Study Desk

therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea makes its waves crest.

'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.

Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre, "Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter occurs in your midst?

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,

"I will bring terrors on you and you will be no more. Though you will be sought, yet you will never be found again," says the Lord GOD.

and say to Tyre, who lives at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "O Tyre, you have said, 'I am perfect in beauty.'

"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Because your heart is lifted up And you have said and thought, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods In the heart of the seas'; Yet you are [only] a man [weak, feeble, made of earth] and not God, Though you [imagine yourself to be more than mortal and] think your mind is as [wise as] the mind of God—

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have imagined your mind [to be] Like the mind of God [having thoughts and plans like God Himself],

'Will you still say, "I am a god," In the presence of him who kills you? But you are [only] a man [made of earth] and not God, In the hands of those who wound and profane you.

'You will die the death of the uncircumcised [barbarian] By the hand of strangers, For I have spoken!' says the Lord GOD."'"

"Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for the king of Tyre and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "You had the full measure of perfection and the finishing touch [of completeness], Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

"You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz, and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and your sockets, Was in you. They were prepared On the day that you were created.

"You were the anointed cherub who covers and protects, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire [sparkling jewels].

"Through the abundance of your commerce You were internally filled with lawlessness and violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you out as a profane and unholy thing From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire.

and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, And I will show My glory and be glorified in your midst. Then they will know [by personal experience] that I am the LORD when I bring judgment and punishment on her, And I will manifest My holiness in her.

"And there will no longer be a briar or a painful thorn to prick the house of Israel from all those around them who treated them with contempt; then they will know [with clarity] that I am the Lord GOD."

'Thus says the Lord GOD, "When I gather the house of Israel from the nations among whom they are scattered, and I manifest my Holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob.

"They shall live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgment on all those around them who despise them. Then they will know [with clarity and confidence] that I am the LORD their God."'"