Ezekiel 26

1 So it was in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Now in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, 'Aha! The gates of the people are broken! She has turned to me; I will be filled up because she is ruined.'

Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, Aha, she who was the doorway of the peoples is broken; she is turned over to them; she who was full is made waste;

3 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Behold! I am against you, Tyre, and I will raise up many nations against you like the sea raises its waves.

For this cause the Lord has said, See, I am against you, O Tyre, and will send up a number of nations against you as the sea sends up its waves.

4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down her towers. I will sweep her dust away and make her like a bare rock.

And they will give the walls of Tyre to destruction and have its towers broken: and I will take even her dust away from her, and make her an uncovered rock

5 She will become a place for nets to dry out in the midst of the sea, since I have declared it—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration—and she will become plunder for the nations.

She will be a place for the stretching out of nets in the middle of the sea; for I have said it, says the Lord: and her goods will be given over to the nations.

6 Her daughters who are in the fields will be slaughtered by the swords, and they will know that I am Yahweh.'

And her daughters in the open country will be put to the sword: and they will be certain that I am the Lord.

7 For this is what Yahweh says: Behold, from the north I am bringing Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a great many people.

For this is what the Lord has said: See, I will send up from the north Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre, with horses and war-carriages and with an army and great numbers of people.

8 He will kill your daughters in the field. He will set up a siege work and build a ramp against your walls and raise up shields against you.

He will put to the sword your daughters in the open country: he will make strong walls against you and put up an earthwork against you, arming himself for war against you.

9 He will place his battering rams to hit against your walls, and his tools will tear down your towers.

He will put up his engines of war against your walls, and your towers will be broken down by his axes.

10 His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake with the sound of horsemen, wagons, and chariots. When he enters your gates, he will enter as men come into a city whose walls have been broken down.

Because of the number of his horses you will be covered with their dust: your walls will be shaking at the noise of the horsemen and of the wheels and of the war-carriages, when he comes through your doorways, as into a town which has been broken open.

11 The hooves of his horses will trample all of your streets. He will kill your people with the sword and your mighty stone pillars will fall to the ground.

Your streets will be stamped down by the feet of his horses: he will put your people to the sword, and will send down the pillars of your strength to the earth.

12 They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will tear down your walls and destroy your luxurious homes. Your stones, your timber, and the rubble they will throw into the waters.

They will take by force all your wealth and go off with the goods with which you do trade: they will have your walls broken down and all the houses of your desire given up to destruction: they will put your stones and your wood and your dust deep in the water.

13 I will stop the noise of your songs. The sound of your harps will be heard no more.

I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your instruments of music will be gone for ever.

14 I will make you a bare rock, you will become a place where nets are spread out to dry. You will never be built again, for I, Lord Yahweh have spoken—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

I will make you an uncovered rock: you will be a place for the stretching out of nets; there will be no building you up again: for I the Lord have said it, says the Lord.

15 The Lord Yahweh says this to Tyre, 'Will not the islands quake with the sound of your downfall, and with the groans of the wounded when the terrible slaughter is in your midst?

This is what the Lord has said to Tyre: Will not the sea-lands be shaking at the sound of your fall, when the wounded give cries of pain, when men are put to the sword in you?

16 Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and cast off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling, they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment, and they will be appalled because of you.

Then all the rulers of the sea will come down from their high seats, and put away their robes and take off their clothing of needlework: they will put on the clothing of grief, they will take their seats on the earth, shaking with fear every minute and overcome with wonder at you.

17 They will lift up a lament for you and say to you, How you, who were inhabited by sailors, have been destroyed. The famous city that was so strong—it is now gone from the sea. The ones living in her once spread a terror about themselves upon everyone who lived near them.

And they will send up a song of grief for you, and say to you, What destruction has come on you, how are you cut off from the sea, the noted town, which was strong in the sea, she and her people, causing the fear of them to come on all the dry land!

18 Now the coasts tremble on the day of your downfall. The islands in the sea are terrified, because you are no longer in your place.'

Now the sea-lands will be shaking in the day of your fall; and all the ships on the sea will be overcome with fear at your going.

19 For the Lord Yahweh says this: When I make you a desolate city, like the other cities that are not inhabited, when I raise up the deeps against you, and when the great waters cover you,

For this is what the Lord has said: I will make you a waste town, like the towns which are unpeopled; when I make the deep come upon you, covering you with great waters.

20 then I will bring you down to the people of ancient times, like the others who have gone down into the pit; for I will make you live in the lowest realms of the earth as in ruins of ancient times. Because of this you will not come back and stand in the land of the living.

Then I will make you go down with those who go down into the underworld, to the people of the past, causing your living-place to be in the deepest parts of the earth, in places long unpeopled, with those who go down into the deep, so that there will be no one living in you; and you will have no glory in the land of the living.

21 I will place disaster on you, and you will be no more forever. Then you will be sought, but you will never be found ever again—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.”

I will make you a thing of fear, and you will come to an end: even if you are looked for, you will not be seen again for ever, says the Lord.