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Ezequiel 27

BLIVRE · Chapter 27/48

1E veio a mim a palavra do SENHOR, dizendo:

2Tu, pois, filho do homem, levanta uma lamentação sobre Tiro.

3E dize a Tiro, que habita nas entradas do mar, e faz comércio com dos povos em muitas terras costeiras: Assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Ó Tiro, tu dizes: Eu sou perfeita em beleza.

4Teus limites estão no coração dos mares; os que te edificaram aperfeiçoaram a tua beleza.

5Fabricaram todos os teus conveses com faias de Senir; trouxeram cedros do Líbano para fazerem mastros para ti.

6Fizeram teus remos [com] carvalhos de Basã; fizeram teus bancos com ciprestes das ilhas do Chipre, unidos com marfim.

7Linho bordado do Egito era tua cortina, para te servir de vela; de azul e púrpura das ilhas de Elisá era teu toldo.

8Os moradores de Sidom e de Arvade eram teus remadores; teus sábios, ó Tiro, [que] estavam em ti, eles foram teus pilotos.

9Os anciãos de Gebal e seus sábios eram em ti os que reparavam tuas fendas; todos os navios do mar e seus marinheiros delas foram em ti para negociar tuas mercadorias.

10Persas e lídios, e os de Pute, eram em teu exército teus soldados; escudos e capacetes penduraram em ti; eles te deram tua pompa.

11Os filhos de Arvade e teu exército estavam sobre teus muros ao redor, e os gamaditas em tuas torres; penduravam seus escudos sobre teus muros ao redor; eles aperfeiçoavam tua beleza.

12Társis negociava contigo, por causa da abundância de todas as variedades de riquezas; com prata, ferro, estanho, e chumbo, negociavam [em] tuas feiras.

13Javã, Tubal, e Meseque eram teus mercadores; com almas humanas e com vasos de metal, fizeram negócios contigo.

14Da casa de Togarma traziam cavalos, cavaleiros e mulos, para tuas feiras.

15Os filhos de Dedã eram teus mercadores; muitas ilhas eram o comércio sob teu controle; chifres de marfim e madeira de ébano te deram como presente.

16A Síria negociava contigo por causa da abundância de tuas obras; turquesas, púrpura, materiais bordados, linhos finos, corais, e rubis, traziam em tuas feiras.

17Eles, Judá e a terra de Israel, eram teus mercadores; com trigo de Minite, e panague, mel, e azeite, e resina, fizeram negócios contigo.

18Damasco negociava contigo, por causa da abundância de tuas obras, pela abundância de todas as variedades de bens; com vinho de Helbom, e lã branca.

19Também Dã e Javã de Uzal comercializavam em tuas feiras; ferro lavrado, cássia, e cana aromática havia em teu comércio.

20Dedã negociava contigo, com panos preciosos para carros.

21A Arábia, e todos os príncipes de Quedar, eles eram mercadores sob teu controle; com cordeiros, carneiros, e bodes; nestas coisas negociavam contigo.

22Os mercadores de Sabá e de Raamá eram teus mercadores; com toda especiaria importante, toda pedra preciosa, e ouro, comercializavam em tuas feiras.

23Harã, Cané, e Éden, os mercadores de Sabá, da Assíria, e Quilmade negociavam contigo.

24Estes negociavam contigo em toda variedade de mercadorias: com tecidos azuis, com bordados, e com caixas de roupas preciosas, amarradas com cordões, e [postos] em cedro, em teu comércio.

25Os navios de Társis transportavam os artigos do teu negócio; e te encheste, e te tornaste muito pesada no meio dos mares.

26Teus remadores te trouxeram a muitas águas; o vento oriental te quebrou no meio dos mares.

27Tuas riquezas, tuas feiras, teu negócio, teus marinheiros, teus pilotos; os que reparavam tuas fendas, teus comerciantes, e todos teus soldados que há em ti, com toda a tua companhia que está no meio de ti, cairão no meio dos mares, no dia de tua queda.

28Ao estrondo das vozes de teus marinheiros tremerão os arredores.

29E todos os que usam remo; marinheiros, e todos os pilotos do mar descerão de seus navios, e pararão na terra:

30E farão ouvir sua voz sobre ti; gritarão amargamente, lançarão pó sobre suas cabeças, e se revolverão na cinza.

31E se farão calvos por causa de ti, se vestirão de sacos, e chorarão por ti com amargura da alma, com amarga lamentação.

32E levantarão lamentação sobre em seu pranto, e lamentarão sobre ti dizendo: Quem foi como Tiro, como a [que agora está] silenciada no meio do mar?

33Quando tuas mercadorias vinham dos mares, fartaste muitos povos; enriqueceste os reis da terra com a abundância de tuas riquezas e de teus negócios.

34Agora foste quebrada dos mares, nas profundezas das águas; caíram teu negócio e toda a tua companhia no meio de ti.

35Todos os moradores dos litorais foram espantados por causa de ti, e seus reis ficaram horrorizados; seus rostos se conturbaram.

36Os mercadores nos povos assoviam por causa de ti; tu te tornaste em motivo de espanto, e nunca mais voltarás a existir.

📖 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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