As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament for you: ‘Who was ever like Tyre, silenced in the middle of the sea?
Parallel translations
- WEB In their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you, saying, Who is there like Tyre, like her who is brought to silence in the middle of the sea?
- KJV And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?
- NKJV In their wailing for you They will take up a lamentation, And lament for you: ‘What city is like Tyre, Destroyed in the midst of the sea?
- NASB “Moreover, in their wailing they will take up a song of mourning for you And sing a song of mourning over you: ‘Who is like Tyre, Like her who is silent in the midst of the sea?
- NLT As they wail and mourn over you, they sing this sad funeral song: ‘Was there ever such a city as Tyre, now silent at the bottom of the sea?
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
In their wailing they ask, 'Who is like Tyre, brought to silence in the sea?' It crowns the lament with astonishment at her fall.
Overview
The rhetorical question 'Who is there like Tyre?' once expressed her unrivaled glory; now it marks the wonder of her unparalleled ruin. The once-bustling city is 'brought to silence' in the depths. This reversal of a boast into a dirge powerfully illustrates how God humbles the proud and silences every rival to His glory.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ezek 26:17Then 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!
- Ezek 27:2“Now you, son of man, take up a lament for Tyre.
- Rev 18:18and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.
- Lam 2:13What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can ever heal you?
- Ezek 26:4–5They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock.
- Lam 1:12Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see! Is there any sorrow like mine, which was inflicted on me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day of His fierce anger?
- Ezek 27:26Your oarsmen have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind will shatter you in the heart of the sea.
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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.
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Original language
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