Ezekiel 27:28-36

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.’”

[27:28]  ¹ tn Compare this phrase to Isa 57:20 and Amos 8:8. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:561.

[27:30]  ² tn Heb “make heard over you with their voice.”

[27:30]  ³ tn Note a similar expression to “roll in the ashes” in Mic 1:10.

[27:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they will weep concerning you with bitterness of soul, (with) bitter mourning.”

[27:32]  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.

[27:34]  ⁶ tn Heb “fallen.”

[27:34]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the midst of you.”