The Downfall of Tyre

1In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, because Tyrea said about Jerusalem, ‘Aha!b The gateway to the peoples is shattered. She has been turned over to me.A I will be filled now that she lies in ruins,’ 3therefore this is what the Lord God says: See, I am against you, Tyre!a I will raise up many nations against you, just as the sea raises its waves. 4They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and turn her into a bare rock. 5She will become a place in the sea to spread nets, for I have spoken.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “She will become plunder for the nations,a 6and her villages on the mainland will be slaughtered by the sword.a Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

7For this is what the Lord God says: “See, I am about to bring King NebuchadnezzarA of Babylon, king of kings,a against Tyre from the north with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a huge assembly of troops. 8He will slaughter your villages on the mainland with the sword. He will set up siege works,a build a ramp, and raise a wall of shields against you. 9He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his iron tools. 10His horses will be so numerous that their dust will cover you. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots. 11He will trample all your streets with the hooves of his horses.a He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. 12They will take your wealth as spoil and plunder your merchandise.a They will also demolish your walls and tear down your beautiful homes. Then they will throw your stones, timber, and soil into the water. 13I will put an end to the noise of your songs,a and the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard. 14I will turn you into a bare rock, and you will be a place to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken.”a This is the declaration of the Lord God.

15This is what the Lord God says to Tyre: “Won’t the coasts and islands quake at the sound of your downfall,a when the wounded groan and slaughter occurs within you? 16All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones,a remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble continually, and be appalledb at you. 17Then they will lamenta for you and say of you,

‘How you have perished, city of renown,

you who were populated from the seas!A

She who was powerful on the sea,

she and all of her inhabitants

inflicted their terror.B

18Now the coastlands tremblea

on the day of your downfall;

the islands in the sea

are alarmed by your demise.’ ”

19For this is what the Lord God says: “When I make you a ruined city like other deserted cities, when I raise up the deep against you so that the mighty waters cover you, 20then I will bring you down to be with those who descend to the Pit,a to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the underworldA likeB the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or display your splendorC in the land of the living.b 21I will make you an object of horror, and you will no longer exist.a You will be sought but will never be found again.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.