Ezekiel 26:5

5 She'll be an island of bare rock in the ocean, good for nothing but drying fishnets. Yes, I've said so.' Decree of God, the Master. 'She'll be loot, free pickings for the nations!

Ezekiel 26:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 26:5

It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of
the sea
Where only fishermen would be seen washing their nets, and then spreading them upon this rock, where Tyre stood, to dry them and this has been confirmed by travellers, who have seen fishermen spreading and drying their nets, and having no other habitations on it but the huts of these men. Huetius F3 relates, that he remembered one Hadrian Parvillarius, a Jesuit, a candid and learned man, particularly in the Arabic language, who lived ten years in Syria; and to have heard him say, that when he saw the ruins of Tyre, its rocks to the sea, and scattered stones on the shore, and made clean smooth by the sun, waves, and wind, and only used for drying fishermen's nets, it brought to his mind this passage of the prophet; as it did to Mr. Maundrell F4 when on the spot, a few years ago; who says,

``you see nothing here but a mere Babel of broken walls, pillars, vaults there being not so much as one entire house left; its present inhabitants are only a few poor wretches, harbouring themselves in the vaults, and subsisting chiefly upon fishing; who seem to be preserved in this place by divine Providence, as a visible argument how God has fulfilled his word concerning Tyre, viz. "that it should be as the top of a rock"'':
so Dr. Shaw F5 says, this port, small as it at present, is choked up to that degree with sand and rubbish, that the boats of these poor fishermen, who now and then visit this once renowned emporium and "dry their nets upon its rocks and ruins", can with great difficulty only be admitted: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God;
and therefore it should certainly come to pass, as it has: and it shall become a spoil to the nations;
the army of many nations, that besieged it for thirteen years under Nebuchadnezzar.
FOOTNOTES:

F3 Evangel. Demonstrat. prop. 6. p. 328.
F4 Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 48, 49. Ed. 7.
F5 Travels, p. 273. Ed. 2.

Ezekiel 26:5 In-Context

3 "Therefore, God, the Master, has this to say: "'I'm against you, Tyre, and I'll bring many nations surging against you, as the waves of the sea surging against the shore.
4 They'll smash the city walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I'll wash away the soil and leave nothing but bare rock.
5 She'll be an island of bare rock in the ocean, good for nothing but drying fishnets. Yes, I've said so.' Decree of God, the Master. 'She'll be loot, free pickings for the nations!
6 Her surrounding villages will be butchered. Then they'll realize that I am God.'
7 "God, the Master, says: Look! Out of the north I'm bringing Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king's king, down on Tyre. He'll come with chariots and horses and riders - a huge army.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.