Ezekiel 27:32
New International Version
As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament concerning you: “Who was ever silenced like Tyre, surrounded by the sea?”

New Living Translation
As they wail and mourn over you, they sing this sad funeral song: ‘Was there ever such a city as Tyre, now silent at the bottom of the sea?

English Standard Version
In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you and lament over you: ‘Who is like Tyre, like one destroyed in the midst of the sea?

Berean Standard Bible
As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament for you: ‘Who was ever like Tyre, silenced in the middle of the sea?

King James Bible
And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?

New King James Version
In their wailing for you They will take up a lamentation, And lament for you: ‘What city is like Tyre, Destroyed in the midst of the sea?

New American Standard Bible
“Moreover, in their wailing they will take up a song of mourning for you And sing a song of mourning over you: ‘Who is like Tyre, Like her who is silent in the midst of the sea?

NASB 1995
“Moreover, in their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you And lament over you: ‘Who is like Tyre, Like her who is silent in the midst of the sea?

NASB 1977
“Moreover, in their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you And lament over you: ‘Who is like Tyre, Like her who is silent in the midst of the sea?

Legacy Standard Bible
Moreover, in their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you And lament over you: ‘Who is like Tyre, Like her who is silent in the midst of the sea?

Amplified Bible
“In their wailing they will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for you And sing a dirge for you: ‘Who is like Tyre, Like her who is silent [destroyed] in the midst of the sea?

Christian Standard Bible
“ ‘In their wailing they lament for you, mourning over you: “Who was like Tyre, silenced in the middle of the sea?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
In their wailing they lament for you, mourning over you: Who was like Tyre, silenced in the middle of the sea?

American Standard Version
And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, Who is there like Tyre, like her that is brought to silence in the midst of the sea?

Contemporary English Version
In their grief they sing a funeral song for you: "Tyre, you were greater than all other cities. But now you lie in silence at the bottom of the sea.

English Revised Version
And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, Who is there like Tyre, like her that is brought to silence in the midst of the sea?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They sang a funeral song for you with loud crying: "Who is like Tyre, the city destroyed in the sea?"

Good News Translation
They chant a funeral song for you: 'Who can be compared to Tyre, To Tyre now silent in the sea?

International Standard Version
In the depth of their despair they'll compose a lament for you. This is what they'll say: 'Who is like Tyre? Who is so silent in the midst of the sea?'

Majority Standard Bible
As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament for you: ?Who was ever like Tyre, silenced in the middle of the sea?

NET Bible
As they wail they will lament over you, chanting: "Who was like Tyre, like a tower in the midst of the sea?"

New Heart English Bible
In their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you, saying, 'Who is there like Tyre, like her who is brought to silence in the midst of the sea?'

Webster's Bible Translation
And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyre, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?

World English Bible
In their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you, saying, ‘Who is there like Tyre, like her who is brought to silence in the middle of the sea?’
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And their sons have lifted up a lamentation for you, "" And they have lamented over you, Who [is] as Tyre? As the cut-off one in the midst of the sea?

Young's Literal Translation
And lifted up for thee have their sons a lamentation, And they have lamented over thee, who is as Tyre? As the cut-off one in the midst of the sea?

Smith's Literal Translation
And their sons lifted up a lamentation for thee, and they lamented over thee: Who as Tyre, as she desolated in the midst of the sea?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they shall take up a mournful song for thee, and snail lament thee: What city is like Tyre, which is become silent in the midst of the sea?

Catholic Public Domain Version
And they will take up a mournful verse over you, and they will lament you: ‘What city is like Tyre, which has become mute in the midst of the sea?’

New American Bible
They raise a lament for you; they wail over you: “Who was ever destroyed like Tyre in the midst of the sea?”

New Revised Standard Version
In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you, and lament over you: “Who was ever destroyed like Tyre in the midst of the sea?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And their sons shall take up lamentations for you and lament over you, saying, Who was like Tyre built in the midst of the sea?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And their children shall mourn great mourning for you, and they shall say: “Who is there that was like Tyre who was dwelling within the sea?”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, And lament over thee: Who was there like Tyre, fortified In the midst of the sea?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And their sons shall take up a lament for thee, even a lamentation for Sor, saying,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Lament for Tyre
31They will shave their heads for you and wrap themselves in sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and bitter mourning. 32As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament for you: ‘Who was ever like Tyre, silenced in the middle of the sea? 33When your wares went out to sea, you satisfied many nations. You enriched the kings of the earth with your abundant wealth and merchandise.…

Cross References
Revelation 18:19
Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been destroyed.”

Isaiah 23:1-14
This is the burden against Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus. / Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whose traders have crossed the sea. / On the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre; she was the merchant of the nations. ...

Jeremiah 51:8
Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered. Wail for her; get her balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.

Lamentations 2:15
All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?”

Revelation 18:10
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

Isaiah 14:4-11
you will sing this song of contempt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased, and how his fury has ended! / The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers. / It struck the peoples in anger with unceasing blows; it subdued the nations in rage with relentless persecution. ...

Jeremiah 50:46
At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.

Revelation 18:17-18
For in a single hour such fabulous wealth has been destroyed!” Every shipmaster, passenger, and sailor, and all who make their living from the sea, will stand at a distance / and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.

Isaiah 47:1-5
“Go down and sit in the dust, O Virgin Daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O Daughter of the Chaldeans! For you will no longer be called tender or delicate. / Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams. / Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.” ...

Jeremiah 9:17-19
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Take note, and summon the wailing women; send for the most skillful among them. / Let them come quickly and take up a lament over us, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids may gush with water. / For the sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How devastated we are! How great is our shame! For we have abandoned the land because our dwellings have been torn down.’”

Revelation 18:21
Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.

Isaiah 13:19-22
And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. / She will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there. / But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about. ...

Jeremiah 48:17
Mourn for him, all you who surround him, everyone who knows his name; tell how the mighty scepter is shattered—the glorious staff!

Revelation 18:9
Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.

Isaiah 34:11-15
The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction. / No nobles will be left to proclaim a king, and all her princes will come to nothing. / Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches. ...


Treasury of Scripture

And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the middle of the sea?

take up

Ezekiel 27:2
Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;

Ezekiel 26:17
And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!

What city

Lamentations 1:12
Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.

Lamentations 2:13
What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?

Revelation 18:18
And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

the destroyed

Ezekiel 27:26
Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.

Ezekiel 26:4,5
And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock…

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City Cut-Off Deep Destroyed End Fortified Grief Lamentation Lifted Midst Moreover Mourn Raise Sea Silence Silenced Silent Song Sorrowing Tyre Tyrus Wail Wailing Weeping Who
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City Cut-Off Deep Destroyed End Fortified Grief Lamentation Lifted Midst Moreover Mourn Raise Sea Silence Silenced Silent Song Sorrowing Tyre Tyrus Wail Wailing Weeping Who
Ezekiel 27
1. The riches and commerce of Tyrus
26. The great and irrecoverable fall thereof














As they wail and mourn over you
This phrase captures the intense grief and lamentation expressed by those who witness the downfall of Tyre. The Hebrew words for "wail" (נָהָה, nahah) and "mourn" (קָנַן, qanan) convey a deep, visceral sorrow, often associated with the loss of something precious. Historically, Tyre was a powerful and prosperous city, and its destruction would have been a significant event, evoking widespread lamentation. The imagery of wailing and mourning underscores the magnitude of Tyre's fall and serves as a reminder of the transient nature of earthly power and wealth.

they will take up a lament for you
The act of taking up a lament (קִינָה, qinah) is a formal expression of grief, often poetic in nature. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, laments were a common way to express sorrow and were sometimes performed by professional mourners. This lament for Tyre signifies not only personal grief but also a communal acknowledgment of the city's demise. It reflects the broader impact of Tyre's fall on surrounding nations and serves as a prophetic warning of the consequences of pride and idolatry.

‘Who was ever like Tyre
This rhetorical question highlights Tyre's former greatness and uniqueness. Tyre was renowned for its wealth, trade, and strategic location, making it a hub of commerce and culture in the ancient world. The question implies that Tyre's splendor was unmatched, emphasizing the shock and disbelief at its downfall. From a scriptural perspective, this serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of self-reliance and the illusion of invincibility, reminding believers that true security is found only in God.

silenced in the middle of the sea?’
The imagery of being "silenced" (דָּמַם, damam) conveys a sudden and complete cessation of activity and life. Tyre, once a bustling maritime power, is now depicted as quiet and desolate. The phrase "in the middle of the sea" underscores Tyre's geographical position and its reliance on maritime trade for prosperity. Historically, Tyre's location made it both a fortress and a target, and its destruction by Babylonian forces fulfilled Ezekiel's prophecy. This serves as a powerful metaphor for the futility of human pride and the ultimate sovereignty of God over nations and history.

Verse 32. - As in other instances of extreme sorrow, the inarticulate signs of grief pass after a time into spoken words. What city is like Tyrus, etc.? What parallel can be found in the world's history, either for her magnificence or her fall? The shipwreck of her fortunes (we are still in the region of the prophet's metaphors) would be utter and irretrievable.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
As they wail
בְּנִיהֶם֙ (bə·nî·hem)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5204: Lamentation

and mourn
וְקוֹנְנ֖וּ (wə·qō·wn·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 6969: To strike a, musical note, chant, wail

over you,
עָלָ֑יִךְ (‘ā·lā·yiḵ)
Preposition | second person feminine singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

they will take up
וְנָשְׂא֨וּ (wə·nā·śə·’ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

a lament
קִינָ֔ה (qî·nāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7015: An elegy, dirge

for you:
אֵלַ֤יִךְ (’ê·la·yiḵ)
Preposition | second person feminine singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Who
מִ֣י (mî)
Interrogative
Strong's 4310: Who?, whoever, in oblique construction with prefix, suffix

was ever like Tyre,
כְצ֔וֹר (ḵə·ṣō·wr)
Preposition-k | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6865: Tyre -- a Phoenician city

silenced
כְּדֻמָ֖ה (kə·ḏu·māh)
Preposition-k | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1822: One silenced or brought to silence

in the middle
בְּת֥וֹךְ (bə·ṯō·wḵ)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8432: A bisection, the centre

of the sea?
הַיָּֽם׃ (hay·yām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3220: A sea, the Mediterranean Sea, large river, an artifical basin


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OT Prophets: Ezekiel 27:32 In their wailing they shall take up (Ezek. Eze Ezk)
Ezekiel 27:31
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