On the first day of the month in the eleventh year of our captivity, YAHWEH spoke to me and said: “Son of man, the people of Tyre have been cheering the demise of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Hooray! She is fallen! The Gateway to the Nations is shattered! An opportunity has swung open for us. Now we will grow rich off her destruction!’
“Therefore, I, Lord YAHWEH, say to Tyre,
‘Behold, I am against you,
As the sea raises up its waves
I will raise up many nations surging against you.
They will destroy the walls of Tyre,
and demolish her high towers.
I will sweep away her rubble
and reduce her to nothing but a bare rock.
Tyre will be an island where fishermen dry out their nets.
Your enemies will take away everything you have.
I, Lord YAHWEH, have decreed it.
And as for her settlements on the mainland,
they will all be slaughtered,
and they will certainly learn that I am YAHWEH.’ ”
“Lord YAHWEH says to Tyre:
“Look! I will bring Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, the world’s most powerful king,
sweeping down from the north to destroy you
with horses, chariots, cavalry, and an enormous army.
His armies will massacre your settlements on the mainland.
They will lay siege to you and construct towers to attack you.
They will build siege-ramps against you
and lay siege to you with interlocking shields over their heads.
His soldiers will pummel your walls with battering rams
and demolish your towers with iron bars.
You’ll be covered with dust from their many horses and chariots.
Your walls will shake at the rumble of their chariot wheels.
His thundering horses will make your walls tremble
as they storm through your gates and breach your walls.
With galloping horses they will trample through every street
and slaughter your people with the sword!
They will throw your mighty pillars to the ground.
Your enemies will take for themselves your valuable possessions
and loot your merchandise.
They will break down your walls and destroy your luxurious homes.
And they will hurl the rubble and timber into the sea.
I will silence the sound of your songs,
and the music of your stringed instruments will not be heard again.
I will reduce you to a bare rock
where fishermen dry their nets,
never to be rebuilt.
I, Lord YAHWEH, have spoken, and I have decreed it.”
Lord YAHWEH says to Tyre: “Surely, the islands will quake with fear at the sound of your fall. They will hear the groan of your wounded when your slaughter takes place. All the princes of the sea will vacate their thrones, laying aside their regal robes and embroidered cloaks. They will clothe themselves with trembling as they sit on the ground, stunned at your fate. This is the funeral song they will sing over you:
“ ‘How you have vanished from the seas,
O famous city, once a sea power with many people!
You inspired great terror
in all those who lived in her.
Now, on the day of your fall,
the islands and coasts are trembling with fear.
They are paralyzed with great fear,
because Tyre has vanished completely!’ ”
Lord YAHWEH says: “When I make you a place of ruins like other deserted cities and I raise the deep to sweep over you and the ocean depths to cover you, then I will fling you down to the world of the dead to join the people of long ago. I will make you dwell deep in the underworld, in the abyss. And like the ruins of long ago, you will sink with them into oblivion. I will make sure that no one will ever live in you again, nor will you take your place in the land of the living. I will bring you to a dreadful, terrifying end, and you will be no more! People will look for you but never find you again. I, Lord YAHWEH, have spoken.”
Bible App
Bible App for Kids
