The Babylonian Exile

With hoofs of his horses he treadeth all thine out-places, Thy people by sword he doth slay, And the pillars of thy strength to the earth come down.

And they have spoiled thy wealth, And they have plundered thy merchandise, And they have thrown down thy walls, And thy desirable houses they break down, And thy stones, and thy wood, and thy dust, In the midst of the waters they place.

And I have caused the noise of thy songs to cease, And the voice of thy harps is heard no more.

And I have given thee up for a clear place of a rock, A spreading-place of nets thou art, Thou art not built up any more, For I, Jehovah, I have spoken, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

Thus said the Lord Jehovah to Tyre: Do not--from the noise of thy fall, In the groaning of the wounded, In the slaying of the slaughter in thy midst, The isles shake?

And come down from off their thrones have all princes of the sea, And they have turned aside their robes, And their embroidered garments strip off, Trembling they put on, on the earth they sit, And they have trembled every moment, And they have been astonished at thee,

And have lifted up for thee a lamentation, And said to thee: How hast thou perished, That art inhabited from the seas, The praised city, that was strong in the sea, She and her inhabitants, Who put their terror on all her inhabitants!

Now they tremble, is it not the day of thy fall? Troubled have been the isles that are in the sea, at thine outgoing.

For thus said the Lord Jehovah: In my making thee a city wasted, Like cities that have not been inhabited, In bringing up against thee the deep, Then covered thee have the great waters.

And I have caused thee to go down, With those going down to the pit, Unto the people of old, And I have caused thee to dwell in the land, The lower parts--in wastes of old, With those going down to the pit, So that thou art not inhabited, And I have given beauty in the land of the living.

Wastes I do make thee, and thou art not, And thou art sought, and art not found any more--to the age, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

`And thou, son of man, lift up concerning Tyre a lamentation, and thou hast said to Tyre:

O dweller on the entrances of the sea, Merchant of the peoples unto many isles, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: O Tyre, thou--thou hast said: I am the perfection of beauty.

In the heart of the seas are thy borders, Thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

Of firs of Senir they have built to thee all thy double-boarded ships, Of cedars of Lebanon they have taken to make a mast for thee,

Of oaks of Bashan they made thine oars, Thy bench they have made of ivory, A branch of Ashurim from isles of Chittim.

Of fine linen with embroidery from Egypt hath been thy sail, To be to thee for an ensign, Of blue and purple from isles of Elishah hath been thy covering.

Inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad have been rowers to thee, Thy wise men, O Tyre, have been in thee, They are thy pilots.

Elders of Gebal and its wise men have been in thee, Strengthening thy breach; All ships of the sea and their mariners, Have been in thee, to trade with thy merchandise.

Persian and Lud and Phut Have been in thy forces--thy men of war. Shield and helmet they hung up in thee, They--they have given out thine honour.

The sons of Arvad, and thy force, Are on thy walls round about, And short swordsmen in thy towers have been, Their shields they have hung up on thy walls round about, They--they have perfected thy beauty.

Tarshish is thy merchant, Because of the abundance of all wealth, For silver, iron, tin, and lead, They have given out thy remnants.

Javan, Tubal, and Meshech--they are thy merchants, For persons of men, and vessels of brass, They have given out thy merchandise.

They of the house of Togarmah, For horses, and riding steeds, and mules, They have given out thy remnants.