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Ezequiel 27

VBL · Chapter 27/48

1Me llegó un mensaje del Señor que decía:

2“Hijo de hombre, canta un canto fúnebre para Tiro.

3Dile a Tiro, la ciudad que está a la puerta del mar y que suministra bienes a muchas naciones de ultramar, que esto es lo que dice el Señor Dios:

4Tus fronteras se extienden a lo largo del mar. Tus constructores te armaron perfectamente como un hermoso barco.

5Te construyeron con madera de pino del monte Hermón. Usaron un cedro del Líbano para hacer tu mástil.

6Hicieron tus remos con robles de Basán. Hicieron traer madera de la isla de Chipre para hacer tu cubierta y la incrustaron con marfil.

7Hicieron tu vela con el mejor lino de Egipto; ésta fue tu bandera que todos reconocieron. Con telas teñidas de azul y púrpura de las costas de Elisa hicieron tus toldos.

8“Los hombres de Sidón y Arvad remaban en tu barco. Tenías tus propios marineros expertos de Tiro.

9Expertos artesanos de Gebal estaban a bordo para reparar cualquier fuga. Todos los demás barcos en el mar venían a comerciar contigo y sus marineros hacían trueque por tus mercancías.

10Hombres de Persia, Lidia y Put eran soldados en tu ejército. Vivían entre ustedes, colgando sus escudos y cascos con ustedes, y se hacían famosos.

11Los hombres de Arvad y Heleccustodiaban todas las murallas de tu ciudad, mientras que los de Gamad protegían tus torres. Colgaron sus escudos alrededor de tus murallas. Ellos hicieron que tuvieras éxito.

12Tarsis comerciaba contigo porque tenías mucho de todo. Pagaban tus mercancías con plata, hierro, estaño y plomo.

13Grecia, Tubal y Mesec comerciaron contigo. Compraron tus bienes, pagando con esclavos y objetos de bronce.

14La gente de Bet-togarmá intercambió caballos, caballos de guerra y mulas por tus bienes.

15La gente de Dedánhacía negocios comerciales con ustedes. Tenías plazas de mercado en muchas zonas costeras donde la gente hacía trueque contigo con colmillos de marfil y madera de ébano.

16Los arameos comerciaban con ustedes porque tenían muchas mercancías. Les proporcionaban turquesa, tela púrpura, bordados, lino fino, coral y jaspe rojo a cambio de tus bienes.

17Judá y el país de Israel comerciaron contigo, pagándote con trigo de Minit, pasteles y miel, aceite de oliva y bálsamo a cambio de tus mercancías.

18Como tenías muchos productos de toda clase, de hecho, tenías abundancia de todo, Damasco comerciaba contigo usando vino de Helbón, lana de Zahar.

19Vedan y Javan, de Izal, compraron tus productos utilizando hierro forjado, casia y cálamo dulce.

20Dedán comerciaba contigo, dándote mantas para monturas.

21Arabia y todos los jefes de Cedar comerciaron contigo, dándote a cambio corderos, carneros y cabras.

22Los mercaderes de Sabá y de Raama comerciaron contigo, cambiando oro, las mejores especias y piedras preciosas por tus productos.

23Harán, Cane y Edén comerciaban contigo, al igual que Saba, Asur y Quilmad.

24En tus plazas de mercado comerciaban contigo, proveyéndote de las más finas ropas azules, bordados, alfombras hechas con hilos de diferentes colores y fuertes cuerdas de hilos retorcidos.

25“Los barcos comerciales de Tarsis transportaban tus mercancías. Eras como un barco que navega por el mar, lleno de carga pesada.

26Tus remeros te llevaron muy lejos en el agua, pero el viento del este te destrozó allí en alta mar.

27¡Lo perdiste todo! Tus riquezas, tus bienes, tu carga, tu tripulación de marineros, oficiales y reparadores, tus comerciantes y todos los soldados que tenías, junto con todos los demás a bordo, caen en las profundidades del mar el día de tu naufragio.

28La tierra de alrededor tiembla cuando tus marineros gritan.

29Todos los remeros abandonan sus barcos. Los marineros y todos los oficiales de los barcos se paran en la orilla.

30Gritan por ti y rompen a llorar. Lloran por ti echando polvo sobre sus cabezas y revolcándose en las cenizas.

31Se afeitan la cabeza por ti y se visten de cilicio. Lloran por ti, gritando en agonía y en duelo sincero

32Mientras lloran y se lamentan por ti, cantan un canto fúnebre por ti: ‘¿Quién podría compararse con Tiro, ahora destruida en el mar?

33Hiciste feliz a mucha gente cuando recibieron tus bienes desde el otro lado del mar. Hiciste ricos a los reyes de la tierra con todos tus bienes y productos valiosos.

34Ahora has naufragado en el mar, te has hundido en aguas profundas, y tu carga y tu gente se han hundido contigo.

35Todos los que viven en las costas están consternados por lo que te ha sucedido. Sus reyes están horrorizados; sus rostros se tuercen de miedo.

36Los mercaderes de las naciones se burlan de ti; el desastre te ha hecho caer y estás acabado para siempre’”.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A poetic lament details the wealth and international trade of Tyre, comparing the city to a magnificent ship built from the finest materials of the ancient world, which ultimately sinks in the middle of the sea.

Explanation

This chapter reads almost like a trade catalog of antiquity, listing dozens of nations that partnered in commerce with Tyre — from Spain (Tarshish) to Arabia, by way of Damascus, Judah, and Greece (Javan) — showing the impressive reach of Phoenician trade routes. The metaphor of the perfect ship that sinks shows that all human ingenuity, accumulated wealth, and network of alliances cannot guarantee lasting security in the face of God's judgment. The genuine mourning of the other merchants (vv. 29-36) reinforces that Tyre's fall would impact the whole regional economy, showing how one nation's wealth can become a dangerous dependency for many others.

Fun facts

  • The list of goods traded by Tyre — silver, iron, tin, lead, ivory, spices, horses — is confirmed by archaeological records and inscriptions from other ancient peoples, establishing Phoenicia as the greatest maritime trading power of its time.
  • Tarshish, mentioned as a distant trading partner, is generally identified with a region of ancient Spain, showing how surprisingly far Phoenician trade routes reached already in the first millennium before Christ.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezequiel 27:1The standard formula that opens a new message — here, a specific poem about Tyre within the larger oracle against the city that began in chapter 26.
  2. Ezequiel 27:2Ezekiel is ordered to compose a ‘lamentation,’ a formal mourning song — the rest of the chapter is that poem, describing Tyre as a magnificent ship right before it sinks.
  3. Ezequiel 27:3‘I am of perfect beauty’ is Tyre’s own self-description, quoted at the start of the lament — the prophet uses the city’s own proud words as a starting point before describing its fall.
  4. Ezequiel 27:4The poem imagines Tyre as a perfect ship: ‘in the midst of the seas’ describes the city built on an island, surrounded by water, at the height of its architectural beauty.
  5. Ezequiel 27:5The ship metaphor continues: the building materials come from lands famous for quality timber — Senir and Lebanon, a forested mountain region to the north.
  6. Ezequiel 27:6More pieces of the ship-Tyre’s ‘construction’: oaks of Bashan for the oars, imported ivory for the benches — every part made from the finest material available at the time.
  7. Ezequiel 27:7Embroidered Egyptian linen becomes the ship’s sail, and dyed fabrics from the isles of Elishah (a Mediterranean region) cover the deck — imported luxury even down to the decorative details.
  8. Ezequiel 27:8Zidon and Arvad were Phoenician cities neighboring Tyre; here they supply the rowers, while Tyre’s own wise men command the ship as pilots.
  9. Ezequiel 27:9Gebal (also called Byblos) was a Phoenician city famous for its craftsmen; its elders appear repairing the hull — one more piece of the trade network that sustained Tyre.
  10. Ezequiel 27:10Persians, Lydians, and men of Put (in what is now Libya) formed Tyre’s mercenary army — even the city’s military defense depended on outsiders.
  11. Ezequiel 27:11Arvad reappears manning the walls, and the Gammadims (a people of Anatolia) fill out the towers — the image is of a city international even in its own defense.
  12. Ezequiel 27:12The long list of Tyre’s trading partners works as a poetic catalog: the longer the list of routes and goods, the greater the image of wealth and reach about to collapse — this is not a factual trade record, it is a literary device of exaggeration.
  13. Ezequiel 27:13Javan (Greece), Tubal, and Meshech, in what is now Turkey and the Caucasus, traded slaves and bronze vessels with Tyre — commerce that included even people as merchandise.
  14. Ezequiel 27:14Togarmah, to the north near Armenia, supplied horses and mules — a detail showing how far Tyre’s trade network reached, all the way to the Caucasus.
  15. Ezequiel 27:15Dedan and various isles traded ivory and ebony with Tyre; in the Bible, ‘isles’ also describes distant coastal regions, not only islands in the literal sense.
  16. Ezequiel 27:16Syria brought precious stones and luxury fabrics — one more entry in the long list showing the wealth that passed through Tyre’s ports.
  17. Ezequiel 27:17Judah and Israel also appear as trading partners of Tyre, exchanging wheat, honey, oil, and balm — showing that trade connected even the closest neighbors.
  18. Ezequiel 27:18Damascus, the capital of Syria, traded wine and wool with Tyre — another link in the extensive trade network described throughout this chapter.
  19. Ezequiel 27:19Dan, Javan, and other regions rounded out the trade in metal and spices — the whole list serves to show the scale of the wealth Tyre is about to lose.
  20. Ezequiel 27:20Dedan appears again, now supplying fabric used to line chariots — a specific luxury item within the chapter’s long trade list.
  21. Ezequiel 27:21Arabia and the princes of Kedar, nomadic desert tribes, sold livestock to Tyre — the trade ranged from the simplest goods to the most refined.
  22. Ezequiel 27:22Sheba and Raamah, in southern Arabia, supplied rare spices, precious stones, and gold — the most valuable items in this whole trade list.
  23. Ezequiel 27:23Haran, Canneh, Eden, and other cities of Mesopotamia closed the circle of Tyre’s trade, which stretched across almost the entire known world of the time.
  24. Ezequiel 27:24The final entry on the list: bales of fine cloth packed carefully in cedar chests — a summary of the refined merchandise that moved through Tyre’s ports.
  25. Ezequiel 27:25The ships of Tarshish, one of the longest trade routes of the time, celebrate Tyre’s wealth — the highest point of the poem right before everything collapses.
  26. Ezequiel 27:26The final image is of shipwreck: the very sailors who carried Tyre to so many ports are the ones who take it down to the bottom of the sea, when the east wind breaks the ship-city in the midst of the waters.
  27. Ezequiel 27:27After the whole list of wealth and people involved in Tyre’s trade, the poem announces that everything — goods, sailors, soldiers, population — would sink together on the day of its fall.
  28. Ezequiel 27:28The pilots’ cry as they sink is so loud that it shakes even the outskirts of the city — Tyre’s fall is described as a catastrophe felt across the whole region.
  29. Ezequiel 27:29Sailors and pilots abandon their ships and come ashore just to mourn — even those who lived on the sea must come down to weep over the loss of the great port.
  30. Ezequiel 27:30Dust on the head and rolling in ashes were common mourning rituals in the ancient Near East — the same gesture used to grieve a death, here applied to an entire city.
  31. Ezequiel 27:31Shaving the head and putting on sackcloth were visible signs of deep mourning; here they mark the scale of the loss felt by those who depended commercially on Tyre.
  32. Ezequiel 27:32The lament uses a classic rhetorical question of the genre — ‘What city is like Tyrus?’ — to highlight how such a unique and powerful city disappeared.
  33. Ezequiel 27:33It reinforces how much Tyre enriched other peoples: entire kings grew wealthy from the trade passing through its ports, which makes the fall even more shocking.
  34. Ezequiel 27:34The exact moment of the shipwreck is described: everything that made Tyre run — goods and people — sinks together into the depths of the sea.
  35. Ezequiel 27:35The astonishment of the isles and their kings shows the chain reaction of Tyre’s fall across the whole maritime economy of the region, not just on the city itself.
  36. Ezequiel 27:36The chapter ends with Tyre becoming a byword hissed at in astonishment among the merchants — and the confirmation that it would never exist again as it once had.

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