Ezekiel 27:1-36

Ezekiel: “They shall know that I am God”

God’s Plans for *Israel and the Nations

Ezekiel Chapter s 25 to 39

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 27

A funeral song for Tyre – Ezekiel 27:1-11

v1 The *LORD spoke his word to me again. v2 ‘*Son of man, sing a funeral song for the city called Tyre. v3 Tyre has ports on the coast of the sea. It is a place of trade for the people from many countries. Speak to Tyre: “The *LORD your King says to you. You have said that your beauty is perfect. v4 Your borders are in the heart of the seas. Your builders made you like a ship, and its beauty was perfect. v5 They made all your wooden boards of trees from Senir. They took a tall tree from Lebanon to make a pole for your sails. v6 They made your oars from the strong wood of Bashan. They made your decks from trees. The trees came from the coast of Cyprus. They laid *ivory in your decks. v7 Your sail was of fine cloth from Egypt with beautiful patterns on it. Your sail was your special flag. The covers on your decks were blue and purple cloth from the coasts of Elishah. v8 Men from Sidon and Arvad moved you while they pulled on the oars. Your own skilled men from Tyre were your sailors. v9 Men of experience from Gebal were on your ship. They maintained the ship and they did all the repairs. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came to trade with you. v10 Men from the countries called Persia, Lydia and Put served as soldiers in your army. With their clothes and *weapons ready for battle, they made you famous. v11 Men from Arvad and Helech were on your city walls. Men from Gammad were in your strong buildings. They hung their *shields on your walls. They made your beauty perfect.” ’

In this chapter, ‘you’ means the city called Tyre. The chapter is in the form of a song. It records what the traders in Tyre achieved. But the chapter describes those things in a sad manner, as if Tyre’s enemies had already destroyed the city.

Verses 1-3 The neighbours had sung a funeral song for Tyre (Ezekiel 26:17-18). This new funeral song is one that Ezekiel would sing. They sang funeral songs because Tyre’s enemies would destroy the city completely. It was as if the city itself had died. So, that was like the death of an important person. And the reason why God issued this judgement against Tyre was the proud attitudes of its inhabitants. Tyre was a most important city because of trade. And the inhabitants of Tyre were very proud about the city’s importance.

Tyre had two ports. The one in the north was a natural harbour. This was the port called Sidon. They built a harbour in the south. This was called the ‘Egyptian port’. Tyre was in a good position on the Mediterranean Sea. So, the trade to and from Asia passed through these ports. And the people in Tyre became wealthy.

Verses 4-11 Trade had made Tyre so important that it seemed to rule the seas. It traded with all the countries round the Mediterranean Sea.

In this song, Ezekiel sings of Tyre as of a ship. In other words, he describes the city as a poet would describe a splendid ship. The builders used the best materials when they made it. The wood for the ship itself came from the pine trees of *Mount Hermon (Senir). The pole for the sails was a tall cedar tree from Lebanon. The oars were from the strong oak trees of Bashan. Bashan is a district at the east of the sea called Galilee. The deck was of cypress wood and *ivory from Cyprus. The sail and the flags were of *Egyptian cloth. And the covers for the deck were purple and blue materials from Elishah. We do not know where Elishah was. It seems that Elishah was, perhaps, not an actual place. It could be the name of a *tribe of people. Their *ancestor was the son of Javan (Genesis 10:4).

All the materials in this description were the best materials that anyone could buy. They were beautiful materials and their quality was excellent. They came from countries all round the Mediterranean Sea. The ship that Ezekiel describes would be a very beautiful ship. So, Tyre was a wonderful and wealthy city.

Tyre was in Phoenicia. This was the country to the north of *Israel. It is the modern Lebanon, but it extended south to include Acco (Acre). All the crew were from the cities of Phoenicia. They were from Sidon, Arvad and Gebal.

Soldiers came from places far away to defend Tyre. They came from Persia, Lydia and Put. They joined with soldiers from other towns in Phoenicia.

Tyre was such a great city that it seemed to control the Mediterranean Sea. And Tyre had used its power well. The city gathered everything that it needed to make itself splendid. It hired skilled workmen. And its army was strong. But Tyre’s wealth and power could not protect the city. And its army would be unable to defend it. Enemies would destroy the city.

The trade of Tyre – Ezekiel 27:12-24

v12 ‘ “The people from Tarshish traded with you because of your great wealth. You sold to them and they paid you with silver, iron, tin, and *lead.

v13 People from Javan, Tubal and Meshech traded with you. They exchanged slaves and *bronze objects for the things that you sold.

v14 People from Beth Togarmah traded your goods for horses. They brought horses for work and they brought horses for war. And they brought *mules.

v15 The people from Rhodes traded with you. You traded with many places along the coast. They paid you with *ivory and *ebony.

v16 People from Aram traded with you, because you had so many good things to sell. They traded your goods for *turquoise cloth, purple cloth, and cloth with designs on it. Also, they paid you with fine cloth, shells and precious stones.

v17 People from Judah and *Israel traded with you. They paid you with wheat from Minnith, cakes, honey, oil and medicine.

v18 People from Damascus traded with you because you had many products and many good things to sell. They gave you wine from Helbon and white wool from Zahar.

v19 People from Dan and Javan traded with you objects of iron, and wood that had a sweet smell.

v20 The people from Dedan traded saddle blankets with you.

v21 People from Arabia and all the rulers of Kedar traded with you. They supplied you with young sheep, male sheep and goats.

v22 The merchants from Sheba and Raamah traded with you. They bought your goods. They paid you with all the best *spices, precious stones, and gold.

v23 People from Haran, Canneh and Eden traded with you. And merchants from Sheba, Asshur and Kilmad traded with you. v24 They were in your market. There, they paid you with the best clothes, blue cloth, and cloth with beautiful designs. And they traded with well-made carpets that had many colours.” ’

Verses 12-24 These verses contain a list of the peoples that traded with Tyre. They also show the wide range of goods that passed through Tyre. We do not know all the places in this passage.

• Tarshish could have been a place in the south of Spain.

• Javan was Greece. Tubal and Meshech were *tribes north of the Black Sea.
• Beth Togarmah was probably in Turkey or Armenia.
• Aram was Syria.
• Judah and *Israel traded with wheat from Minnith. Minnith was an area in Ammon.
• Dedan was probably in the south of Arabia. That would be in the area of the Persian Gulf (bay).
• Sheba and Raamah were probably in Arabia.

We are not sure where the places in verse 23 were. But they seem to be cities in the region called Mesopotamia.

People travelled hundreds of miles to trade in Tyre. They brought all their best goods to sell there. But all this trade would end when Tyre’s enemies destroyed the city.

Tyre’s end is like a ship that sinks – Ezekiel 27:25-36

v25 ‘ “The ships of Tarshish carried the things that you sold. You were like a ship full of heavy goods in the middle of the sea. v26 The men who pulled your oars brought you out into the sea. But the east wind will break you into pieces in the heart of the sea. v27 You will lose your wealth. All that you had for sale and your goods will sink down into the sea. Those people who maintained your ship with the seamen and sailors will sink with you. On the day that your ship sinks in the sea, your salesmen, soldiers and all on the ship will die. v28 The people on the shore will tremble with fear when your sailors cry out. v29 All the men who pull the oars will leave their ships. The seamen and the sailors of other ships will stand on the shore. v30 They will cry aloud about you. They will cry like people who are in much pain. They will throw dust on their heads. They will roll in ashes. This shows how sad they will be. v31 They will shave their heads because of you. They will put on rough clothes to show how much this event has upset them. They will be very sad and they will weep because of you. They will cry aloud. v32 As they cry aloud, they will sing a funeral song for you. ‘There is no city like Tyre. It is now silent in the middle of the sea. v33 When your goods went out on the seas, you satisfied many nations. With your great wealth and goods, you made kings of the world rich. v34 Now the sea has broken you and you have sunk in the deep waters. Your goods and all the people on your ship have gone down with you. v35 All those people who live along the shore heard the news about you. And it frightened them. Their kings also tremble with fear. Their terror shows on their faces. v36 The merchants among the nations laugh at you. You have suffered a terrible end, and you will not exist again.’ ” ’

Verses 25-27 The song continues to show how Tyre will end. Tyre was like a ship at sea. It was heavy and it was full of goods. The ship was away from the shelter of the shore. The east wind blew upon the ship. The ship broke up and it began to sink. All its goods and all its crew went down with the ship.

In the song, the east wind means Babylon. The *Babylonians will come from the east and they will destroy Tyre.

Verses 28-32a (Verse 32a means the first part of verse 32.) Those people who had traded with Tyre will hear what happened. They will tremble and they will be afraid. Those people who worked with Tyre will be sad. Ezekiel shows them as like people at a funeral. People behaved in such a manner after the death of someone whom they loved.

Verses 32b-36 (Verse 32b means the last part of verse 32.) The people had never seen the end of such a great city. It was so sudden and they had not expected it. By its trade, it had been great. Tyre had supplied the nations with its goods. Now nothing remained of its wealth. Tyre had gone. It had disappeared like a ship that sinks to the bottom of the sea. The nations were afraid that the same thing could happen to them.

Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.

'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
ivory ~ the white bony material from the face of an elephant.
weapon ~ a tool of war. People use weapons for attack or defence when they fight. For example, swords, spears or (today) guns.
spears ~ long sticks with sharp ends that soldiers used as weapons of war.
shields ~ Soldiers carried these in their hands for protection in battle. They used them like covers, so that swords or other weapons could not hit the body.
weapon ~ a tool of war. People use weapons for attack or defence when they fight. For example, swords, spears or (today) guns.
spears ~ long sticks with sharp ends that soldiers used as weapons of war.
Egyptian ~ a person from the nation called Egypt or anything that has a relationship with Egypt.
tribe ~ The Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of Israel.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
lead ~ a kind of metal.
bronze ~ A brown metal. It glows when in a fire. It polishes well and it reflects the light. It is very strong.
mules ~ animals like horses.
ebony ~ a very hard wood.
turquoise ~ a precious stone.
spices ~ a vegetable substance with a sweet flavour or a strong smell. People use spices in food or as incense.
incense ~ something that gives a sweet smell when it burns. The priests burned it when they praised God in the temple.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Babylonian ~ a person from the nation called Babylon or anything that has a relationship with Babylon.