Ezekiel 27:1-9

1 Then this message came to me from the LORD :

2 “Son of man, sing a funeral song for Tyre,

3 that mighty gateway to the sea, the trading center of the world. Give Tyre this message from the Sovereign LORD : “You boasted, O Tyre, ‘My beauty is perfect!’

4 You extended your boundaries into the sea. Your builders made your beauty perfect.

5 You were like a great ship built of the finest cypress from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

6 They carved your oars from the oaks of Bashan. Your deck of pine from the coasts of Cyprus was inlaid with ivory.

7 Your sails were made of Egypt’s finest linen, and they flew as a banner above you. You stood beneath blue and purple awnings made bright with dyes from the coasts of Elishah.

8 Your oarsmen came from Sidon and Arvad; your helmsmen were skilled men from Tyre itself.

9 Wise old craftsmen from Gebal did the caulking. Ships from every land came with goods to barter for your trade.

Ezekiel 27:1-9 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.

Footnotes

• [a] Or Hermon.
• [b] Hebrew Kittim.