A Prophecy Against Tyre

¹It was the first day of the 11th month. It was the 12th year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, ² “Son of man, Tyre laughed because of what happened to Jerusalem. The people of Tyre said, ‘Jerusalem is the gateway to the nations. But the gate is broken. Its doors have swung open to us. Jerusalem has been destroyed. So now we will succeed.’ ” ³ The Lord and King says, “But I am against you, Tyre. I will bring many nations against you. They will come in like the waves of the sea. ⁴ They will destroy your walls. They will pull down your towers. I will clear away the stones of your broken-down buildings. I will turn you into nothing but a bare rock. ⁵ Out in the Mediterranean Sea your island city will become a place to spread fishnets. I have spoken,” announces the Lord and King. “The nations will take you and everything you have. ⁶ Your settlements on the coast will be destroyed by war. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

⁷ The Lord and King says, “From the north I am going to bring Nebuchadnezzar against Tyre. He is the king of Babylon. He is the greatest king of all. He will come with horses and chariots. Horsemen and a great army will be brought along with him. ⁸ He will go to war against you. He will destroy your settlements on the coast. He will bring in war machines to attack you. A ramp will be built up to your walls. He will raise his shields against you. ⁹ He will use huge logs to knock down your walls. He will destroy your towers with his weapons. ¹⁰ He will have so many horses that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will shake because of the noise of his war horses, wagons and chariots. He will enter your gates, just as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through. ¹¹ The hooves of his horses will pound in your streets. His swords will kill your people. Your strong pillars will fall to the ground. ¹² His men will take away from you your wealth and anything else you have. They will pull down your walls. They will completely destroy your fine houses. They will throw the stones and lumber of your broken-down buildings into the sea. ¹³ I will put an end to your noisy songs. No one will hear the music of your harps anymore. ¹⁴ I will turn you into nothing but a bare rock. You will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt. I have spoken. I am the Lord,” announces the Lord and King.

¹⁵ The Lord and King speaks to Tyre. He says, “The lands along the coast will shake because of the sound of your fall. Wounded people will groan because so many are dying there. ¹⁶ Then all the princes along the coast will step down from their thrones. They will put their robes away. They will take off their beautiful clothes. They will sit on the ground. They will put on terror as if it were their clothes. They will tremble with fear all the time. They will be shocked because of what has happened to you. ¹⁷ Then they will sing a song of sadness about you. They will say to you,

¹⁹ The Lord and King says to Tyre, “I will turn you into an empty city. You will be like cities where no one lives anymore. I will cause the ocean to sweep over you. Its mighty waters will cover you. ²⁰ So I will bring you down together with those who go down into the grave. The people there lived long ago. You will have to live in the earth below. It will be like living in buildings that were destroyed many years ago. You will go down into the grave along with others. And you will never come back. You will not take your place in this world again. ²¹ I will bring you to a horrible end. You will be gone forever. People will look for you. But they will never find you,” announces the Lord and King.