Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 27:32
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?
32 36. Lament over Tyre
The lament appears to be in elegiac metre. The word “wailing” is a contracted form (ni = nehi).
What city] Rather: who is like Tyre.
like the destroyed ] The form is very obscure, but nothing better has been proposed.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 32. What city is like Tyrus] This, to the end of the chapter, is the lamentation.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In their wailing; in their sorrowful speeches of Tyre. Shall take up into their mouths, or with a composed, significant, and comprehensive form of speech, to show much grief in few words.
What city is like Tyrus? a few years since no city like her in beauty, riches, glory, and joy, now none like her in all the contraries.
The destroyed; now no more Tyre the flourishing, the renowned, the mart of nations, and the stately built; but now the destroyed, the silent, overwhelmed with grief, which was full of songs.
In the midst of the sea: alas! what was once her safeguard is now her grave, what enriched her once hath now swallowed all up at once.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
32. take uplift up.
the destroyedadestroyed one. Literally, (as opposed to its previous bustle ofthronging merchants and mariners, Eze27:27), “one brought to death’s stillness.”
in . . . midst of . . .seainsular Tyre.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And in their wailing they shall takes up a lamentation for thee,…. A mournful song, such as was used at funerals, or in times of calamity; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it:
and lament over thee; saying the following ditty;
what city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea? as there was none like it a few years ago for riches, splendour, and glory, so now there is none like it for misery and ruin; see Re 18:18. The Targum is,
“who is as Tyre? there is none like unto her in the midst of the sea;”
she is not now Tyre the renowned, but Tyre the destroyed; destroyed in the midst of the sea, from whence she had her riches and her glory: or, “as one dumb or silent in the midst of the sea”; she, in whom was heard the voice of joy and singing, is now mute, and nothing more of that kind is heard in her see Re 18:22.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Eze 27:32. What city is like Tyrus, &c. What city was like Tyre, throughout the seas. Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 27:32 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?
Ver. 32. What city. ] An elegant mimesis.
Like the destroyed.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
they. Some codices, with two early printed editions, Septuagint, and Syriac, read “their sons”. the destroyed: or, the silent one.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eze 27:32-36
Eze 27:32-36
“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.
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.
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” (Pro 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?
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.
“The merchants of the peoples hiss at thee …” (Eze 27:36). 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.
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.”
Prophecies against Tyre and Sidon – Eze 27:1 to Eze 28:26
Open It
1. For what era in the past do you feel nostalgic? Why?
2. What do you consider the most beautiful city you have ever visited?
3. What do you consider to be an ideal relationship with your neighbors?
Explore It
4. For what city outside of Israel did God instruct Ezekiel to “take up a lament”? (Eze 27:1-2)
5. With what riches and skills was Tyre generously endowed? (Eze 27:3-9)
6. From what countries did some of Tyres soldiers hail? (Eze 27:10-11)
7. What were some of the exotic products that were traded through Tyre? (Eze 27:12-24)
8. What disaster did Ezekiel predict would bring an end to Tyre? (Eze 27:25-36)
9. To whom was Ezekiel instructed to speak Gods Word? (Eze 28:1-2)
10. What chain of events brought the ruler of Tyre to his current estimation of himself? (Eze 28:2-5)
11. What judgment did God declare for the ruler who thought of himself as a god? (Eze 28:6-10)
12. What were some of the glories of Tyre for which people would mourn? (Eze 28:11-14)
13. What “before” and “after” pictures are presented of the character of the king of Tyre? (Eze 28:15-19)
14. What other trading kingdom besides Tyre was to come under Gods judgment? (Eze 28:20-24)
15. What reversal of fortunes would eventually take place between Israel and her neighbors? (Eze 28:25-26)
Get It
16. How would you characterize a person with the description Ezekiel gives of Tyres former “model” state?
17. What do you suppose is meant by the title of “guardian cherub” used to describe Tyre?
18. In what ways can Gods punishment of an individual or society influence the attitudes and actions of those who observe?
19. What choice do we have about how we view our prosperity?
In what way does pride separate us from God?
Apply It
20. What test can you devise to determine whether the good gifts God has given you are being used to His glory?
21. What blessing might become a temptation to seek security outside of God alone?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
take up: Eze 27:2, Eze 26:17
What city: Lam 1:12, Lam 2:13, Rev 18:18
the destroyed: Eze 27:26, Eze 26:4, Eze 26:5
Reciprocal: Eze 26:3 – as the sea Eze 27:30 – shall cause Eze 28:12 – take up Eze 32:2 – take up
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 27:32, This verse is all literal, even the reference to the sea, since the city of Tyrus was finally situated on an Island half a mile out into the sea.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
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. Eze 27:2). Tyre had satisfied the materialistic desires of many nations and kings. These onlookers would wail because Tyre’s "ship" had sunk.