Ezekiel 26

1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, that the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:

Almost twelve [after we had been taken to Babylonia], on the first day of the month, Yahweh gave me another message. He said to me,

2 Son of man, Because Tyre hath said concerning Jerusalem. Aha! She is broken that was the doors of the peoples. She is turned unto me, — I shall be filled, She is laid waste,

“You human, [the people of] Tyre [city] shouted joyfully and said about Jerusalem, ‘[Jerusalem, ] the city from which many traders/merchants went to many nations, is now destroyed. And now people from all over the world will come to us to buy and sell things. Because Jerusalem has now been ruined, we will prosper!’

3 Therefore, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, Behold me! against thee O Tyre, — So then I will bring up against thee many nations, As the sea bringeth up its rolling waves;

Therefore, this is what [I, ] Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘I am now the enemy of [you people of] Tyre. I will [the armies of] many nations to come and attack your [city], like the waves of the sea beat against the shores.

4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre. And break down her towers, And I will scrape clean her dust from off her, —And make of her the glaring face of a cliff:

Their soldiers will destroy the walls around Tyre and tear down its towers. Tyre will become a place where people from many nations steal valuable things, [and then the city will be completely destroyed]. Then they will scrape away the rubble and cause the city to become a bare rock.

5 A place for the spreading of nets, shall she become, in the midst of the sea, For, I, have spoken Declareth My Lord. Yahweh, -And she shall become a prey to the nations.

Out in the sea, Tyre will become an island where men spread [their fishing] nets to dry them. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh the Lord, have predicted it.

6 And her daughters that are in the field: with the sword shall be slain: So shall they know that I am Yahweh.

The people in small villages on the coast near Tyre will be killed [their enemies’] swords. Then people will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].’

7 For thus saith My Lord. Yahweh, Behold me! bringing against Tyre. Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon out of the North. a king of kings, —with horses and with chariots and with horsemen, and a gathered host, and much people.

This is what I, Yahweh the Lord, [is going to happen]: ‘From the north, I am going to bring the most powerful king [in the world], King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, [with his army] to attack Tyre. They will bring horses and chariots, and men who ride the horses [and men who drive the chariots]; it will be a huge army.

8 Thy daughters in the field—with the sword, shall he slay, - And shall set against thee a siege-wall And cast up against thee an earthwork, And set up against thee a large shield;

[In the battles in the small villages] on the coast, their soldiers will kill [many] people with their swords. [Then] they will set up devices to batter the wall around the city of Tyre, and they will build a dirt ramp up to the top of the wall, and they will all hold up shields [to protect themselves from arrows being shot from the ground].

9 And the stroke of his attacking-engine, will he direct against thy walls, — And thy towers, will he break down with his axes.

The king will direct the soldiers who operate the (rams/things) to batter the walls, and who will use their iron bars to tear down the towers in the wall.

10 By reason of the multitude of his horses, their dust shall cover thee, — At the noise of horseman and wheel and chariot, shall thy walls tremble, when he entereth into thy gates Just as they do who enter a city broken open.

The king will have a huge number of horses, [the stamping of their hooves will result in] the city being covered with dust. [It will be as though] the walls will tremble because of the noise made by the horses, the [supply] wagons, and the chariots when they enter the city where the walls have been broken down.

11 With the hoofs of his horses, shall he tread down all thy streets, — Thy people-with the sword, shall he slay, And thy pillars of strength to the earth, shall go down.

The horses will trample all of the [of the city] with their hooves. The soldiers will kill the people with their swords; and they will cause your strong pillars to (collapse/fall to the ground).

12 And they shall spoil thy wealth And make a prey of thy merchandise, And break down thy walls And thy pleasant houses, shall they lay in ruins; And thy stones and thy timber and thy dust—in the midst of the waters, shall they lay.

They will take away all the people’s valuable possessions and steal the things that the merchants sell. They will tear down the walls of the houses and destroy their fine houses. Then they will throw into the sea the stones [from the walls] of those houses and the timber and the rubble.

13 And I will cause to cease the hum of thy songs; And the sound of thy lyres, shall not be heard any more.

No longer will you sing noisy songs, and people will not play their harps any more.

14 And I will make of thee the glaring face of a cliff. A place for the spreading of nets, shalt thou become, Thou shalt not be but any more, For I. Yahweh have spoken it, Declareth My Lord Yahweh.

The enemy soldiers will cause the city to become a bare rock and [only] a place where men spread [their fishing] nets. And the city will never be rebuilt. [Those things will surely happen] because [I], Yahweh the Lord, have [that they will happen].’

15 Thus saith My Lord. Yahweh, to Tyre: Shall it not be that. At the sound of thy fall. With the groan of thy pierced one. With the slaughter made in thy midst, The Coastlands shall tremble?

This is [also] what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say about [the people of] Tyre: ‘When the wounded [people in Tyre] groan and many people are slaughtered and the city is destroyed, [it will surely be as though] [RHQ] the areas along the coast will tremble.

16 Then shall come down from off their thrones all the princes of the sea, And shall lay aside their robes. And their embroidered garments, shall strip off, — With tremblings, shall they clothe them. selves Upon the ground, shall they sit, And shall tremble every moment and be astonished over thee.

Then all the kings [in the cities] along the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and their embroidered clothes. They will be terrified, and they will sit on the ground, trembling. They will be appalled because of what has happened to the city of Tyre.

17 Then shall they take up over thee a dirge, And say to thee, - How hast thou perished, And ceased from the seas, - The city renowned which was strong in the sea She and they who dwelt in her, Who imparted their terror To all who dwelt in her.

Then they will sing a sad song about the city, and they will sing this: “The famous city [APO], in which many [who sailed on] the seas lived, is now destroyed! The people of that city had great power [because they had many ships that sailed] on the seas; they caused all the people who lived near them to be terrified.

18 Now, shall tremble the Coastlands, In the day of thy fall, - And shall shudder the isles that are in the sea. At thine exit!

Now on the day when that city is destroyed, [it is as though the people in] the areas along the coast tremble and the [the people on the] islands in the sea are terrified because of that city being ruined.”’

19 For thus saith My Lord Yahweh, When I make thee a desolate city, Like cities which cannot be dwelt in, - When I bring up over thee the roaring deep, And the mighty waters cover thee,

This is also what [I], Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘When I cause the city [of Tyre] to become desolate/empty, like [other] cities in which people no [longer] live, and when I cause the huge waves of the sea to cover it,

20 Then will I bring thee down with them that go down into the pit. Unto the people of age-past times And cause thee to dwell in the earth below Among the desolations from age-past times With them that go down into the pit That thou mayest not be dwelt in, Nor yet present thyself in the land of the living.

then I will bring the people of that city down to be with those who have gone down to where the dead people are, people who lived long ago. I will cause them to remain in the place below the earth that is like old/ancient ruins, with those who have gone down to that pit [previously], and they will never return to the earth, to where people are alive.

21 A terror, will I make thee And thou shalt not be: Though thou be sought for, Thou shalt not be found any more To times age-abiding, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh.

I will cause them to die in a horrible way (OR, people will be very afraid because of what happens to that city), and that will be the end of (them/their lives). People will search for that city but it will no longer exist. [That is what I, ] Yahweh the Lord, declare [will happen].’”