Ezekiel 27:1-10

A Lament Over 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, 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 juniper 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 they made your deck, adorned 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, Tyre, were aboard as your sailors.
9 Veteran craftsmen of Byblos 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.

Ezekiel 27:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 27

This chapter contains a lamentation on Tyre; setting forth her former grandeur, riches, and commerce; her ruin and destruction; and the concern of others on that account. The prophet is bid to take up his lamentation concerning it, Eze 27:1,2, observing her situation and magnificence, of which she boasted, Eze 27:3,4, describing the excellency of her shipping and naval stores, Eze 27:5-7, declaring who were her mariners, pilots, and caulkers, Eze 27:8,9, her military men, Eze 27:10,11 her several merchants, and the things they traded in with her in her fairs and markets, Eze 27:12-25, then follows an account of her destruction, Eze 27:26,27, the lamentation of pilots and mariners because of it, Eze 27:28-32, and of the kings and inhabitants of the isles, and merchants of the people, Eze 27:33-36.

Cross References 20

  • 1. S Ezekiel 19:1
  • 2. S Psalms 83:7
  • 3. ver 33; Hosea 9:13
  • 4. S Isaiah 23:9; S Ezekiel 16:15; Ezekiel 28:2
  • 5. Ezekiel 28:12
  • 6. S Deuteronomy 3:9
  • 7. S Isaiah 2:13
  • 8. Numbers 21:33; S Psalms 29:9; Jeremiah 22:20; Zechariah 11:2
  • 9. S Genesis 10:4; Isaiah 23:12
  • 10. S Exodus 26:36; S Isaiah 19:9
  • 11. Exodus 25:4; Jeremiah 10:9
  • 12. Genesis 10:4
  • 13. Genesis 10:18
  • 14. 1 Kings 9:27
  • 15. S Joshua 13:5; 1 Kings 5:18
  • 16. S Psalms 104:26
  • 17. 2 Chronicles 36:20; Ezra 1:1; Ezekiel 38:5; Daniel 8:20
  • 18. S Isaiah 66:19
  • 19. S Genesis 10:6; Ezekiel 30:5; Nahum 3:9
  • 20. Song of Songs 4:4

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. That is, Mount Hermon
  • [b]. Targum; the Masoretic Text has a different division of the consonants.
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