30 and shall cause their voice to be heard over you, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust on their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:
Daughter of my people, gird you with sackcloth, and wallow yourself in ashes: make you mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the destroyer shall suddenly come on us.
it happened on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn, and earth on his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.
There ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn, and with earth on his head.
The burden of Tyre. Howl, you ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Kittim it is revealed to them. Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. On great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the market of nations. Be ashamed, Sidon; for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not travailed, nor brought forth, neither have I nourished young men, nor brought up virgins. When the report comes to Egypt, they shall be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. Pass over to Tarshish; wail, you inhabitants of the coast.
The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; and he came even before the king's gate: for none might enter within the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. In every province, wherever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. Esther's maidens and her chamberlains came and told it her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved: and she sent clothing to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from off him; but he didn't receive it.
When they lifted up their eyes from a distance, and didn't recognize him, they raised their voices, and wept; and they each tore his robe, and sprinkled dust on their heads toward the sky.
and they shall make themselves bald for you, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for you in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning. 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?
Don't tell it in Gath, Don't weep at all. At Beth Ophrah{Beth Ophrah means literally "House of Dust."} I have rolled myself in the dust.
The kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived wantonly with her, will weep and wail over her, when they look at the smoke of her burning, standing far away for the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For your judgment has come in one hour.' The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more; merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, all expensive wood, every vessel of ivory, every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; and cinnamon, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, sheep, horses, chariots, bodies, and people's souls. The fruits which your soul lusted after have been lost to you, and all things that were dainty and sumptuous have perished from you, and you will find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand far away for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning; saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, she who was dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in an hour such great riches are made desolate.' Every shipmaster, and everyone who sails anywhere, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea, stood far away, and cried out as they looked at the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What is like the great city?' They cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her great wealth!' For in one hour is she made desolate.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ezekiel 27
Commentary on Ezekiel 27 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 27
Eze 27:1-36. Tyre's Former Greatness, Suggesting a Lamentation over Her Sad Downfall.
2. lamentation—a funeral dirge, eulogizing her great attributes, to make the contrast the greater between her former and her latter state.
3. situate at the entry of the sea—literally, plural, "entrances," that is, ports or havens; referring to the double port of Tyre, at which vessels entered round the north and south ends of the island, so that ships could find a ready entrance from whatever point the wind might blow (compare Eze 28:2).
merchant of … people for many isles—that is, a mercantile emporium of the peoples of many seacoasts, both from the east and from the west (Isa 23:3), "a mart of nations."
of perfect beauty—(Eze 28:12).
4. Tyre, in consonance with her seagirt position, separated by a strait of half a mile from the mainland, is described as a ship built of the best material, and manned with the best mariners and skilful pilots, but at last wrecked in tempestuous seas (Eze 27:26).
5. Senir—the Amorite name of Hermon, or the southern height of Anti-libanus (De 3:9); the Sidonian name was Sirion. "All thy … boards"; dual in Hebrew, "double-boards," namely, placed in a double order on the two sides of which the ship consisted [Vatablus]. Or, referring to the two sides or the two ends, the prow and the stern, which every ship has [Munster].
cedars—most suited for "masts," from their height and durability.
6. Bashan—celebrated for its oaks, as Lebanon was for its cedars.
the company of … Ashurites—the most skilful workmen summoned from Assyria. Rather, as the Hebrew orthography requires, "They have made thy (rowing) benches of ivory inlaid in the daughter of cedars" [Maurer], or, the best boxwood. Fairbairn, with Bochart, reads the Hebrew two words as one: "Thy plankwork (deck: instead of 'benches,' as the Hebrew is singular) they made ivory with boxes." English Version, with Maurer's correction, is simpler.
Chittim—Cyprus and Macedonia, from which, Pliny tells us, the best boxwood came [Grotius].
7. broidered … sail—The ancients embroidered their sails often at great expense, especially the Egyptians, whose linen, still preserved in mummies, is of the finest texture.
Elishah—Greece; so called from Elis, a large and ancient division of Peloponnesus. Pausanias says that the best of linen was produced in it, and in no other part of Greece; called by Homer, Alisium.
that which covered thee—thy awning.
8. Arvad—a small island and city near Phœnicia, now Ruad: its inhabitants are still noted for seafaring habits.
thy wise men, O Tyrus … thy pilots—While the men of Arvad, once thy equals (Ge 10:18), and the Sidonians, once thy superiors, were employed by thee in subordinate positions as "mariners," thou madest thine own skilled men alone to be commanders and pilots. Implying the political and mercantile superiority of Tyre.
9. Gebal—a Phœnician city and region between Beirut and Tripolis, famed for skilled workmen (1Ki 5:18, Margin; Ps 83:7).
calkers—stoppers of chinks in a vessel: carrying on the metaphor as to Tyre.
occupy thy merchandise—that is, to exchange merchandise with thee.
10. Persia … Phut—warriors from the extreme east and west.
Lud—the Lydians of Asia Minor, near the Meander, famed for archery (Isa 66:19); rather than those of Ethiopia, as the Lydians of Asia Minor form a kind of intermediate step between Persia and Phut (the Libyans about Cyrene, shielded warriors, Jer 46:9, descended from Phut, son of Ham).
hanged … shield … comeliness—Warriors hanged their accoutrements on the walls for ornament. Divested of the metaphor, it means that it was an honor to thee to have so many nations supplying thee with hired soldiers.
11. Gammadims—rather, as the Tyrians were Syro-Phœnicians, from a Syriac root, meaning daring, "men of daring" [Ludovicus De Dieu]. It is not likely the keeping of watch "in the towers" would have been entrusted to foreigners. Others take it from a Hebrew root, "a dagger," or short sword (Jud 3:16), "short-swordsmen."
12. Tarshish—Tartessus in Spain, a country famed for various metals, which were exported to Tyre. Much of the "tin" probably was conveyed by the Phœnicians from Cornwall to Tarshish.
traded in thy fairs—"did barter with thee" [Fairbairn]; from a root, "to leave," something left in barter for something else.
13. Javan—the Ionians or Greeks: for the Ionians of Asia Minor were the first Greeks with whom the Asiatics came in contact.
Tubal … Meshech—the Tibareni and Moschi, in the mountain region between the Black and Caspian Seas.
persons of men—that is, as slaves. So the Turkish harems are supplied with female slaves from Circassia and Georgia.
vessels—all kinds of articles. Superior weapons are still manufactured in the Caucasus region.
14. Togarmah—Armenia: descended from Gomer (Ge 10:3). Their mountainous region south of the Caucasus was celebrated for horses.
horsemen—rather, "riding-horses," as distinct from "horses" for chariots [Fairbairn].
15. Dedan—near the Persian Sea: thus an avenue to the commerce of India. Not the Dedan in Arabia (Eze 27:20), as the names in the context here prove, but the Dedan sprung from Cush [Bochart], (Ge 10:7).
merchandise of thine hand—that is, were dependent on thee for trade [Fairbairn]; came to buy the produce of thy hands [Grotius].
a present—literally, "a reward in return"; a price paid for merchandise.
horns of ivory—Ivory is so termed from its resemblance to horns. The Hebrew word for "ivory" means "tooth"; so that they cannot have mistaken ivory as if coming from the horns of certain animals, instead of from the tusks of the elephant.
16. "Syria was thy mart for the multitude," &c. For "Syria" the Septuagint reads "Edom." But the Syrians were famed as merchants.
occupied—old English for "traded"; so in Lu 19:13.
agate—Others translate, "ruby," "chalcedony," or "pearls."
17. Minnith … Pannag—names of places in Israel famed for good wheat, wherewith Tyre was supplied (1Ki 5:9, 11; Ezr 3:7; Ac 12:20); Minnith was formerly an Ammonite city (Jud 11:33). "Pannag" is identified by Grotius with "Phenice," the Greek name for "Canaan." "They traded … wheat," that is, they supplied thy market with wheat.
balm—or, "balsam."
18. Helbon—or Chalybon, in Syria, now Aleppo; famed for its wines; the Persian monarchs would drink no other.
19. Dan also—None of the other places enumerated commence with the copula ("also"; Hebrew, ve). Moreover, the products specified, "cassia, calamus," apply rather to places in Arabia. Therefore, Fairbairn translates, "Vedan"; perhaps the modern Aden, near the straits of Bab-el-man-deb. Grotius refers it to Dana, mentioned by Ptolemy.
Javan—not the Greeks of Europe or Asia Minor, but of a Greek settlement in Arabia.
going to and fro—rather, as Hebrew admits, "from Uzal." This is added to "Javan," to mark which Javan is meant (Ge 10:27). The metropolis of Arabia Felix, or Yemen; called also Sanaa [Bochart]. English Version gives a good sense, thus: All peoples, whether near as the Israelite "Dan," or far as the Greeks or "Javan," who were wont to "go to and fro" from their love of traffic, frequented thy marts, bringing bright iron, &c., these products not being necessarily represented as those of Dan or Javan.
bright iron—Yemen is still famed for its sword blades.
calamus—aromatic cane.
20. Dedan—in Arabia; distinct from the Dedan in Eze 27:15 (see on Eze 27:15). Descended from Abraham and Keturah (Ge 25:3) [Bochart].
precious clothes—splendid coverlets.
21. Arabia—the nomadic tribes of Arabia, among which Kedar was pre-eminent.
occupied with thee—literally, "of thy hand," that is, they traded with thee for wares, the product of thy hand (see on Eze 27:15, 16).
22. Sheba … Raamah—in Arabia.
chief of … spices—that is, best spices (De 33:15). Obtained from India and conveyed in caravans to Tyre.
23. Haran—the dwelling-place of Abraham in Mesopotamia, after he moved from Ur (Ge 11:31).
Canneh—Calneh, an Assyrian city on the Tigris; the Ctesiphon of the Greeks (Ge 10:10).
Eden—probably a region in Babylonia (see Ge 2:8).
Chilmad—a compound; the place designated by Ptolemy "Gaala of Media." The Chaldee version interprets it of Media. Henderson refers it to Carmanda, which Xenophon describes as a large city beyond the Euphrates.
24. all sorts of things—Hebrew, "perfections"; exquisite articles of finery [Grotius].
clothes—rather, "mantles" or "cloaks"; literally, "wrappings." For "blue," Henderson translates, "purple."
chests of rich apparel, bound with cords—treasures or repositories of damask stuffs, consisting of variegated threads woven together in figures [Henderson].
cedar—The "chests" were made of cedar, in order to last the longer; and it also keeps off decay and has a sweet odor.
25. sing of thee—personification; thy great merchant ships were palpable proofs of thy greatness. Others translate from a different Hebrew root, "were thy (mercantile) travellers." Fairbairn translates, "Were thy walls." But the parallelism to "thou wast glorious" favors English Version, "sing of thee."
26. In contrast to her previous greatness, her downfall is here, by a sudden transition, depicted under the image of a vessel foundering at sea.
east wind—blowing from Lebanon, the most violent wind in the Mediterranean (Ps 48:7). A Levanter, as it is called. Nebuchadnezzar is meant. The "sea" is the war with him which the "rowers," or rulers of the state vessel, had "brought" it into, to its ruin.
27. The detailed enumeration implies the utter completeness of the ruin.
and in all thy company—"even with all thy collected multitude" [Henderson].
28. The suburbs—the buildings of Tyre on the adjoining continent.
29. So on the downfall of spiritual Babylon (Re 18:17, &c.).
shall stand upon … land—being cast out of their ships in which heretofore they prided themselves.
30. against thee—rather, "concerning thee."
31. utterly bald—literally, "bald with baldness." The Phœnician custom in mourning; which, as being connected with heathenish superstitions, was forbidden to Israel (De 14:1).
32. take up—lift up.
the destroyed—a destroyed one. Literally, (as opposed to its previous bustle of thronging merchants and mariners, Eze 27:27), "one brought to death's stillness."
in … midst of … sea—insular Tyre.
33. out of the seas—brought on shore out of the ships.
filledst—didst supply plentifully with wares.
enrich … kings—with the custom dues levied on the wares.
34. In the time when … shall … shall—Now that thou art broken (wrecked) … thy merchandise … are fallen [Maurer].
35. isles—seacoasts.
36. hiss—with astonishment; as in 1Ki 9:8.