A Funeral Song for Tyre
1 The Lord said to me, 2 “Mortal man, sing a funeral song for Tyre, 3 that city which stands at the edge of the sea and does business with the people living on every seacoast. Tell her what the Sovereign Lord is saying:
“Tyre, you boasted of your perfect beauty.
4 Your home is the sea.
Your builders made you like a beautiful ship;
5 They used fir trees from Mount Hermon for timber
And a cedar from Lebanon for your mast.
6 They took oak trees from Bashan to make oars;
They made your deck out of pine from Cyprus
And inlaid it with ivory.
7 Your sails were made of linen,
Embroidered linen from Egypt,
Easily recognized from afar.
Your awnings were made of finest cloth,
Of purple from the island of Cyprus.
8 Your oarsmen were from the cities of Sidon and Arvad.
Your own skillful men were the sailors.
9 The ship's carpenters
Were well-trained men from Byblos.
Sailors from every seagoing ship
Did business in your shops.
10 “Soldiers from Persia, Lydia, and Libya served in your army. They hung their shields and their helmets in your barracks. They are the men who won glory for you. 11 Soldiers from Arvad guarded your walls, and troops from Gamad guarded your towers. They hung their shields on your walls. They are the ones who made you beautiful.
12 “You did business in Spain and took silver, iron, tin, and lead in payment for your abundant goods. 13 You did business in Greece, Tubal, and Meshech and traded your goods for slaves and for articles of bronze. 14 You sold your goods for workhorses, war-horses, and mules from Beth Togarmah. 15 The people of Rhodes traded with you; people of many coastal lands gave you ivory and ebony in exchange for your goods. 16 The people of Syria bought your merchandise and your many products. They gave emeralds, purple cloth, embroidery, fine linen, coral, and rubies in payment for your wares. 17 Judah and Israel paid for your goods with wheat, honey, olive oil, and spices. 18-19 The people of Damascus bought your merchandise and your products, paying for them with wine from Helbon and wool from Sahar. They traded wrought iron and spices for your goods. 20 The people of Dedan traded saddle blankets for your goods. 21 The Arabians and the rulers of the land of Kedar paid for your merchandise with lambs, sheep, and goats. 22 For your goods the merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded jewels, gold, and the finest spices. 23 The cities of Haran, Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, the cities of Asshur and Chilmad—they all traded with you. 24 They sold you luxurious clothing, purple cloth, and embroidery, brightly colored carpets, and well-made cords and ropes. 25 Your merchandise was carried in fleets of the largest cargo ships.
“You were like a ship at sea
Loaded with heavy cargo.
26 When your oarsmen brought you out to sea,
An east wind wrecked you far from land.
27 All your wealth of merchandise,
All the sailors in your crew,
Your ship's carpenters and your merchants,
Every soldier on board the ship—
All, all were lost at sea
When your ship was wrecked.
28 The shouts of the drowning sailors
Echoed on the shore.
29 “Every ship is now deserted,
And every sailor has gone ashore.
30 They all mourn bitterly for you,
Throwing dust on their heads and rolling in ashes.
31 They shave their heads for you
And dress themselves in sackcloth.
Their hearts are bitter as they weep.
32 They chant a funeral song for you:
‘Who can be compared to Tyre,
To Tyre now silent in the sea?
33 When your merchandise went overseas,
You filled the needs of every nation.
Kings were made rich
By the wealth of your goods.
34 Now you are wrecked in the sea;
You have sunk to the ocean depths.
Your goods and all who worked for you
Have vanished with you in the sea.’
35 “Everyone who lives along the coast is shocked at your fate. Even their kings are terrified, and fear is written on their faces. 36 You are gone, gone forever, and merchants all over the world are terrified, afraid that they will share your fate.”
1 The worde of the Lord came againe vnto me, saying, 2 Sonne of man, take vp a lametation for Tyrus, 3 And say vnto Tyrus, that is situate at the entrie of the sea, which is the marte of the people for many yles, Thus sayeth the Lord God, O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfite beautie. 4 Thy borders are in the middes of the sea, and thy builders haue made thee of perfit beauty. 5 They haue made all thy shippe boardes of firre trees of Shenir: they haue brought cedars from Lebanon, to make mastes for thee. 6 Of ye okes of Bashan haue they made thine ores: the company of the Assyrians haue made thy banks of yuorie, brought out of ye yles of Chittim. 7 Fine linen with broydered woorke, brought from Egypt, was spread ouer thee to be thy sayle, blue silke and purple, brought from the yles of Elishah, was thy couering. 8 The inhabitants of Zidon, and Aruad were thy mariners, O Tyrus: thy wise men that were in thee, they were thy pilots. 9 The ancients of Gebal, and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers, all the shippes of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupie thy marchandise. 10 They of Persia, and of Lud and of Phut were in thine armie: thy men of warre they hanged the shielde and helmet in thee: they set foorth thy beautie. 11 The men of Aruad with thine armie were vpon thy walles round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towres: they hanged their shields vpon thy walles round about: they haue made thy beautie perfite. 12 They of Tarshish were thy marchantes for the multitude of all riches, for siluer, yron, tynne, and leade, which they brought to thy faires. 13 They of Iauan, Tubal and Meshech were thy marchants, concerning the liues of men, and they brought vessels of brasse for thy marchadise. 14 They of the house of Togarmah brought to thy faires horses, and horsemen, and mules. 15 The men of Dedan were thy marchantes: and the marchandise of many yles were in thine handes: they brought thee for a present hornes, teeth, and peacockes. 16 They of Aram were thy marchants for the multitude of thy wares: they occupied in thy faires with emerauds, purple, and broidred worke, and fine linen, and corall, and pearle. 17 They of Iudah and of the land of Israel were thy marchants: they brought for thy marchandise wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honie and oyle, and balme. 18 They of Damascus were thy marchants in ye multitude of thy wares, for the multitude of all riches, as in the wine of Helbon and white wooll. 19 They of Dan also and of Iauan, going to and from, occupied in thy faires: yron woorke, cassia and calamus were among thy marchandise. 20 They of Dedan were thy marchants in precious clothes for the charets. 21 They of Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar occupied with thee, in lambes, and rammes and goates: in these were they thy marchants. 22 The marchats of Sheba, and Raamah were thy marchantes: they occupied in thy faires with the chiefe of all spices, and with al precious stones and golde. 23 They of Haram and Canneh and Eden, the marchants of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad were thy marchants. 24 These were thy marchants in all sortes of things, in raiment of blewe silke, and of broydred woorke, and in coffers for the rich apparell, which were bound with cordes: chaines also were among thy marchandise. 25 The shippes of Tarshish were thy chiefe in thy marchandise, and thou wast replenished and made very glorious in the middes of the sea. 26 Thy robbers haue brought thee into great waters: the East winde hath broken thee in the middes of the sea. 27 Thy riches and thy faires, thy marchandise, thy mariners and pilotes, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy marchandise and al thy men of warre that are in thee, and all thy multitude which is in the middes of thee, shall fall in the middes of the sea in the day of thy ruine. 28 The suburbes shall shake at the sound of the crie of thy pilotes. 29 And all that handle the ore, the mariners and al the pilots of the sea shall come downe from their shippes, and shall stand vpon the land, 30 And shall cause their voyce to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast dust vpon their heads, and wallow theselues in the ashes. 31 They shall plucke off their heare for thee and gird them with a sackecloth, and they shall weepe for thee with sorow of heart and bitter mourning. 32 And in their mourning, they shall take vp a lametation for thee, saying, What citie is like Tyrus, so destroied in the middes of the sea! 33 When thy wares went foorth of the seas, thou filledst many people, and thou diddest enrich the Kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy marchandise. 34 When thou shalt be broken by ye seas in the depths of the waters, thy marchandise and all thy multitude, which was in the mids of thee, shall fal. 35 All the inhabitantes of the yles shall be astonished at thee, and all their Kings shall be sore afraide and troubled in their countenance. 36 The marchants among the people shall hisse at thee: thou shalt be a terrour, and neuer shalt be any more.