Ezekiel 27:1-36
1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;
3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfecta beauty.
4 Thy borders are in the midstb of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.
5 They have madec all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.
6 Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the companyd of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim.
7 Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; bluee and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee.
8 The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.
9 The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers:f all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.
10 They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.
11 The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.
12 Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.
13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.g
14 They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.
15 The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony.
16 Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.
17 Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.h
18 Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.
19 Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.
20 Dedan was thy merchant in preciousi clothes for chariots.
21 Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupiedj with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.
22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.
23 Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.
24 These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.
25 The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.
26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midstk of the seas.
27 Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.
28 The suburbsl shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.
29 And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land;
30 And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:
31 And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
32 And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?
33 When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.
34 In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.
35 All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.
36 The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror,m and never shalt be any more.
Ezekiel 27:6. The isles of Chittim. Cilicia, Cyprus, Macedonia, the Greek islands, or Apulia on the shores of Italy. Thus critics take the word in a general sense.
Ezekiel 27:9. Gebal, a district of Phœnicia, adjacent to Tyre. The city was of the same name. Pliny writes it Gabala.
Ezekiel 27:12. Tarshish. It is matter of doubt whether this word signifies Cadiz, Tartessus, or ocean. See Isaiah 23:6. Yet we read of “the kings of Tarshish,” Psalms 72:10; and they cannot reign on the sea. Perhaps Tremellius did not fully weigh this text when he affirmed Tarshish to be the ocean. The LXX both here and in Isaiah 23:6, render the word Carthage. But Tyre is there called the daughter of Tarshish, and Carthage was a daughter or colony of Tyre. Now it would seem impossible for the LXX to make repeated mistakes concerning Tarshish, as neither Cadiz nor Carthage could have more than one king. Tarshish may signify the remoter coasts of Africa, to which Europe might also be joined in idea, after ships had passed the pillars of Hercules, now Gibraltar and Cetua. The curious reader may collate the following passages. 1 Kings 9:26; 1Ki 10:22; 1 Kings 22:48; 2 Chronicles 8:17; 2 Chronicles 20:36; Jonah 1:3. The ships of Tarshish went to Ophir or Africa.
Ezekiel 27:17. Minnith, a region of Ammon. Judges 11:33. Yet others regard Minnith and Pannag, not as places, but as the names of goods sold in trade.
Ezekiel 27:18. Helbon. Chalybonis, or Chalsis, now Aleppo.
Ezekiel 27:20. Dedan. The isle of Rhodes, which is mentioned after Javan, or the Grecian coasts. So the LXX read, but some will have it Dedan, the grandson of Abraham.
Ezekiel 27:22. Sheba was at the entrance of the Red sea.
Ezekiel 27:23. Haran. Genesis 28:10. Canneh or Ctesiphon, near Bagdad. Eden, in the vicinity of Babylon. Genesis 13. Asshur, or Assyria. Chilmad, the remoter parts of Media. See the Map.
REFLECTIONS.
“God's ministers often see reason to lament over those, who in their own judgment and in the opinion of their carnal neighbours, are the happiest people in the world: Ezekiel 27:2. When Tyre was in all its glory, we read nothing of its religion, piety, sobriety and charity; but much of its trade and wealth, pomp and magnificence. Yet it was in a deplorable state, and its ruin hastening on. Those who live in plenty and luxury, others admire and praise; but those who know and consider the end of the wicked, look upon them with pity, as hastening to a dreadful doom.
We may here reflect on the wisdom and goodness of God in the various products of the earth. See the riches of divine bounty, in furnishing different countries with different commodities, serviceable to the support, comfort, or ornament of life. All are the gifts of God, though pride and luxury may abuse them. We have particular reason to rejoice in his goodness to our happy land, that it has all the necessaries of life in itself, produces the most valuable commodities, and such an abundance of them as to supply other nations.
Reflect on the advantages of trade and commerce. The wisdom of providence should be observed in giving men their different inclinations to pursue their several occupations in life, particularly in teaching some the art of sailing, and giving them courage and resolution to practise it; that thus the products of one country may be transported to another, social intercourse extended, and a way opened for the spread of the gospel, which is a blessing infinitely valuable. When we feed on or wear foreign commodities, and see the value of money in exchange, let us bless God for trade and commerce, honour those who are employed in it, and abhor the senseless pride of those who despise the merchant and trader.
What little dependance is to be placed upon the wealth and elegances of life. What a mournful change do we here see in the state of Tyre. So uncertain are all the fine things in which men boast and delight. Wealthy merchants and wealthy cities run to ruin, and multitudes are involved in the fall: and such calamities will be doubly bitter to those who have lived in luxury and splendour. When we read this inventory of Tyre's wealth, it should make us thankful that we can do without most of it; and should not be high-minded, though we have ever so much of it, for it is all fading. How sad is it with a nation when its governors ruin it, when its pilots and those at the helm run it aground. No trade and commerce, no fleets or fortresses will secure it, if there be not integrity, wisdom, and harmony in its leaders. We have therefore need to pray that God would give our commanders these qualifications, and be the defence of our land; and in order to this, that we may remember him that made us, and not lightly esteem the rock of our salvation.”