November 6 – Ezekial 27 and 28 from the Old Testament

Ezekial 27 and 28 – A Lament for Tyre

27:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 27:2 “You, son of man, sing a lament for Tyre. 27:3 Say to Tyre, who sits at the entrance of the sea, merchant to the peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘O Tyre, you have said, “I am perfectly beautiful.”

27:4 Your borders are in the heart of the seas;

your builders have perfected your beauty.

27:5 They crafted all your planks out of fir trees from Senir;

they took a cedar from Lebanon to make your mast.

27:6 They made your oars from oaks of Bashan;

they made your deck with cypresses from the Kittean isles.

27:7 Fine linen from Egypt, woven with patterns, was used for your sail

to serve as your banner;

blue and purple from the coastlands of Elishah was used for your deck’s awning.

27:8 The leaders of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers;

your skilled men, O Tyre, were your captains.

27:9 The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were within you, mending cracks;

all the ships of the sea and their mariners were within you to trade for your merchandise.

27:10 Men of Persia, Lud, and Put were in your army, men of war.

They hung shield and helmet on you; they gave you your splendor.

27:11 The Arvadites joined your army on your walls all around,

and the Gammadites were in your towers.

They hung their quivers on your walls all around;

they perfected your beauty.

27:12 “‘Tarshish was your trade partner because of your abundant wealth; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your products. 27:13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your clients; they exchanged slaves and bronze items for your merchandise. 27:14 Beth Togarmah exchanged horses, chargers, and mules for your products. 27:15 The Dedanites were your clients. Many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony. 27:16 Edom was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your products. 27:17 Judah and the land of Israel were your clients; they traded wheat from Minnith, millet, honey, olive oil, and balm for your merchandise. 27:18 Damascus was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods and of all your wealth: wine from Helbon, white wool from Zahar, 27:19 and casks of wine from Izal they exchanged for your products. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were among your merchandise. 27:20 Dedan was your client in saddlecloths for riding. 27:21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your trade partners; for lambs, rams, and goats they traded with you. 27:22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah engaged in trade with you; they traded the best kinds of spices along with precious stones and gold for your products. 27:23 Haran, Kanneh, Eden, merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad were your clients. 27:24 They traded with you choice garments, purple clothes and embroidered work, and multicolored carpets, bound and reinforced with cords; these were among your merchandise. 27:25 The ships of Tarshish were the transports for your merchandise.

“‘So you were filled and weighed down in the heart of the seas.

27:26 Your rowers have brought you into surging waters.

The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas.

27:27 Your wealth, products, and merchandise, your sailors and captains,

your ship’s carpenters, your merchants,

and all your fighting men within you,

along with all your crew who are in you,

will fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall.

27:28 At the sound of your captains’ cry the waves will surge;

27:29 They will descend from their ships – all who handle the oar,

the sailors and all the sea captains – they will stand on the land.

27:30 They will lament loudly over you and cry bitterly.

They will throw dust on their heads and roll in the ashes;

27:31 they will tear out their hair because of you and put on sackcloth,

and they will weep bitterly over you with intense mourning.

27:32 As they wail they will lament over you, chanting:

“Who was like Tyre, like a tower in the midst of the sea?”

27:33 When your products went out from the seas,

you satisfied many peoples;

with the abundance of your wealth and merchandise

you enriched the kings of the earth.

27:34 Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters;

your merchandise and all your company have sunk along with you.

27:35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands are shocked at you,

and their kings are horribly afraid – their faces are troubled.

27:36 The traders among the peoples hiss at you;

you have become a horror, and will be no more.’”

A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre

28:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Your heart is proud and you said, “I am a god;

I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” –

yet you are a man and not a god,

though you think you are godlike.

28:3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel;

no secret is hidden from you.

28:4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;

you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.

28:5 By your great skill in trade you have increased your wealth,

and your heart is proud because of your wealth.

 

28:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:

Because you think you are godlike,

28:7 I am about to bring foreigners against you, the most terrifying of nations.

They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom,

and they will defile your splendor.

28:8 They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die violently in the heart of the seas.

28:9 Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you –

though you are a man and not a god –

when you are in the power of those who wound you?

28:10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners;

for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

 

28:11 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:12 “Son of man, sing a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the sealer of perfection,

full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God.

Every precious stone was your covering,

the ruby, topaz, and emerald,

the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,

the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl;

your settings and mounts were made of gold.

On the day you were created they were prepared.

28:14 I placed you there with an anointed guardian cherub;

you were on the holy mountain of God;

you walked about amidst fiery stones.

28:15 You were blameless in your behavior from the day you were created,

until sin was discovered in you.

28:16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned;

so I defiled you and banished you from the mountain of God –

the guardian cherub expelled you from the midst of the stones of fire.

28:17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;

you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor.

I threw you down to the ground;

I placed you before kings, that they might see you.

28:18 By the multitude of your iniquities, through the sinfulness of your trade,

you desecrated your sanctuaries.

So I drew fire out from within you;

it consumed you,

and I turned you to ashes on the earth

before the eyes of all who saw you.

28:19 All who know you among the peoples are shocked at you;

you have become terrified and will be no more.’”

A Prophecy Against Sidon

28:20 The word of the Lord came to me: 28:21 “Son of man, turn toward Sidon and prophesy against it. 28:22 Say, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Look, I am against you, Sidon,

and I will magnify myself in your midst.

Then they will know that I am the Lord

when I execute judgments on her

and reveal my sovereign power in her.

28:23 I will send a plague into the city and bloodshed into its streets;

the slain will fall within it, by the sword that attacks it from every side.

Then they will know that I am the Lord.

 

28:24 “‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them. Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.

28:25“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 28:26They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”