Through My Bible Yr 2 – June 5

Ezekiel 27

A Lament for Tyre

¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² “Son of man, take up a lament concerning Tyre. ³ Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
” ‘You say, O Tyre,
“I am perfect in beauty.”

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

⁵ They made all your timbers
of pine trees from Senir ^[a] ;
they took a cedar from Lebanon
to make a mast for you.

⁶ Of oaks from Bashan
they made your oars;
of cypress wood ^[b] from the coasts of Cyprus ^[c]
they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.

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

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

⁹ Veteran craftsmen of Gebal ^[d] 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.

¹¹ Men of Arvad and Helech
manned 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 Meshech traded with you; they exchanged slaves and articles of bronze for your wares.

¹⁴” ‘Men of Beth Togarmah exchanged work horses, war horses and mules for your merchandise.

¹⁵ ” ‘The men of Rhodes ^[e]traded with you, and many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.

¹⁶ ” ‘Aram ^[f]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, ^[g]honey, oil and balm for your wares.

¹⁸” ‘Damascus, because of your many products and great wealth of goods, did business with you in wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar.

¹⁹” ‘Danites and Greeks from Uzal bought your merchandise; they exchanged wrought iron, cassia and calamus for your wares.

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 ” ‘Haran, Canneh and Eden and merchants of Sheba, Asshur 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
in the heart of the sea.

²⁶ Your oarsmen take you
out to the high seas.
But the east wind will break you to pieces
in the heart of the sea.

²⁷ Your wealth, merchandise and wares,
your mariners, seamen 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.

²⁸ The shorelands will quake
when your seamen cry out.

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

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

³¹ They 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.

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

³³ When 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.

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

³⁵ All who live in the coastlands
are appalled at you;
their kings shudder with horror
and their faces are distorted with fear.

³⁶ The merchants among the nations hiss at you;
you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more.’ ”

Ezekiel 28

A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre

¹ The 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 man and not a god,
though you think you are as wise as a god.

³ Are you wiser than Daniel ^[h] ?
Is no secret hidden from you?

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

⁵ By 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,

⁷ I 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.

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

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

¹⁰ You will die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners.
I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD.’ ”

¹¹ The 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 model of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

¹³ You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
ruby, topaz and emerald,
chrysolite, onyx and jasper,
sapphire, ^[i] turquoise and beryl. ^[j]
Your settings and mountings ^[k] were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.

¹⁴ You 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.

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

¹⁶ Through 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, O guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.

¹⁷ Your 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.

¹⁸ By 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.

¹⁹ All 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

²⁰ The word of the LORD came to me: ²¹ “Son of man, set your face against Sidon; prophesy against her ²² and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
” ‘I am against you, O Sidon,
and I will gain glory within you.
They will know that I am the LORD,
when I inflict punishment on her
and show myself holy within her.

²³ I will send a plague upon her
and make blood flow in her streets.
The slain will fall within her,
with the sword against her on every side.
Then they 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 show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. ²⁶ They 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.’ ”

Footnotes:

1. Ezekiel 27:5 That is, Hermon
2. Ezekiel 27:6 Targum; the Masoretic Text has a different division of the consonants.
3. Ezekiel 27:6 Hebrew Kittim
4. Ezekiel 27:9 That is, Byblos
5. Ezekiel 27:15 Septuagint; Hebrew Dedan
6. Ezekiel 27:16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Edom
7. Ezekiel 27:17 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
8. Ezekiel 28:3 Or Danel ; the Hebrew spelling may suggest a person other than the prophet Daniel.
9. Ezekiel 28:13 Or lapis lazuli
10. Ezekiel 28:13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.
11. Ezekiel 28:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.