Study Desk

"Furthermore, you have even sent a messenger for men to come from far away; and behold, they came—those for whom you bathed, painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with ornaments;

"For thus says the Lord GOD, 'Bring up a horde (mob) against them and hand them over to terror and plunder.

'Thus your lewdness will be repaid to you, and you will suffer the penalty for your [sinful] idolatry; and you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord GOD.'"

"For her blood [that she has shed] remains in her midst; She put it on the bare rock; She did not pour it on the ground To cover it with dust.

"That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood [guilt for her children sacrificed to Molech] on the bare rock, That it may not be covered."

"Sigh and groan in silence; do not mourn for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not cover your mustache or eat the bread of [mourners furnished by other] men."

The people said to me, "These things that you are doing—tell us, what do they mean for us?"

'As for you, son of man, on the day when I take their strength and their stronghold from them, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes and their heart's [chief] delight (the temple), and I also take their sons and their daughters,

"And say to the Ammonites, 'Hear the word of the Lord GOD, for thus says the Lord GOD, "Because you said, 'Aha!' against My sanctuary when it was profaned and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate and against the house of Judah when they went into exile,

"I will make Rabbah [your chief city] a pasture for camels and [the cities of] the Ammonites a resting place for flocks [of sheep]. And you will know [without any doubt] that I am the LORD."

'For thus says the Lord GOD, "Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the contempt, and malice, and spite of your soul against the land of Israel,

'Her island in the midst of the sea will become a dry place to spread nets, for I have spoken,' says the Lord GOD, 'and she will become a prey and a spoil for the nations.

For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots and with horsemen and a great army.

"I will make you [Tyre] a bare rock; you will be a dry place on which to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken," says the Lord GOD.

"They will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for you and say to you, 'How you have perished and vanished, O renowned city, From the seas, O renowned city, Which was mighty on the sea, She and her inhabitants, Who imposed her terror On all who lived there!

For thus says the Lord GOD, "When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and great waters cover you,

"Now you, son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for Tyre,

"They have made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; They have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

"Tarshish [in Spain] was your customer and traded with you because of the abundance of your riches of all kinds; with silver, iron, tin, and lead they paid for your wares.

"Javan (Greece), Tubal and Meshech (Asia Minor) traded with you; with the lives of men [taken as slaves] and vessels of bronze they paid for your merchandise.