27:28 At the sound of your captains’ cry the waves will surge; 1
27:29 They will descend from their ships – all who handle the oar,
the sailors and all the sea captains – they will stand on the land.
27:30 They will lament loudly 2 over you and cry bitterly.
They will throw dust on their heads and roll in the ashes; 3
27:31 they will tear out their hair because of you and put on sackcloth,
and they will weep bitterly over you with intense mourning. 4
27:32 As they wail they will lament over you, chanting:
“Who was like Tyre, like a tower 5 in the midst of the sea?”
27:33 When your products went out from the seas,
you satisfied many peoples;
with the abundance of your wealth and merchandise
you enriched the kings of the earth.
27:34 Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters;
your merchandise and all your company have sunk 6 along with you. 7
27:35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands are shocked at you,
and their kings are horribly afraid – their faces are troubled.
27:36 The traders among the peoples hiss at you;
you have become a horror, and will be no more.’”
1 tn Compare this phrase to Isa 57:20 and Amos 8:8. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:561.
2 tn Heb “make heard over you with their voice.”
3 tn Note a similar expression to “roll in the ashes” in Mic 1:10.
4 tn Heb “and they will weep concerning you with bitterness of soul, (with) bitter mourning.”
5 tn As it stands, the meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. The translation follows the suggestion of M. Dahood, “Accadian-Ugaritic dmt in Ezekiel 27:32,” Bib 45 (1964): 83-84. Several other explanations and emendations have been offered. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:83, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:85-86, for a list of options.
6 tn Heb “fallen.”
7 tn Heb “in the midst of you.”