Dedan traded in saddle blankets with you.

21“ ‘Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers; they did business with you in lambs, rams and goats.

22“ ‘The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your merchandise they exchanged the finest of all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold. 23“ ‘Harran, Kanneh and Eden and merchants of Sheba, Ashur and Kilmad traded with you.

24In 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 serve as carriers for your wares. You are filled with heavy cargo as you sail the sea.

26Your oarsmen take you out to the high seas. But the east wind will break you to pieces far out at sea.

27Your wealth, 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 on the day of your shipwreck.

28The shorelands will quake when your sailors cry out.

29All who handle the oars will abandon their ships; the mariners and all the sailors will stand on the shore.

30They will raise their voice and cry bitterly over you; they will sprinkle dust on their heads and roll in ashes.

31They will shave their heads because of you and will put on sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and with bitter mourning.

32As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament concerning you: “Who was ever silenced like Tyre, surrounded by the sea?”

33When your merchandise went out on the seas, you satisfied many nations; with your great wealth and your wares you enriched the kings of the earth.

34Now you are shattered by the sea in the depths of the waters; your wares and all your company have gone down with you.

35All who live in the coastlands are appalled at you; their kings shudder with horror and their faces are distorted with fear. 36The merchants among the nations scoff at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’ ”

A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre 1The word of the LORD came to me:

2“Son of man, 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 of a god in the heart of the seas.” But you are a mere mortal and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.

3Are you wiser than Daniel Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature ? Is no secret hidden from you?

4By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself and amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.

5By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud.

6“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “ ‘Because you think you are wise, as wise as a god,

7I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations; they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom and pierce your shining splendor.

8They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas.

9Will you then say, “I am a god,” in the presence of those who kill you? You will be but a mortal, not a god, in the hands of those who slay you.

10You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners. I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD .’ ” 11The word of the LORD came to me:

12“Son of man, take up a lament 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.

13You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain. Your settings and mountings The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

14You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

15You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.

16Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.

17Your heart became proud 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.

18By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.

19All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’ ”

A Prophecy Against Sidon 20The word of the LORD came to me: 21“Son of man, set your face against Sidon; prophesy against her

22and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “ ‘I am against you, Sidon, and among you I will display my glory. You will know that I am the LORD, when I inflict punishment on you and within you am proved to be holy.

23I 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 .

24“ ‘No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD . 25“ ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.’ ”

A Prophecy Against Egypt Judgment on Pharaoh 1In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the LORD came to me: 2“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

3Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “ ‘I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great monster lying among your streams. You say, “The Nile belongs to me; I made it for myself.”

4But I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales. I will pull you out from among your streams, with all the fish sticking to your scales.

5I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and not be gathered or picked up. I will give you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.

6Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the LORD . “ ‘You have been a staff of reed for the people of Israel.

7When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched. Syriac (see also Septuagint and Vulgate); Hebrew and you caused their backs to stand 8“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.

9Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD . “ ‘Because you said, “The Nile is mine; I made it,” 10therefore I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush. That is, the upper Nile region 11The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years.

12I will make the land of Egypt desolate among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. 13“ ‘Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. 14I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt, the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly kingdom. 15It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations. I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations.

16Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence for the people of Israel but will be a reminder of their sin in turning to her for help. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD .’ ”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Reward 17In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the LORD came to me: 18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare and every shoulder made raw. Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre. 19Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder the land as pay for his army.

20I have given him Egypt as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign LORD . 21“On that day I will make a horn Horn here symbolizes strength. grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD .”