The Lord warns Tyre
26:1Tyre was a city in Phoenicia, which was to the north of Samaria. It was on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Part of Tyre was an island. A lot of rich traders lived there.
1 The Lord gave this message to me on the first day of the month, in the 11th year:
2 ‘Son of man, Tyre's people have said, “Good! An enemy has destroyed Jerusalem! Traders from that city went out to many nations. Now we will do that instead of them. We will become rich because Jerusalem is no longer a strong city.”
3 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I have become your enemy, Tyre. I will bring many nations to attack you. They will be like the waves of the sea as they hit you. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre. They will knock down its strong towers. I will then remove all the stones that remain. The city will become a rock with nothing on it. 5 On that rock, in the middle of the sea, men will dry the nets that they use to catch fish. That is what I say, says the Almighty Lord. Armies from other nations will take Tyre's valuable things for themselves. 6 Soldiers will use their swords to kill people in the small towns on the coast near Tyre. Then people will know that I am the Lord.
7 This is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I will bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to attack Tyre from the north. He is a powerful king. He will bring his great army with soldiers on horses and chariots. 8 His soldiers will destroy your towns and villages on the coast. They will build heaps of earth around your walls. They will hold up their shields like a wall as they attack you. 9 They will use heavy pieces of wood to knock down the city's walls. They will use their weapons to knock down the strong towers.
10 King Nebuchadnezzar's army will have many horses. As they attack you, the dirt from their feet will cover you. The noise of the riders on the horses and the chariots' wheels will cause the city's walls to shake. They will break through the city's gates and walls. 11 The horses will run along all the streets. The soldiers will kill your people with their swords. The strong pillars of your buildings will fall to the ground. 12 The soldiers will take your riches and valuable things for themselves. They will break down your walls. They will destroy your beautiful homes. They will throw into the sea all the wood and stones that remain from your buildings. 13 I will stop the noise of your songs. Nobody will hear the sound of your harps any longer. 14 Tyre will be a rock in the sea with no buildings on it. Men will dry their nets on it. Nobody will never build the city again. That is what I, the Almighty Lord, have said. So it will certainly happen!
15 This is what the Almighty Lord says to Tyre: All the people who live on the coast of the sea will hear the news. When they know that you have fallen to the ground, they will shake with fear. They will hear the loud cries of your people when they die in the battle. 16 Then the rulers of the towns on the coast of the sea will be very sad. They will no longer sit on their thrones. They will remove their beautiful royal clothes. They will sit on the ground as they shake with fear. They will not stop shaking when they hear what has happened to you. 17 Then they will sing this funeral song about you:
26:15Many small nations along the coast and on the islands needed help from Tyre.
“City that was famous for your great sailors,
now your power has gone!
In the past, you made many people afraid,
as your brave men travelled across the sea.
18 Now you have fallen to the ground
and people who live on the coast shake with fear.
Now your power has gone
and those people are very afraid.”
19 This is what the Almighty Lord says: I will make you an empty place, like cities where nobody lives. The great waves of the sea will completely cover you. 20 Then I will cause you to you to fall deep down into the earth. You will be part of the world of dead people who lived a long time ago. You will join other cities that became heaps of stones long ago. You will remain there. You will never again be a city in the world where people are alive. 21 I will cause terrible things to happen to you. You will come to a complete end. People will look for you, but they will never find you. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’