Prophecy Against Tyre
26 It was the eleventh year, on the first day of the month of our captivity. The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 2 “Human being, the city of Tyre has spoken against Jerusalem: ‘The city that traded with the nations is destroyed. Now we can be the trading center. The city Jerusalem is ruined. Now we can make money.’ 3 So this is what the Lord God says: I am against you, Tyre. I will bring many nations against you. They will come like the sea beating its waves on your island shores. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers. I will also scrape away her ruins. I will make Tyre a bare rock. 5 Tyre will be an island where fishermen dry their nets. I have spoken, says the Lord God. The nations will steal valuable things from Tyre. 6 Also, her villages on the shore across from the island will be destroyed by war. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Nebuchadnezzar to Attack Tyre
7 “This is what the Lord God says: I will bring a king from the north against Tyre. He is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the greatest king. He will bring horses, chariots, horsemen and a great army. 8 He will fight a battle and destroy your villages on the shore across from the island. He will set up devices to attack you. He will build a road of earth to the top of the walls. He will raise his shields against you. 9 He will bring logs to pound through your city walls. And he will break down your towers with his iron bars. 10 His horses will be so many that they will cover you with their dust. Your walls will shake at the noise of horsemen, wagons and chariots. The king of Babylon will enter your city gates. He will enter as men enter a city where the walls are broken through. 11 The hooves of his horses will run over your streets. He will kill your people with the sword. Your strong pillars will fall down to the ground. 12 Also, his men will take away your riches. They will steal the things you sell. They will break down your walls and destroy your nice houses. They will throw your stones, wood and trash into the sea. 13 So I will stop your songs. The music of your harps will not be heard anymore. 14 I will make you a bare rock. You will be a place for drying fishing nets. You will not be built again. This is because I, the Lord, have spoken, says the Lord God.
15 “This is what the Lord God says to Tyre: The people who live along the seacoast will shake with fear when they hear your defeat. Those of you who are injured and dying will groan. 16 Then all the leaders of the seacoast will go down from their thrones. They will take off their beautiful needlework clothes. They will clothe themselves with fear. They will sit on the ground. They will shake with fear all the time. They will be shocked when they see you. 17 They will begin singing a funeral song about you. They will say to you:
‘Tyre, you famous city, you have been destroyed!
Once seamen lived in you.
You and your people
had great power on the seas.
All the people around you
were afraid of you.
18 Now the people who live by the coast
will shake with fear on the day you fall.
The islands of the sea
will be afraid because you have been defeated.’
19 “This is what the Lord God says: I will make you an empty city. You will be like the cities that have no people living in them. I will bring the deep ocean waters over you. The Mediterranean Sea will cover you. 20 At that time I will send you down to the place of the dead. You will join the people who died long ago. I will make you live with the dead below the earth among old ruined places. You will not come back from there. People will never live in you again. 21 Other people will be afraid of what happened to you. It will be the end of you. People will look for you. But they will never find you again, says the Lord God.”