Ezekiel27
King James Version · Public Domain
1The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
2Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre;
3And say unto Tyre, 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 Tyre, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.
4Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.
5They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.
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 Kittim.
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.
8The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyre, that were in thee, were thy pilots.
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.
10They of Persia and of Lud and of Put were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.
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.
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.
13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.
14They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen 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.
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.
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.
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.
19Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.
20Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.
21Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.
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.
23Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.
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.
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.
26Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.
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.
28The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.
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;
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:
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.
32And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyre, like the destroyed in the midst 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.
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.
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.
36The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 27.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The merchandise of Tyre. (1-25). Its fall and ruin. (26-36).
vv1-25
Those who live at ease are to be lamented, if they are not prepared for trouble. Let none reckon themselves beautified, any further than they are sanctified. The account of the trade of Tyre intimates, that God's eye is upon men when employed in worldly business. Not only when at church, praying and hearing, but when in markets and fairs, buying and selling. In all our dealings we should keep a conscience void of offence. God, as the common Father of mankind, makes one country abound in one commodity, and another in another, serviceable to the necessity or to the comfort and ornament of human life. See what a blessing trade and merchandise are to mankind, when followed in the fear of God. Besides necessaries, an abundance of things are made valuable only by custom; yet God allows us to use them. But when riches increase, men are apt to set their hearts upon them, and forget the Lord, who gives power to get wealth.
vv26-36
The most mighty and magnificent kingdoms and states, sooner or later, come down. Those who make creatures their confidence, and rest their hopes upon them, will fall with them: happy are those who have the God of Jacob for their Help, and whose hope is in the Lord their God, who lives for ever. Those who engage in trade should learn to conduct their business according to God's word. Those who possess wealth should remember they are the Lord's stewards, and should use his goods in doing good to all. Let us seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Key Words
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
אָדָם: ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)
נָשָׂא: to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absolute and relative
קִינָה: a dirge (as accompanied by beating the breasts or on instruments)
עַל: above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
צֹר: Tsor, a place in Palestine
יָשַׁב: properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry
מְבוֹאָה: a haven
Cross References
Ezekiel 27Senir identified as the Amorite name for Mount Hermon, the source of shipboards.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The lamentation of the merchants over Rome's fall heavily echoes the lament over Tyre.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Tyre described as a mart of nations and merchant of the people.
Supported by JFB
The claim of perfect beauty is repeated in the lament over the prince of Tyre.
Supported by JFB
Gebal (and its stone-squarers) famed for skilled workmen aiding construction.
Supported by JFB
The east wind breaking ships of Tarshish, paralleling Tyre's shipwreck.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Arvadites trace back to Canaan, serving here as mariners for superior Tyre.
Supported by JFB
Persia, Lydians (Lud), and Libyans (Phut) acting as shielded warriors.
Supported by JFB
Trading 'persons of men' (slaves) listed in the merchandise of both Tyre and Babylon.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Herod's country (Tyre and Sidon) was still nourished by Judea's food supply.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Minnith, a region of Israel noted for producing excellent export wheat.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The shaking of the isles at the sound of the fall of Tyre.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The oaks of Bashan famous for strength, paired here with Lebanon's cedars.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Fine linen of Egypt, a highly prized, luxurious fabric.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Becoming a terror and ceasing to exist forever is the ultimate end of Tyre.
Supported by JFB