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Commentary on Ezekiel 27 verses 26–36
We have seen Tyre flourishing; here we have Tyre falling, and great is the fall of it, so much the greater for its having made such a figure in the world. Note, The most mighty and magnificent kingdoms and states, sooner or later, have their day to come down. They have their period; and, when they are in their zenith, they will begin to decline. But the destruction of Tyre was sudden. Her sun went down at noon. And all her wealth and grandeur, pomp and power, did but aggravate her ruin, and make it the more grievous to herself and astonishing to all about her. Now observe here, 1. How the ruin of Tyrus will be brought about, Eze 27:26. She is as a great ship richly laden, that is split or sunk by the indiscretion of her steersmen: Thy rowers have themselves brought thee into great and dangerous waters; the governors of the city, and those that had the management of their public affairs, by some mismanagement or other involved them in that war with the Chaldeans which was the ruin of their state. By their insolence, by some affront given to the Chaldeans or some attempt made upon them, in confidence of their own ability to contend with them, they provoked Nebuchadnezzar to make a descent upon them, and, by their obstinacy in standing it out to the last, enraged him to such a degree that he determined on the ruin of their state, and, like an east wind, broke them in the midst of the seas. Note, It is ill with a people when those that sit at the stern, instead of putting them into the harbour, run them aground. 2. How great and general the ruin will be. All her wealth shall be buried with her, her riches, her fairs, and her merchandise (Eze 27:27); all that had any dependence upon her, and dealings with her, in trade, in war, in conversation, shall ball with her into the midst of the seas, in the day of her ruin. Note, Those who make creatures their confidence, place their happiness in their interest in them and rest their hopes upon them, will of course fall with them; happy therefore are those that have the God of Jacob for their help, and whose hope is in the Lord their God, who lives for ever. 3. What sad lamentation would be made for the destruction of Tyre. The pilots, her princes and governors, when they see how wretchedly they have mismanaged and how much they have contributed to their own ruin, shall cry out so loud as to make even the suburbs shake (Eze 27:28), such a vexation shall it be to them to reflect upon their own bad conduct. The inferior officers, that were as the mariners of the state, shall be forced to come down from their respective posts (Eze 27:29), and they shall cry out against thee, as having deceived them, in not proving so well able to hold out as they thought thou hadst been; they shall cry bitterly for the common ruin, and their own share in it. They shall use all the most solemn expressions of grief; they shall cast dust on their heads, in indignation against themselves, shall wallow themselves in ashes, as having bid a final farewell to all ease and pleasure; they shall make themselves bald (Eze 27:31), with tearing their hair; and, according to the custom of great mourners, those shall gird themselves with sackcloth who used to wear find linen, and, instead of merry songs, they shall weep with bitterness of heart. Note, Losses and crosses are very grievous, and hard to be borne, to those that have long been wallowing in pleasure and sleeping in carnal security. 4. How Tyre should be upbraided with her former honour and prosperity (Eze 27:32, Eze 27:33); she that was Tyrus the renowned shall now be called Tyrus the destroyed in the midst of the sea. "What city is like Tyre? Did ever any city come down from such a height of prosperity to such a depth of adversity? Time was when thy wares, those of thy own making and those that passed through thy hands, went forth out of the seas, and were exported to all parts of the world; then thou filledst many people, and didst enrich the kings of the earth and their kingdoms." The Tyrians, though they bore such a sway in trade, were yet, it seems, fair merchants, and let their neighbours not only live, but thrive by them. All that dealt with them were gainers; they did not cheat or oppress the people, but did enrich them with the multitude of their merchandise. "But now those that used to be enriched by thee shall be ruined with thee" (as is usual in trade); "when thou shalt be broken, and all thou hast is seized on, all thy company shall fall too," Eze 27:34. There is an end of Tyre, that made such a noise and bustle in the world. This great blaze goes out in a snuff. 5. How the fall of Tyre should be matter of terror to some and laughter to others, according as they were differently interested and affected. Some shall be sorely afraid, and shall be troubled (Eze 27:35), concluding it will be their own turn to fall next. Others shall hiss at her (Eze 27:36), shall ridicule her pride, and vanity, and bad management, and think her ruin just. She triumphed in Jerusalem's fall, and there are those that will triumph in hers. When God casts his judgments on the sinner men also shall clap their hands at him and shall hiss him out of his place, Job 27:22, Job 27:23. Is this the city which men called the perfection of beauty?
(Verse 35, 36, and following) And I will bring you into a desert of peoples, and there I will judge you face to face. Just as I contended with your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, says the Lord. And I will subject you to my scepter, and I will bring you into the bonds of the covenant, and I will choose from among you the transgressors and the wicked: from their place of residence I will bring them out, and they will not enter the land of Israel, and you will know that I am the Lord. Thus says the Lord: I will do for you who are in Babylon, and now serve idols, what I did for your ancestors in Egypt. I will lead you into the desert of the peoples, and there I will judge you face to face, just as I contended with them in judgment when they came out of Egypt. And after I have judged you, I will subject you to my scepter and rule, and I will make a covenant with you and bring you into your land with the bonds of love, so that bound by my love, you will never be able to depart from me. But I will choose from among you the transgressors and the wicked, who persist in the hardness of their hearts in evil deeds, not for possession, but for rejection. And I will indeed bring them out of the land of their dwelling, so that when they are brought out, they will not enter the land of Israel; but they will perish in various regions. And by the distinction between good and evil, you shall know that I am the Lord, who judges all things. The rest of the discourse hastens, and we briefly go through each point, in order to provide only the meaning to the readers.
(Verse 33 and following) What is like Tyre, that has become silent (or has been silenced) in the middle of the sea? (Which is not found in the Septuagint.) Who, in the outcome of your dealings (or what reward you received) from the sea, enriched many peoples? In the abundance of your wealth, and with the multitude of your people, you made many kings wealthy. Now you are broken by the sea (or in the sea) in the depths of the waters, your wealth (or your trading) and all your multitude, which was in your midst, have fallen. All the inhabitants of the islands were astonished (or crushed) over you, and all their kings were struck (or turned mad) by the tempest, they changed their countenance (or wept). The merchants of the nations (or peoples) hissed at you, you were brought down to nothingness (or made into ruins), and you will no longer exist (Vulg. remains silent) forever (or for eternity). Captains, sailors, helmsmen, and passengers, in the mourning of Tyre, will remember these things, which so silenced other cities that they had no confidence to speak; and they heard that Gospel saying, Be silent, and be dumb (Mark 4:39). And concerning the Psalms: But to the sinner God said, Why do you declare my justices, and take my covenant in thy mouth? (Ps. XLVI, 16) How rich has Tyre become with so many goods! And why have you sought so much with such great labor, that you gather perishable things through days and nights of shipwreck? Indeed, you have filled many peoples and enriched kings with your wealth, of whom it is written: The kings of the earth stood, and the princes met together against the Lord and against his Christ (Psalm II, 2). But now you are crushed in the sea, and in the depths of the waters, just as it is written about Pharaoh: The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he has cast into the sea (Exodus XV, 4). He was submerged in the deep like a stone, and he could say: I have come into the deep of the sea, and the tempest has submerged me (Psalm XIV, 4). All the islands, or the inhabitants of the islands, that are battered by the waves of this world, will be astonished at you, and their kings, struck by the storm, will sense their own demise. They will imitate the voice of the snake, hissing and saying: You have been reduced to nothing, or you have been made into destruction; so that you have not had the nature of destruction, but the will. And you will not be. But if he had said this until now, a great question would arise, how it was not, which we now see as built. But from what follows, 'Forever', it shows the time of one age, which is reckoned to be around 70 years in the circle of a man's life. Whether you will not be to God, as the Apostle says: 'He calls things that are not as though they were' (Rom. 4:17). And the prophet Isaiah: 'Behold, they shall be confounded and ashamed, all your adversaries.' (Isaiah 41:11). For they will be as if they were not (Isa. XLI, 11): And Esther according to the Seventy Interpreters: Do not give your scepter to those who are not (Esther XIV, 11). And in the psalm: Let me be refreshed before I go away, and I shall be no more (Ps. XXXV, 14). We have already mentioned in what sense these testimonies should be understood. However, all these things can be referred to the person of heretics, who, in the contrition of Tyre and the shipwreck, feel their error and, placed in the midst of the sea, desire to free their souls and mourn the ill-gotten riches, with which they have enriched many kings, namely their patriarchs, and the common people, whose wealth will be destroyed in the midst of the sea. The inhabitants of all the islands (if, however, we want to interpret what has been said in a positive way) will also be astonished at the destruction of Tyre, and the kings of all the islands, being as it were struck by a storm, will change their faces, or at least show the grief of their hearts with weeping and tears, and they will testify to the magnitude of their astonishment with wonder and hissing, declaring how she has become nothing and perished, she who promised salvation to many nations. And furthermore, it will not be, at any certain time, that we interpret αἰῶνα as meaning 'age'; but forever, because the same word signifies both.
(Verse 27, 29 onwards) Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them: Thus says the Lord God: Moreover, your fathers have blasphemed against me and have treated me with contempt, even as they spurned me. And I brought them into the land that I had lifted my hand to give them ((Vulgate adds: that land)): they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and there they offered their sacrifices and presented there the irritation of their offerings, and they placed there the fragrance of their sweetness, and they poured out their ((Vulgate is silent on this)) libations there. And I said to them, 'What is the high place to which you are going?' And its name was called the High Place until this day. Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: As for your fathers, they have provoked Me to anger by their iniquities, by the fact that they have fallen away from Me. So I brought them into the land that I had lifted My hand in an oath to give them.' They saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and there they offered their sacrifices. They also presented there the provocation of their gifts, and they set there their pleasing aroma, and they poured out there their drink offerings. And I said to them: What is abbana, because you enter there? And they called its name abbana until this day. I wanted, he said, to scatter them in the wilderness, and to give them not good precepts, so that they would sacrifice to idols what they should have offered to me, and consecrate all their first-fruits to them by fire, so that I might kill them and destroy them. But when he says, I wanted, he shows that he did not do what he wanted. And that which follows: 'And they shall know that I am the Lord,' is not found in the Septuagint. For it did not seem fitting to them to know after their destruction that he himself is the Lord. But you, son of man, speak again to them, that is, to the elders of the house of Israel, who have come to inquire of you: Your fathers, from whom you have descended, have also blasphemed against me and held me in contempt; after I brought them into the land which I had given them to possess, they turned against me to provoke me. For when they saw every high hill and leafy tree, they would sacrifice on the mountains and in the groves and thickets, and offer victims to the idols, and pour out libations. And when I saw this, I said to them: What is this, Bama? for it is called high: or why do you enter into such a place which you have chosen for yourselves in all the hills, so that even today these places are called Bamoth, and the ancient error retains its original name? Regarding Bama, which we translate as excelsum, there is an error in the Septuagint edition, where it is written as ἀββανὰ, which does not resonate in the Hebrew language. Bama can mean 'in which' if the two syllables are divided into two words, but in the present context, that sense does not fit. However, wherever it is written in the Books of Kings and Chronicles: 'The people still sacrificed and offered incense on the high places,' Bama in the singular and Bamoth in the plural mean 'high places.'
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SUMMARY
Ezekiel 27:33 powerfully encapsulates the zenith of Tyre's commercial prowess and global economic dominion. It depicts how this formidable Phoenician city, through its unparalleled maritime trade, served as the ancient world's central marketplace, abundantly supplying numerous nations and significantly enriching the kings of the earth with its vast and diverse accumulation of wealth and merchandise. This verse, embedded within a prophetic lament, highlights Tyre's extraordinary prosperity as the dramatic prelude to its prophesied downfall, serving as a stark reminder of the transient nature of earthly power and the dangers of pride rooted in material abundance.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ezekiel 27:33 masterfully employs several potent literary devices to convey the immense prosperity of Tyre and to set the stage for its ultimate prophetic significance. Personification is a pervasive device throughout Ezekiel 27, and it is evident here as Tyre is depicted as an active agent that "filledst many people" and "didst enrich the kings of the earth." This imbues the city with dynamic, almost human capabilities, making its subsequent downfall all the more poignant and tragic. Hyperbole is clearly present in phrases such as "filledst many people" and "enrich the kings of the earth." While Tyre's commercial reach and wealth were undeniably vast, these expressions exaggerate its influence to emphasize its unparalleled dominance and the sheer, overwhelming scale of its economic power, creating a vivid and indelible image of a truly global commercial empire. Furthermore, a profound sense of Irony underpins this entire description. This grand and detailed portrayal of Tyre's peak prosperity serves as the dramatic and essential setup for its imminent and catastrophic destruction, which is meticulously detailed immediately afterward in the prophecy. The very source of Tyre's pride, power, and self-sufficiency ultimately becomes the direct reason for its divine judgment, highlighting the fleeting and precarious nature of earthly glory when it is not humbly submitted to God's sovereignty.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezekiel 27:33, while a vivid portrayal of Tyre's material abundance, serves as a profound theological statement concerning the nature of wealth, the perils of pride, and the unwavering reality of divine sovereignty. Tyre's vast riches and global influence, rather than fostering gratitude or humility, became a wellspring of self-sufficiency and arrogant belief in its own invincibility, apart from any divine reliance. This verse, therefore, implicitly but powerfully warns against the insidious dangers of the idolatry of wealth, where material prosperity becomes the ultimate object of trust and the perceived source of security, rather than the Creator Himself. It emphatically underscores the foundational biblical principle that all earthly power, wealth, and empires are ultimately temporary, transient, and unequivocally subject to God's ultimate control, who sovereignly raises up and brings down nations according to His immutable will and righteous purposes.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ezekiel 27:33 offers a timeless and profound mirror for both individuals and nations, prompting deep and critical reflection on the nature of prosperity and our relationship with it. Tyre's story stands as a powerful and enduring reminder that while wealth, influence, and success can indeed be blessings from God, they also carry inherent and potent dangers. Chief among these is the temptation to pride, self-reliance, and the insidious idolatry of material possessions. When we, or our societies, accumulate great riches or power, there is a subtle yet potent spiritual shift that can occur: from a posture of gratitude to one of arrogance, from responsible stewardship to self-sufficient autonomy. This verse challenges us to critically examine where our ultimate security and trust truly lie: Is it in our financial portfolios, our national strength, our professional achievements, or in the unfailing and sovereign provision of God? It calls us to cultivate a posture of profound humility, recognizing that all blessings, all abilities, and all opportunities flow from His gracious hand. True, lasting, and eternal prosperity is found not in what we accumulate on earth, which is fleeting, but in our vibrant and intimate relationship with the Eternal God. It encourages us to use any abundance we possess for God's glory, for the advancement of His Kingdom, and for the genuine good of others, rather than allowing it to become a source of spiritual decay, a stumbling block, or a false god that ultimately leads to ruin.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What was the significance of Tyre's maritime trade?
Answer: Tyre's maritime trade was the absolute lifeblood of its economy and the foundational pillar of its immense power and wealth. As a leading Phoenician city, Tyre mastered shipbuilding, navigation, and seafaring, establishing extensive and intricate trade routes that spanned the entire Mediterranean Sea and reached far beyond. This allowed Tyre to function as the central hub of ancient commerce, connecting diverse regions and facilitating the exchange of an astonishing array of goods, ranging from essential raw materials like timber and metals to highly coveted luxury items such as purple dye and exotic spices. Its strategic control over these vast trade networks not only brought unparalleled wealth to Tyre itself but also, as Ezekiel 27 vividly describes, "filledst many people" and "didst enrich the kings of the earth," solidifying its position as the pivotal economic superpower of the ancient world.
How does this verse relate to the broader prophecy against Tyre?
Answer: Ezekiel 27:33 stands as the dramatic climax of the description of Tyre's unparalleled glory and prosperity, serving as a powerful and poignant setup for its prophesied and inevitable downfall. The entire chapter is meticulously crafted as a funeral lament, detailing Tyre's magnificent construction, its extensive trade networks, and its global influence before abruptly pivoting to the catastrophic destruction that awaits it. This verse specifically highlights the very source of Tyre's pride—its immense wealth and global influence—which ultimately became a significant contributing factor to its divine judgment. The broader prophecy against Tyre, spanning Ezekiel 26-28, serves as a profound warning against the dangers of arrogance, self-reliance, and the idolatry of material success, demonstrating unequivocally that even the most powerful and seemingly invincible earthly kingdoms are ultimately subject to God's sovereign will and righteous judgment.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Ezekiel 27:33 vividly describes the temporal, earthly riches and fleeting influence of the city of Tyre, it implicitly points to a far greater, eternal reality found exclusively in Jesus Christ. Tyre's vast commercial network "filledst many people" and "didst enrich the kings of the earth" with material goods and transient prosperity, yet this wealth was ultimately fleeting and led directly to its ruin. In profound contrast, Jesus Christ is the ultimate and inexhaustible source of true, lasting, and eternal riches. He is the "pearl of great price" (Matthew 13:45-46), representing the supreme value and treasure that surpasses all earthly gain. He is the one who offers "living water" (John 4:10), satisfying the deepest spiritual needs and thirsts of the human soul that no amount of earthly merchandise or commerce could ever fulfill. The "wares" that went forth from Tyre were perishable, subject to decay and destruction, but the spiritual blessings that flow from Christ's perfect sacrifice and resurrection are eternal, incorruptible, and unfading (1 Peter 1:3-4). He enriches not merely the kings of the earth with transient wealth, but He profoundly enriches all who believe in Him with "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3) and the "unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8). Unlike Tyre, whose pride and self-sufficiency led to its catastrophic downfall, Christ, though infinitely rich in His divine nature, "for your sakes became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9), offering an eternal kingdom that will never be destroyed or brought to ruin (Daniel 2:44).