A Description of Tyre

Ezekiel 27:1–11

ca. 1200–332 BCE

About This Entry

For this description in its prophetic context, see “A Lament for Tyre.”

1The word of the Lord came to me: 2Now you, O mortal, intone a dirge over Tyre. 3Say to Tyre:

O you who dwell at the gateway of the sea,
Who trade with the peoples on many coastlands:
Thus said the Lord God:
O Tyre, you boasted,
I am perfect in beauty.
4Your frontiers were on the high seas,
Your builders perfected your beauty.
5From cypress trees of Senir
They fashioned your planks;
They took a cedar from Lebanon
To make a mast for you.
6From oak trees of Bashan
They made your oars;
Of boxwood from the isles of Kittim,
Inlaid with ivory,
They made your decks.
7Embroidered linen from Egypt
Was the cloth
That served you for sails;
Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah
Were your awnings.
8The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad
Were your rowers;
Your skilled men, O Tyre, were within you,
They were your pilots.
9Gebal’s elders and craftsmen were within you,
Making your repairs.
All the ships of the sea, with their crews,
Were in your harbor
To traffic in your wares.
10Men of Paras, Lud, and Put
Were in your army,
Your fighting men;
They hung shields and helmets in your midst,
They lent splendor to you.
11Men of Arvad and Helech
Manned your walls all around,
And men of Gammad were stationed in your towers;
They hung their quivers all about your walls;
They perfected your beauty.
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Credits

Reprinted from Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.

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For this description in its prophetic context, see “A Lament for Tyre.”

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