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1The word of the Lord came to me:
2“You, son of man, sing a lament for Tyre.[#tn Heb “lift up over Tyre a lament.”]
3Say to Tyre, who sits at the entrance of the sea, merchant to the peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:[#tn Heb “entrances.” The plural noun may reflect the fact that Tyre had two main harbors.; #sn Rome, another economic power, is described in a similar way in Rev 17:1.]
“‘O Tyre, you have said, “I am perfectly beautiful.”
4Your borders are in the heart of the seas;[#tn The city of Tyre is described in the following account as a merchant ship.]
your builders have perfected your beauty.
5They crafted all your planks out of fir trees from Senir;[#tn Heb “built.”; #tn Perhaps the hull or deck. The term is dual, so perhaps it refers to a double-decked ship.]
they took a cedar from Lebanon to make your mast.
6They made your oars from oaks of Bashan;
they made your deck with cypresses from the Kittean isles.
7Fine linen from Egypt, woven with patterns, was used for your sail
to serve as your banner;
blue and purple from the coastlands of Elishah was used for your deck’s awning.
8The leaders of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers;[#tc The MT reads “the residents of”; the LXX reads “your rulers who dwell in.” With no apparent reason for the LXX to add “the rulers” many suppose something has dropped out of the Hebrew text. While more than one may be possible, Allen’s proposal, positing a word meaning “elders,” is the most likely to explain the omission in the MT from a graphic standpoint and also provides a parallel to the beginning of v. 9. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:81.a parallel to v. 9.; #map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.; #sn Sidon and Arvad, like Tyre, were Phoenician coastal cities.]
your skilled men, O Tyre, were your captains.
9The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were within you, mending cracks;[#sn Another Phoenician coastal city located between Sidon and Arvad.; #tn Heb “strengthening damages.” Here “to strengthen” means to repair. The word for “damages” occurs several times in 1 Kgs 12 about some type of damage to the temple, which may have referred to or included cracks. Since the context describes Tyre in its glory, we do not expect this reference to damages to be of significant scale, even if there are repairmen. This may refer to using pitch to seal the seams of the ship, which had to be done periodically and could be considered routine maintenance rather than repair of damage.]
all the ships of the sea and their mariners were within you to trade for your merchandise.
10Men of Persia, Lud, and Put were in your army, men of war.[#sn See Gen 10:22.]
They hung shield and helmet on you; they gave you your splendor.
11The Arvadites joined your army on your walls all around,[#tn Heb “sons of Arvad.”]
and the Gammadites were in your towers.
They hung their quivers on your walls all around;
they perfected your beauty.
12“‘Tarshish was your trade partner because of your abundant wealth; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your products.[#sn Tarshish refers to a distant seaport sometimes believed to be located in southern Spain (others identified it as Carthage in North Africa). In any event it represents here a distant, rich, and exotic port which was a trading partner of Tyre.]
13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your clients; they exchanged slaves and bronze items for your merchandise.
14Beth Togarmah exchanged horses, chargers, and mules for your products.[#tn The way in which these horses may have been distinguished from other horses is unknown. Cf. ASV “war-horses” (NASB, NIV, NRSV, CEV all similar); NLT “chariot horses.”]
15The Dedanites were your clients. Many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.[#tn Heb “sons of Dedan.”; #tn Heb “they returned as your gift.”]
16Edom was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your products.[#tc Many Hebrew mss, Aquila’s Greek translation, and the Syriac version read “Edom.” The LXX reads “man,” a translation which assumes the same consonants as Edom. This reading is supported from the context as the text deals with Damascus, the capital of Syria (Aram), later (in v. 18).]
17Judah and the land of Israel were your clients; they traded wheat from Minnith, millet, honey, olive oil, and balm for your merchandise.[#sn The location is mentioned in Judg 11:33.]
18Damascus was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods and of all your wealth: wine from Helbon, white wool from Zahar,
19and casks of wine from Izal they exchanged for your products. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were among your merchandise.[#tc The MT leaves v. 18 as an incomplete sentence and begins v. 19 with “and Dan and Javan (Ionia) from Uzal.” The LXX mentions “wine.” The translation follows an emendation assuming some confusions of vav and yod. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:82.; #sn According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 2:82), Izal was located between Haran and the Tigris and was famous for its wine.]
20Dedan was your client in saddlecloths for riding.
21Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your trade partners; for lambs, rams, and goats they traded with you.
22The merchants of Sheba and Raamah engaged in trade with you; they traded the best kinds of spices along with precious stones and gold for your products.
23Haran, Kanneh, Eden, merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad were your clients.
24They traded with you choice garments, purple clothes and embroidered work, and multicolored carpets, bound and reinforced with cords; these were among your merchandise.
25The ships of Tarshish were the transports for your merchandise.[#tn Or perhaps “Large merchant ships.” The expression “ships of Tarshish” may describe a class of vessel, that is, large oceangoing merchant ships.]
“‘So you were filled and weighed down in the heart of the seas.
26Your rowers have brought you into surging waters.
The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas.
27Your wealth, products, and merchandise, your sailors and captains,
your ship’s carpenters, your merchants,
and all your fighting men within you,
along with all your crew who are in you,
will fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall.
28At the sound of your captains’ cry the waves will surge;[#tn Compare this phrase to Isa 57:20 and Amos 8:8. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:561.]
29They will descend from their ships – all who handle the oar,
the sailors and all the sea captains – they will stand on the land.
30They will lament loudly over you and cry bitterly.[#tn Heb “make heard over you with their voice.”]
They will throw dust on their heads and roll in the ashes;
31they will tear out their hair because of you and put on sackcloth,
and they will weep bitterly over you with intense mourning.
32As they wail they will lament over you, chanting:
“Who was like Tyre, like a tower in the midst of the sea?”
33When your products went out from the seas,
you satisfied many peoples;
with the abundance of your wealth and merchandise
you enriched the kings of the earth.
34Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters;
your merchandise and all your company have sunk along with you.
35All the inhabitants of the coastlands are shocked at you,
and their kings are horribly afraid – their faces are troubled.
36The traders among the peoples hiss at you;
you have become a horror, and will be no more.’”