A Lament for Doomed Tyre

¹ And the word of Yahweh ⌞came⌟¹ to me, ⌞saying⌟,²

1. Literally “was”
2. Literally “to say”

² “And you, son of man,¹ raise a lament against Tyre.

1. Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”

³ And you must say to Tyre, the one who sits at the entrance of the sea as the merchant of the peoples to the many coastlands, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Tyre, ⌞you yourself said⌟¹ “I am perfect ⌞in beauty⌟!”²

1. Literally “you you said”
2. Literally “of beauty”

⁴ In the heart of the seas are your boundaries; your builders perfected your beauty.

⁵ They built with pine trees from Senir all of your boards for you; they took cedars from Lebanon to make a sailing mast ⌞for you⌟.¹

1. Literally “on you”

⁶ They made your oars with oaks from Bashan; your deck they made with inlaid ivory, with cypress trees from the coastlands of Cyprus.¹

1. According to the reading tradition (Qere)

⁷ Your sail was fine linen with colorful weaving from Egypt ⌞to serve as a banner for you⌟;¹ blue and purple cloth from the coastlands of Cyprus² was your awning.

1. Literally “to be for you as a banner”
2. Or “Elishah”

⁸ The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvan were your rowers; your ⌞skilled men⌟,¹ O Tyre, were ⌞from your own people⌟,² and they were your seamen.

1. Literally “wise men”
2. Literally “in you”

⁹ The elders of Gebal and its ⌞skilled men⌟¹ were ⌞among you⌟² as the repairers of the seam of your boat; all of the ships of the sea and their mariners were ⌞among you⌟³ to barter your wares.

1. Literally “wise men”
2. Literally “in you”
3. Literally “in you”

¹⁰ Persia and Lud and Put were ⌞among your soldiers⌟;¹ small shield and helmet hung ⌞among you⌟² and gave to you your adornment.

1. Literally “in your army as the men of war your”
2. Literally “in you”

¹¹ The people¹ of Arvan and Helech were on your walls all around, and Gammadites were in your towers. They hung their quivers² on your walls all around; they perfected your beauty.

1. Or “children,” or “sons”
2. Or “shields” (cf. NJPS; NIV)

¹² “ ‘Tarshish was your trader; from the abundance of all of their wealth, with silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your merchandise.

¹³ Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders; ⌞in exchange for people⌟¹ and an object of bronze they gave you your wares.

1. Or “for a human person/soul”

¹⁴ From Beth Togarmah they exchanged horses and war horses and mules for your wares.

¹⁵ The people¹ of Dedan were trading with you, many coastlands composed the region of your ⌞influence⌟;² they brought back horns of ivory and ebony as your payment.

1. Or “children”
2. Literally “hand”

¹⁶ Edom¹ was trading with you because of the abundance of your products, trading with malachite, purple wool yarn and colorful weaving, and fine white fabric and black corals and rubies; all these they exchange for your merchandise.

1. Reading Edom for Aram

¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel were trading with you with wheat from Minnith and millet and honey and olive oil and balm; all these they gave for your wares.

¹⁸ Damascus was trading with you ⌞because of⌟¹ the abundance of your products, because of the abundance of all of your wealth, trading with the wine of Helbon and white wool.

1. Literally “for”

¹⁹ Vedan and Javan from Uzal, they exchanged wrought iron, cinnamon,¹ and reed spice for your merchandise; all this was for your wares.

1. Or “cassia”

²⁰ Dedan was trading with you, with garments of woven material for riding.

²¹ Arabia and all of the leaders of Kedar were ⌞your customers⌟;¹ with young rams and adult rams and goats they were trading with them with you.

1. Literally “traders of your hand”

²² The traders of Sheba and Raamah were trading with you, with the finest of every spice and with every precious stone and gold; they exchanged all these for your merchandise.

²³ Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traders of Sheba, Assyria, and Kilmad were trading with you.

²⁴ They were trading with you in finery, in mantles of blue cloth and colorful embroidered work and with rugs of variegated cloth in twisted cords and knotted tightly; ⌞these were among your merchandise⌟.¹

1. Literally “in your trading/marketplace” (cf. NET)

²⁵ The ships of Tarshish were carrying for you your wares, and you were filled, and you became very heavy in the heart of the seas.

²⁶ “ ‘Into many waters the rowers brought you; but ⌞the east wind⌟¹ wrecked you in the heart of the seas.

1. Literally “the wind of the east”

²⁷ Your wealth and your merchandise, your wares, your mariners, and your seamen, your shipwrights¹ and the barterers of your wares and all of ⌞your soldiers⌟² who are in you, along³ with all of your crew who are in the midst of you, they will fall in the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall.

1. Literally “the repairers/strengtheners of your seams”
2. Literally “the men of your war”
3. Hebrew “and”

²⁸ At the sound of the shout¹ of your seamen, the pasturelands will shake.

1. Or “cry”

²⁹ And they will go down from their ships, all of those holding an oar, mariners, all of the seamen of the sea will stand on the land,

³⁰ and they will lament¹ over you with their voice, and they will cry out² bitterly, and they will throw³ dust on their heads, and they will roll⁴ in the dust.

1. Hebrew “lamented”
2. Hebrew “cried out”
3. Hebrew “threw”
4. Hebrew “rolled”

³¹ ⌞They will shave themselves bald for your sake⌟,¹ and they will dress² themselves in sackcloth, and they will weep³ over you with a bitterness of soul⁴ and with bitter wailing.

1. Literally “And they made bald for you with baldness”
2. Hebrew “dressed”
3. Hebrew “wept”
4. Or “of their inner self”

³² And they will raise¹ over you with their wailing a lament, and they will chant² a lament over you: ‘Who is like Tyre, like this destruction in the midst of the sea?’

1. Hebrew “raised”
2. Hebrew “chanted”

³³ When your merchandise went out from the seas, you satisfied many peoples with the abundance of your wealth, and by your wares you made rich the kings of the world.

³⁴ Now you are broken by seas in the depths of waters; your wares and all of your crew in the midst of you have sunk.

³⁵ All of the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled over you, and their kings ⌞shudder⌟¹ in horror; ⌞they distort their faces⌟!²

1. Literally “they have bristling hair”
2. Literally “they are distorted as to faces”

³⁶ The traders among the peoples hiss over you; you have become a horror, and ⌞you shall be no more forever⌟!’ ”¹

1. Literally “there is not you until eternity/endless ages” (cf. NRSV)