Ezekiel27

Ezekiel 27 presents a lamentation for Tyrus, a city renowned for its perfect beauty and vast maritime trade empire. The chapter meticulously details its elaborate shipbuilding, diverse international merchants, and extensive array of goods. Despite its immense wealth and influence, the prophecy foretells Tyrus's sudden and complete destruction by a mighty east wind, causing widespread mourning among its trading partners and mariners.

A Lamentation for Tyre

1
the LORD’s word came again to me, saying,
2
You, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre; ​
3
and tell Tyre, you who dwell at the entry of the sea, who are the merchant of the peoples to many islands, thus says the Lord GOD: You, Tyre, have said, I am perfect in beauty. ​
4
Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders have perfected your beauty. ​

The Splendor of Tyre's Ship

5
They have made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; they have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6
Of the oaks of Bashan have they made your oars; they have made your benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood, from the islands of Kittim. ​
7
Of fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, that it might be to you for a banner; blue and purple from the islands of Elishah was your awning.
8
The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers: your wise men, Tyre, were in you, they were your pilots.
9
The old men of Gebal and the wise men of it were in you your repairers of ship seams: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to deal in your merchandise. ​
10
Persia and Lud and Put were in your army, your men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in you; they showed your beauty. ​
11
The men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around, and valorous men were in your towers; they hanged their shields on your walls all around; they have perfected your beauty.

Tyre's Vast Commercial Empire

12
Tarshish was your merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded for your wares. ​
13
Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were your traffickers; they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass for your merchandise. ​
14
They of the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses and war horses and mules.
15
The men of Dedan were your traffickers; many islands were the market of your hand: they brought you in exchange horns of ivory and ebony.
16
Syria was your merchant by reason of the multitude of your handiworks: they traded for your wares with emeralds, purple, and embroidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies.
17
Judah, and Eretz-Israel, they were your traffickers: they traded for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, and confections, and honey, and oil, and balm. ​
18
Damascus was your merchant for the multitude of your handiworks, by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches, with the wine of Helbon, and white wool.
19
Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for your wares: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were among your merchandise.
20
Dedan was your trafficker in precious cloths for riding.
21
Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants of your hand; in lambs, and rams, and goats, in these were they your merchants.
22
The traffickers of Sheba and Raamah, they were your traffickers; they traded for your wares with the chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.
23
Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traffickers of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad, were your traffickers.
24
These were your traffickers in choice wares, in wrappings of blue and embroidered work, and in chests of rich clothing, bound with cords and made of cedar, among your merchandise.
25
The ships of Tarshish were your caravans for your merchandise: and you were replenished, and made very glorious in the heart of the seas. ​

The Shipwreck and Global Mourning

26
Your rowers have brought you into great waters: the east wind has broken you in the heart of the seas. ​
27
Your riches, and your wares, your merchandise, your mariners, and your pilots, your repairers of ship seams, and the dealers in your merchandise, and all your men of war, who are in you, with all your company which is in your midst, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of your ruin. ​
28
At the sound of the cry of your pilots the suburbs shall shake.
29
All who handled the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships; they shall stand on the land,
30
and shall cause their voice to be heard over you, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust on their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:
31
and they shall make themselves bald for you, and clothe them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for you in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning.
32
In their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you, saying, Who is there like Tyre, like her who is brought to silence in the midst of the sea? ​
33
When your wares went out of the seas, you filled many peoples; you enriched the kings of the earth with the multitude of your riches and of your merchandise.
34
In the time that you were broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, your merchandise and all your company fell in your midst.
35
All the inhabitants of the islands are astonished at you, and their kings are horribly afraid; they are troubled in their face.
36
The merchants among the peoples hiss at you; you are become a terror, and you shall nevermore have any being. ​

Study Notes for Ezekiel 27

Verse 2

The prophet is commanded to take up a 'lamentation' (Heb. *qînāh*), a funeral dirge. This literary form emphasizes the finality and tragedy of Tyre's upcoming destruction.

Verse 3

Tyre's boast of 'perfect beauty' (or 'perfect proportion') highlights its self-sufficiency and arrogance, which the prophets often identify as the root cause of divine judgment.

Verse 4

Tyre was strategically located on an island, giving it natural protection. This verse emphasizes how the sea, its source of strength, also defines its borders and eventual isolation.

Verse 6

The specific mention of high-quality materials (oaks of Bashan, ivory from Chittim/Cyprus) illustrates the immense wealth and international scope required to build and outfit these magnificent ships.

Verse 9

Gebal (modern Byblos) was an ancient Phoenician city renowned for its skilled seamen and craftsmanship, specifically 'calkers' (those who seal the seams of ships). Tyre utilized the best regional labor available.

Verse 10

Tyre maintained its security through a large army of mercenaries (Persia, Lud/Lydia, Phut/Libya), relying on hired foreign power rather than native strength, a common practice among wealthy states.

Verse 12

Tarshish, often identified with a distant port in the western Mediterranean (perhaps Spain), signifies the extreme reach of Tyre's trade routes, bringing in precious metals like silver, iron, tin, and lead.

Verse 13

Javan (Ionian Greece) and regions like Tubal and Meshech (in Anatolia) traded in human beings ('persons of men'), highlighting the centrality of the slave trade to the ancient economy.

Verse 17

Judah and Israel, despite prophetic warnings against alliances with Tyre (Amos 1:9), provided necessary agricultural goods (wheat, honey, balm), illustrating the economic interdependence of the region.

Verse 25

The metaphor returns to the magnificent ship, summarizing Tyre's success: it was 'replenished' (filled) and 'glorious' because of its maritime trade, setting the stage for the dramatic reversal.

Verse 26

The 'east wind' is a recurring biblical metaphor for God's sudden, violent, and destructive judgment (cf. Exod 14:21; Jer 18:17), signifying that the destruction is divinely orchestrated.

Verse 27

This verse lists every component of Tyre’s success—wealth, infrastructure, personnel, and military—emphasizing that the ruin will be total and encompass everything that made the city great.

Verse 32

The lamentation emphasizes the profound shock felt by surrounding nations: Tyre’s destruction is viewed as unique and unprecedented, destroying the perception of its invincibility.

Verse 36

The final judgment pronounces that Tyre will cease to exist and become a 'terror' (a warning example). This fulfills the prophetic purpose: to demonstrate the sovereignty of the Lord GOD over all earthly powers.

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