They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock.
Parallel translations
- WEB They shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock.
- KJV And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
- NKJV And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
- NASB They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down her towers; and I will sweep her debris away from her and make her a bare rock.
- NLT They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down its towers. I will scrape away its soil and make it a bare rock!
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
Tyre's walls and towers will be destroyed and her very dust scraped away, leaving bare rock. It pictures the completeness of God's promised judgment.
Overview
Scraping away the dust to expose bare rock conveys total devastation, stripping the city to its foundations. Such thoroughness underscores that no fortification withstands the Lord's decree. The vivid finality here heightens the contrast with God's enduring city, the heavenly Jerusalem, which cannot be shaken.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 23:11The LORD has stretched out His hand over the sea; He has made kingdoms tremble. He has given a command that the strongholds of Canaan be destroyed.
- Amos 1:10So I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre to consume its citadels.”
- Ezek 26:9He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his axes.
- Lev 14:41–45And he shall have the inside of the house scraped completely and the plaster that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the city.
- Jer 5:10Go up through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not finish them off. Strip off her branches, for they do not belong to the LORD.
- Ezek 24:7–8For the blood she shed is still within her; she poured it out on the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust.
- Zech 9:3Tyre has built herself a fortress; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets.
- Ezek 26:12They will plunder your wealth and pillage your merchandise. They will demolish your walls, tear down your beautiful homes, and throw your stones and timber and soil into the water.
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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 26:4 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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