Ezekiel 26

1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

On the first day of the month of the eleventh year, a message from the Lord came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned to me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:

“Son of man, because Tyre said about Jerusalem, ‘Oh good! The trade gateway to the nations has been broken—it's swung wide open for me. Now that Jerusalem has been destroyed, I will be rich!’

3 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth its waves to come up.

this is why the Lord God says: Watch out, Tyre! I'm condemning you, and I will have many nations come and attack you, just like the sea that sends its waves crashing against the shore.

4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.

They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down her towers. I will scrape off the soil that's on her and turn her into a bare rock.

5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.

Out there in the sea she will be just a place for fishermen to spread their nets. I have spoken, declares the Lord God. Other nations will come and loot her,

6 And her daughters who are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

and the people living in her villages on the mainland will die by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and many people.

For this is what the Lord God says: Watch as I bring Nebuchadnezzar, king of kings, to attack Tyre from the north. He will come with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a huge army.

8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a siege mound against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.

He will kill the people living in your villages of the mainland with the sword. He will construct siege works to attack you. He will build a ramp against your walls, and his soldiers will hold their shields above them as they advance on you.

9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.

He will have his battering rams smash your walls and use his tools to demolish your towers.

10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city in which is made a breach.

He will have so many horses you will be covered by the dust they throw up. When he comes in through your gates it will sound like an army charging into a defeated city. Your walls will shake from all the noise made by the cavalry, wagons, and chariots.

11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.

His horses will race through your city streets. He will kill all your people with the sword. Your massive pillars will come tumbling to the ground.

12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.

They will steal your wealth and loot your goods. They will knock down your walls, demolish the houses you love so much, and dump the debris and rubble into the sea.

13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.

This is how I'm going to put a stop to your singing. The music of your harps won't be heard any longer.

14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

I will turn you into a bare rock, and you will be just a place for fishermen to spread their nets. Tyre won't ever be rebuilt. I, the Lord, have spoken, declares the Lord God.

15 Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyre; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?

This is what the Lord God says to the inhabitants of Tyre: Aren't the people of the coastlands going to shake in terror when they hear your city collapse, when the wounded groan at the killing inside your city?

16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their embroidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.

All the rulers of the coastlands will come down from their thrones, remove their royal robes, and take off their embroidered clothes. Instead they will be clothed with terror and sit on the ground, trembling the whole time, shocked at what's happened to you.

17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who cause their terror to be on all that dwelt in it!

Then they will sing a funeral song for you, saying, ‘You've been destroyed so completely, famous city! You once ruled the sea—you and your people terrified everyone else!

18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.

Now the people of the coastlands tremble at your defeat, while those in the islands of the sea are horrified at your downfall.’

19 For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;

For this is what the Lord God says: I will turn you into a ruin just like other uninhabited cities. I will have the sea rise up to cover you with deep water.

20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;

I will bring you down with those who are headed to the grave to join people from long ago. I will make you live under the earth like the ruins of the past together with those who have gone down into the grave, so that no one will live in you and you won't have any place in the land of the living.

21 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou shalt be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.

I will turn you into something horrific, and you won't exist any longer. People will look for you, but won't ever find you, declares the Lord God.”