Then they will lament for you, saying, “How you have perished, O city of renown inhabited by seafaring men—she who was powerful on the sea, along with her people, who imposed terror on all peoples!
Parallel translations
- WEB They shall take up a lamentation over you, and tell you, How you are destroyed, who were inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, who was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who caused their terror to be on all who lived there!
- KJV And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!
- NKJV And they will take up a lamentation for you, and say to you: “How you have perished, O one inhabited by seafaring men, O renowned city, Who was strong at sea, She and her inhabitants, Who caused their terror to be on all her inhabitants!
- NASB And they will take up a song of mourning over you and say to you, ‘How you have perished, you inhabited one, From the seas, you famous city, Which was mighty on the sea, She and her inhabitants, Who imposed her terror On all her inhabitants!
- NLT Then they will wail for you, singing this funeral song: “O famous island city, once ruler of the sea, how you have been destroyed! Your people, with their naval power, once spread fear around the world.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The sea kings raise a lament over Tyre, the renowned, mighty city that once spread terror. It marks the stunning reversal of her former glory.
Overview
The lament recalls Tyre's strength and influence, 'who caused their terror to be on all who lived there.' Now that very strength is gone, and the city is mourned as a fallen wonder. The funeral song format heightens the pathos of pride brought low, illustrating that earthly renown is fleeting and that only the kingdom of God endures.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- Isa 14:12How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations.
- Ezek 19:1“As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel
- 2 Sam 1:25–27How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
- Ezek 32:2“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.’
- Isa 23:4Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men or brought up young women.”
- Ezek 27:2–36“Now you, son of man, take up a lament for Tyre.
- Ezek 32:16This is the lament they will chant for her; the daughters of the nations will chant it. Over Egypt and all her multitudes they will chant it, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Ezek 19:14Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”
- Rev 18:9–10Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.
- Rev 18:16–19saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
- Zeph 2:15This carefree city that dwells securely, that thinks to herself: “I am it, and there is none besides me,” what a ruin she has become, a resting place for beasts. Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.
- Obad 1:5“If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, how you will be ruined—would they not steal only what they wanted? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings?
- Jer 6:26O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
- Ezek 28:2–10“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.
- 2 Sam 1:19“Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen!
- Lam 1:1How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a widow. The princess of the provinces has become a slave.
- Ezek 28:12–19“Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
- Joel 1:18How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
- Mic 2:4In that day they will take up a proverb against you and taunt you with this bitter lamentation: ‘We are utterly ruined! He has changed the portion of my people. How He has removed it from me! He has allotted our fields to traitors.’”
- Josh 19:29The border then turned back toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Achzib,
- Jer 7:29Cut off your hair and throw it away. Raise up a lamentation on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’
- Jer 9:20Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD. Open your ears to the word of His mouth. Teach your daughters to wail, and one another to lament.
- Isa 23:8Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth?
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 26:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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