Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 27:33

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Mourning for Tyre (27:1-36)

This chapter continues the theme of Tyre’s overthrow. It is in the form of a funeral song that Tyre’s trading partners sing as they mourn the city’s death (27:1-2).
The song begins by recalling the glory of Tyre’s past. The prosperous commercial city is likened to a magnificent merchant ship, beautifully made from best quality materials taken from all parts of the trading world. Her planks, masts, oars and decking were made of the best timbers, her sails from the finest linen, her colours of the most expensive dyes (3-7). The oarsmen, sailors and craftsmen who made up her crew were highly skilled men drawn from many countries (8-9).
Tyre’s prosperity appeared to be secure, for the city was well defended by an army of hired soldiers chosen from many countries (10-11). The city’s commercial strength was unequalled. Countries from the west to the east, from the north to the south, traded with Tyre. The trade covered an enormous range of merchandise, from minerals to animals, from spices to slaves (12-24).
However, Tyre’s great commercial enterprise brought with it great danger. The ship became overloaded and, when caught in a storm at sea, sank. All its merchandise was lost and all its crew drowned (25-27). All Tyre’s trading partners now mourn its loss (28-31), though their mourning is as much out of pity for themselves as out of pity for Tyre. The chief reason for their sorrow is that, with the loss of Tyre, they have lost the trading partner who, more than any other, has been the source of their wealth (32-36).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, Who is there like Tyre, like her that is brought to silence in the midst of the seas? When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many peoples; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise. In the time when thou wast broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all thy company did fall in the midst of thee. All the inhabitants of the isles are astonished at thee, and their kings are horribly afraid; they are troubled in their countenance. The merchants among the peoples hiss at thee; thou art become a terror, and thou shalt never more have any being."

All lamentation and weeping eventually give way to the spoken word; and "What city is like Tyre? What parallel in history can be found, either for her magnificence or her dramatic fall."E. H. Plumptre in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 90.

The fall of every great wicked city in the history of mankind always came at the very height of the city's power and glory; all such events were usually considered to be impossible, and they all came suddenly and dramatically.

"The record of Tyre has a peculiar relevance for our day. The areas in which Tyre excelled were the very areas where all the nations of our own times are striving for superiority. The message of Tyre for us is: that riches without God are unable to satisfy the heart."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Moody Press), p 157.

The type of material prosperity that Tyre achieved led them to develop an arrogant and conceited pride, of which God Himself has said, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). Pride also interferes with men's depending upon and trusting in God. "Has not this spirit invaded the church, and does it not appear in the lives of many Christians?"Ibid.

Speaking of the shock which the fall of Tyre brought to the ancient world, Howie said that, "The psychological shock was almost too much for the ancient world to bear."Carl G. Howie in the Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 61.

"The merchants of the peoples hiss at thee" How fickle are the people of mankind! The same mob that shouted Hosannas for Jesus on Sunday, also shouted `Let him be crucified' on Friday! Tyre was the most popular nation on earth; but the very merchants who were delighted to be "her traffickers" are here revealed as "hissing at their former leader." "They totally disowned her; they hissed at her in a derogatory manner, perhaps thinking thereby to gain favor with the Babylonians."RHA, p. 879.

Some have misunderstood the prophecy as claiming that the fall of Tyre would come in the near future from the times of Ezekiel, pointing out that Tyre was still an important city centuries later during the times of Alexander the Great. See our discussion of this earlier in the chapter. We wish to observe here that, as regards that world-wide network of commercial subordinates, the 13-year siege of Nebuchadnezzar ended that in the matter of only a few weeks after these lines were written by Ezekiel. No world commerce whatever went on with Tyre during the siege! The glory of that indeed "nevermore returned."

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 27

So the word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation ( Ezekiel 27:1-2 )

This is a wailing, a cry for Tyrus. This is lamenting the destruction that is come.

And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate [or situated] at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people of many coasts, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty ( Ezekiel 27:3 ).

Now, the city of Tyre is in the first part of chapter 27 likened unto one of the ships of Tyre. And the city was the perfection of beauty. It was a very extremely... of course, the Mediterranean area there is just beautiful anyhow. It's just a glorious area along the Mediterranean. The weather is just ideal. It has an ideal year-round type of a climate. And the island just there in the sea was no doubt extremely beautiful, and there was so much wealth that the homes and all were no doubt just luxurious. So he likens it unto a beautiful ship of Tyrus.

Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee. Of the oaks of Bashan have they made your oars; the company of the Ashurites have made your benches of ivory ( Ezekiel 27:4-6 ),

That would be... Ashurites would be Cyprus. And brought out the... I beg your pardon. The isles of Chittim is Cyprus, the coast of Chittim is Cyprus.

and have brought out the isles [or the coasts] of Chittim. Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which you have spread forth to be thy sail; and the blue and the purple from the coast of Elishah was that which covered thee. The inhabitants of Sidon ( Ezekiel 27:6-8 )

Which was a sister city some fifteen miles north, also a seaport.

and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots. The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: and the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise ( Ezekiel 27:8-9 ).

And so all of this merchandise, the ivory, the linens from Egypt with the embroidered work, the furs, the cedars, the oaks and all of the luxury items that were a part of the whole system of Tyrus.

Verse Ezekiel 27:10 :

They of Persia and Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness ( Ezekiel 27:10 ).

So they had a mercenary army from various nations.

The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect. Tarshish [England] was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, and they traded in thy fairs ( Ezekiel 27:11-12 ).

And so the trade fairs that were there.

Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded in slaves and vessels of brass in your markets. And they of the house of Togarmah [the Balkan States] they traded in your fairs with horses, horsemen and mules. And the men of Dedan [down towards Saudi Arabia] were thy merchants; and many coasts were the merchandise in your hand: they brought thee for a present, horns of ivory and ebony. Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate. Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in your market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm. Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool. Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market ( Ezekiel 27:13-19 )

The various spices and all. Actually, if you go through the old city of Jerusalem, walking through the suk, you get somewhat of an idea of what was the ancient Tyre as far as all kinds of merchandise. The white wool coats, and the linens, the embroidered work that you can purchase, the various jewelry stores and the spice stores and the shops. And so in Tyrus was a tremendous commercial center with all of these goods that were brought from all of the areas of the ancient world. And it was sort of a... well, it was sort of a Hong Kong of the ancient world as far as you're able to shop and buy almost anything at great prices. But there was tremendous market there in Tyre. "Dan also, Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia and calamus, were in thy market."

Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots. Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were thy merchants. The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold. Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants. These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise. The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas. Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: but the east wind has broken thee in the midst of the seas ( Ezekiel 27:20-26 ).

The east wind, of course, being Nebuchadnezzar. And this great commercial center broken by Nebuchadnezzar.

Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin. The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots. And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land; And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes: And they shall make themselves ( Ezekiel 27:27-31 )

Now these are the people that have been doing business, the merchants that have lost now this glorious trade center.

And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee ( Ezekiel 27:31 ),

That is, shaving themselves in sorrow.

and gird themselves with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. 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? When thy wares went forth out of the seas, you filled many people; you did enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of your riches and of thy merchandise. And in the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall. All the inhabitants of the coasts shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance. The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never to be any more ( Ezekiel 27:31-36 ).

Now, again, notice the wailing. They'll take up the lamentation, "What city is like Tyrus, like that which has been destroyed?"

In Revelation as the destruction of the commercial Babylon system takes place, it declares again how that, "The kings of the earth," verse Ezekiel 27:9 , "have committed fornication, lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her and lament for her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for fear of the torments saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, the mighty city! For in one hour her judgment is come.' And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buys her merchandise anymore. The merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple silk, scarlet and all thyine wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, all manners of vessels of most precious wood and brass and iron and marble; cinnamon and odors and ointments and frankincense and the fruits of thy soul lust and departs" ( Revelation 18:9-14 ), and so forth. And how that they cry when they see the smoke of the burning and they say, you know, "What city is like this city?"

So it's an interesting parallel between the destruction of Tyrus, which becomes a type of the destruction of the Babylonian commercial system in the last days. And the lamentation is much the same as people mourn for the loss of all of these luxurious goods that were once offered there in the fair, the trade fairs in Tyrus. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The sinking of the great ship 27:25-36

This great ship (commercial empire) was headed for shipwreck.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

They would lament the demise of this great commercial empire regarding it as the mightiest power of its kind on the earth. Thus we have a lamentation within a lamentation (cf. Ezekiel 27:2). Tyre had satisfied the materialistic desires of many nations and kings. These onlookers would wail because Tyre’s "ship" had sunk.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

When thy wares went forth out of the seas,.... When they were took out of ships, which came to Tyre from all parts, and were landed on the shore, and put up in warehouses, and exposed in markets and The Targum is,

"when thy merchandise went out from among the nations;''

being brought from all parts thither:

thou filledst many people; by selling them in their markets commodities they wanted, for which they came from all quarters; and by sending them to others in ships, where they knew they stood in need of them, and would fetch them a good price; and they had enough to answer the demands of all, and to supply them to the full:

thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and pithy merchandise; by taking off the goods of their subjects, whereby they were able the better to pay their taxes, and support them in their grandeur and dignity; as well as by furnishing them gold and silver, and precious stones, which they gave for the produce of their country; or by the toll and custom of the goods imported or exported.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.   27 Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.   28 The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.   29 And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land;   30 And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:   31 And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.   32 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?   33 When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.   34 In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.   35 All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.   36 The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.

      We have seen Tyre flourishing; here we have Tyre falling, and great is the fall of it, so much the greater for its having made such a figure in the world. Note, The most mighty and magnificent kingdoms and states, sooner or later, have their day to come down. They have their period; and, when they are in their zenith, they will begin to decline. But the destruction of Tyre was sudden. Her sun went down at noon. And all her wealth and grandeur, pomp and power, did but aggravate her ruin, and make it the more grievous to herself and astonishing to all about her. Now observe here, 1. How the ruin of Tyrus will be brought about, Ezekiel 27:26; Ezekiel 27:26. She is as a great ship richly laden, that is split or sunk by the indiscretion of her steersmen: Thy rowers have themselves brought thee into great and dangerous waters; the governors of the city, and those that had the management of their public affairs, by some mismanagement or other involved them in that war with the Chaldeans which was the ruin of their state. By their insolence, by some affront given to the Chaldeans or some attempt made upon them, in confidence of their own ability to contend with them, they provoked Nebuchadnezzar to make a descent upon them, and, by their obstinacy in standing it out to the last, enraged him to such a degree that he determined on the ruin of their state, and, like an east wind, broke them in the midst of the seas. Note, It is ill with a people when those that sit at the stern, instead of putting them into the harbour, run them aground. 2. How great and general the ruin will be. All her wealth shall be buried with her, her riches, her fairs, and her merchandise (Ezekiel 27:27; Ezekiel 27:27); all that had any dependence upon her, and dealings with her, in trade, in war, in conversation, shall ball with her into the midst of the seas, in the day of her ruin. Note, Those who make creatures their confidence, place their happiness in their interest in them and rest their hopes upon them, will of course fall with them; happy therefore are those that have the God of Jacob for their help, and whose hope is in the Lord their God, who lives for ever. 3. What sad lamentation would be made for the destruction of Tyre. The pilots, her princes and governors, when they see how wretchedly they have mismanaged and how much they have contributed to their own ruin, shall cry out so loud as to make even the suburbs shake (Ezekiel 27:28; Ezekiel 27:28), such a vexation shall it be to them to reflect upon their own bad conduct. The inferior officers, that were as the mariners of the state, shall be forced to come down from their respective posts (Ezekiel 27:29; Ezekiel 27:29), and they shall cry out against thee, as having deceived them, in not proving so well able to hold out as they thought thou hadst been; they shall cry bitterly for the common ruin, and their own share in it. They shall use all the most solemn expressions of grief; they shall cast dust on their heads, in indignation against themselves, shall wallow themselves in ashes, as having bid a final farewell to all ease and pleasure; they shall make themselves bald (Ezekiel 27:31; Ezekiel 27:31), with tearing their hair; and, according to the custom of great mourners, those shall gird themselves with sackcloth who used to wear find linen, and, instead of merry songs, they shall weep with bitterness of heart. Note, Losses and crosses are very grievous, and hard to be borne, to those that have long been wallowing in pleasure and sleeping in carnal security. 4. How Tyre should be upbraided with her former honour and prosperity (Ezekiel 27:32; Ezekiel 27:33); she that was Tyrus the renowned shall now be called Tyrus the destroyed in the midst of the sea. "What city is like Tyre? Did ever any city come down from such a height of prosperity to such a depth of adversity? Time was when thy wares, those of thy own making and those that passed through thy hands, went forth out of the seas, and were exported to all parts of the world; then thou filledst many people, and didst enrich the kings of the earth and their kingdoms." The Tyrians, though they bore such a sway in trade, were yet, it seems, fair merchants, and let their neighbours not only live, but thrive by them. All that dealt with them were gainers; they did not cheat or oppress the people, but did enrich them with the multitude of their merchandise. "But now those that used to be enriched by thee shall be ruined with thee" (as is usual in trade); "when thou shalt be broken, and all thou hast is seized on, all thy company shall fall too," Ezekiel 27:34; Ezekiel 27:34. There is an end of Tyre, that made such a noise and bustle in the world. This great blaze goes out in a snuff. 5. How the fall of Tyre should be matter of terror to some and laughter to others, according as they were differently interested and affected. Some shall be sorely afraid, and shall be troubled (Ezekiel 27:35; Ezekiel 27:35), concluding it will be their own turn to fall next. Others shall hiss at her (Ezekiel 27:36; Ezekiel 27:36), shall ridicule her pride, and vanity, and bad management, and think her ruin just. She triumphed in Jerusalem's fall, and there are those that will triumph in hers. When God casts his judgments on the sinner men also shall clap their hands at him and shall hiss him out of his place,Job 27:22; Job 27:23. Is this the city which men called the perfection of beauty?