Ezekiel 27 (JPS)

1Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2'And thou, son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre,“Now you, son of man, take up a lament for Tyre.

3and say unto Tyre, that dwelleth at the entry of the sea, that is the merchant of the peoples unto many isles: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Thou, O Tyre, hast said: I am of perfect beauty.Tell Tyre, who dwells at the gateway to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coasts, that this is what the Lord GOD says: You have said, O Tyre, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’

4Thy borders are in the heart of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders perfected your beauty.

5Of cypress-trees from Senir have they fashioned all thy planks; they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.They constructed all your planking with cypress from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

6Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; thy deck have they made of ivory inlaid in larch, from the isles of the Kittites.Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of wood from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.

7Of fine linen with richly woven work from Egypt was thy sail, that it might be to thee for an ensign; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was thine awning.Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning.

8The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were thy rowers; thy wise men, O Tyre, were in thee, they were thy pilots.The men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen. Your men of skill, O Tyre, were there as your captains.

9The elders 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 exchange thy merchandise.The elders of Gebal were aboard as shipwrights, repairing your leaks. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to barter for your merchandise.

10Persia and Lud and Put were in thine army, thy men of war; they hanged the shield and helmet in thee, they set forth thy comeliness.Men of Persia, Lydia, and Put served as warriors in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls; they gave you splendor.

11The men of Arvad and Helech were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadim were in thy towers; they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have perfected thy beauty.Men of Arvad and Helech manned your walls all around, and the men of Gammad were in your towers. They hung their shields around your walls; they perfected your beauty.

12Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded for thy wares.Tarshish was your merchant because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your wares.

13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy traffickers; they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass for thy merchandise.Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves and bronze utensils for your merchandise.

14They of the house of Togarmah traded for thy wares with horses and horsemen and mules.The men of Beth-togarmah exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares.

15The men of Dedan were thy traffickers; many isles were the mart of thy hand; they brought thee as tribute horns of ivory and ebony.The men of Dedan were your clients; many coastlands were your market; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.

16Aram was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of thy wealth; they traded for thy wares with carbuncles, purple, and richly woven work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies.Aram was your customer because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.

17Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traffickers; they traded for thy merchandise wheat of Minnith, and balsam, and honey, and oil, and balm.Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith, cakes and honey, oil and balm for your merchandise.

18Damascus was thy merchant for the multitude of thy wealth, by reason of the multitude of all riches, with the wine of Helbon, and white wool.Because of your many products and your great wealth of goods, Damascus traded with you wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar,

19Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares; massive iron, cassia, and calamus, were among thy merchandise.and casks of wine from Izal for your wares. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were exchanged for your merchandise.

20Dedan was thy trafficker in precious cloths for riding.Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding.

21Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants of thy hand; in lambs, and rams, and goats, in these were they thy merchants.Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers, trading in lambs, rams, and goats.

22The traffickers of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy traffickers; they traded for thy wares with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your wares they exchanged gold, the finest of all spices, and precious stones.

23Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traffickers of Sheba, Asshur was as thine apprentice in traffic.Haran, Canneh, and Eden traded with you, and so did the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad.

24These were thy traffickers in gorgeous fabrics, in wrappings of blue and richly woven work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords and cedar-lined, among thy merchandise.In your marketplace they traded with you fine garments of blue, embroidered work, and multicolored rugs with cords tightly twisted and knotted.

25The ships of Tarshish brought thee tribute for thy merchandise; so wast thou replenished, and made very heavy in the heart of the seas.The ships of Tarshish carried your merchandise. And you were filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea.

26Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters; the east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the seas.Your oarsmen have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind will shatter you in the heart of the sea.

27Thy riches, and thy wares, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the exchangers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, with all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy ruin.Your wealth, wares, and merchandise, your sailors, captains, and shipwrights, your merchants and all the warriors within you, with all the other people on board, will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your downfall.

28At the sound of the cry of thy pilots the waves shall shake.The countryside will shake when your sailors 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,All who handle the oars will abandon their ships. The sailors and all the captains of the sea will stand on the shore.

30And shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall roll themselves in the ashes;They will raise their voices for you and cry out 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 in bitterness of soul with bitter lamentation.They will shave their heads for you and wrap themselves in sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and bitter mourning.

32And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee: who was there like Tyre, fortified in the midst of the sea?As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament for you: ‘Who was ever like Tyre, silenced in the middle of the sea?

33When thy wares came forth out of the seas, thou didst fill many peoples; with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise didst thou enrich the kings of the earth.When your wares went out to sea, you satisfied many nations. You enriched the kings of the earth with your abundant wealth and merchandise.

34Now that thou art broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, and thy merchandise and all thy company are fallen in the midst of thee,Now you are shattered by the seas in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and the people among you have gone down with you.

35All the inhabitants of the isles are appalled at thee, and their kings are horribly afraid, they are troubled in their countenance;All the people of the coastlands are appalled over you. Their kings shudder with fear; their faces are contorted.

36The merchants among the peoples hiss at thee; thou art become a terror, and never shalt be any more.'Those who trade among the nations hiss at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”

Ezekiel 27

A Lament for Tyre

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Ezekiel 27

A Lament for Tyre

You’ve read Ezekiel 27

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