This chapter contains a lamentation on Tyre; setting forth her former grandeur, riches, and commerce; her ruin and destruction; and the concern of others on that account. The prophet is bid to take up his lamentation concerning it, Ezek. 27:1, Ezek.

The word of the Lord came again unto me Upon the same subject, the destruction of Tyre: saying; as follows:

Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus. ] Compose an elegy, and sing it; make a mournful noise, and deliver out a funeral ditty; such as the “praeficae”, or mournful women, made at funerals, in which they said all they could in praise of the dead, and made very doleful lamentations…

And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea Of the Mediterranean sea; at the eastern part of it, not above half a mile from the continent; and so fit for a seaport, and a harbour for shipping; so mystical Tyre sits on many waters, : which art a merchant of the people for…

Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, Fixed by the Lord himself, and which could never be removed. Tyre stood about half a mile from the continent, surrounded with the waters of the sea, till it was made a peninsula by Alexander: thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir The same with Sion and Hermon, which the Sidonians called Sirion, and the Amorites Shenir, here, it seems, grew the best of fir trees, of which the Tyrians made boards and planks for shipping; of these the two sides of the ship, as the word…

Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars To row the ships with; for their ships probably were no other than galleys, which were rowed with oars, as were the ships of first invention. Bashan was a country in Judea where oaks grew; see .

Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt From whence came the finest and whitest linen; and which they embroidered with needlework, which looked very beautiful.

The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners Zidon was a city in Phoenicia, near to Tyre, and older than that, by whose inhabitants it was built; see the notes on (Isa. 23:2, Isa. 23:4) and Arvad was an island in Phoenicia, to the south of Zidon, not far from Tyre. Mr.

The ancients of Gebal A promontory of the Phoenicians, the same with the Gabale of Pliny [[12]], and with the land of the Giblites, . It was by the Greeks called Byblus; and so the Septuagint here render the words, the elders of Bybli or Byblus, a place once famous for the birth and temple of…

They of Persia, and of Lud, and of Phut, were in thine army, thy men of war As the Tryrians were a trading people, they hired foreign troops into their service, to fill their garrisons, defend their city, and fight for them in time of war; and these were of various nations, and the most famous for…

The men of Arvad, with thine army were upon thy walls round about Placed there for the defence of the city, to watch against an enemy, lest it should be surprised; here they were upon the patrol day and night; see , these were the men of the same place before mentioned, which furnished Tyre both…

Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches Some understand this of the sea, which is sometimes called Tarshish; so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it here: and the Targum, “from the sea, or they of the sea bring merchandise into the midst of thee:” that is, those who…

Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants Javan designs Greece, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it; especially that part of it called Ionia, from Javan the son of Japheth, and Tubal, and Meshech, were also sons of Japheth; the former are the Iberi and Albanians, as…

They of the house of Togarmah The Targum is, “they of the province or country of Germany.” Jerom understands it of Phrygia, near to which was Cappadocia; and perhaps is here meant, since it abounded with what these people are said to trade with Tyre in: these traded in thy fairs with horses,…

The men of Dedan were thy merchants Not Dedan in Idumea or Edom, but in Arabia, from Dedan the son of Raamah, : many isles were the merchandise of thine hands; that is, many isles took off their manufactures from them, in lieu of what they brought them, which were as follow: they brought thee for a…

Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making Which they took off of their hands, and for them brought the following things: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds; precious stones of a green colour: Jarchi renders it “carbuncles”, other precious stones of a…

Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants The inhabitants of Judah and Israel; the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the other ten tribes of Israel, they all merchandised with the Tyrians, being near unto them: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith; the name of a place, ,…

Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making Of the many things manufactured at Tyre, the inhabitants of Damascus, once the chief city of Syria, took some: for the multitude of all riches: in lieu of the vast quantity of rich things there made, they traded with them for…

Dan also and Javan, going to and fro, occupied in thy fairs, &c.] Either the inhabitants of the tribe of Dan in general; or of Laish, sometime called Dan, and in later times Caesarea Philippi, which was in that tribe: though Grotius thinks that Taprobane, or the isle of Zeilan, is meant, where, and…

Dedan was thy merchant in precious cloths for chariots. ] Or, “cloths of freedom” [[19]]; such as freemen and even nobles wore; and yet so extravagant were the Tyrians, that they bought these to line or cover their chariots with; this is different from the Dedan in , and is either Dedan in Edom or…

Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar Arabia was a large country, divided into three parts, Arabia Deserts, or the desert; Arabia Petraea, or the rocky; and Arabia Felix, or the happy.

The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants, &c.] This Sheba was the son of Raamah, who settled in Arabia Felix; where, according to Ptolemy [[22]], is a city called Rhegma; and so Raamah is pronounced in the Septuagint version of : they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all…

Haran, and Canneh, and Eden Haran was a city of Mesopotamia, the same with Haran, where Abraham dwelt awhile, , the Charrae of the Parthians, famous for the defeat of Crassus.

These were thy merchants in all sorts of things Either all before mentioned throughout the chapter, or rather those only in the preceding verse; also these were merchants in various things after mentioned, and which were the best and most perfect of the kind, as the word [[3]] used signifies: in…

The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in market The ships of the sea in general; for Tarshish is used for the sea; these from all parts came to Tyre with their several wares, the product of their country from whence they came, and, finding a good market for them at Tyre, spoke greatly in her…

Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters Here the city of Tyre is compared to a vessel at sea, with great propriety, it being built in the sea, and its trade chiefly there; and its rulers and governors, or the inhabitants of it, to rowers; literally the men of Zidon and Arvad were her rowers,…

Thy riches That vast mass of wealth Tyre had got by her trade and merchandise, were all lost, at once, and came to nought, which had been many years gathering; see : and thy fairs; to which there were such great resorts from all parts, and where such a prodigious traffic was carried on, were now…

The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots. ] Or governors, as the Targum; and so the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions: the allegory of a ship wrecked is still continued: the sense is, that such should be the cry of the principal men of the city when it should be…

And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea Inferior officers, and the common people; though this may be literally understood of all sorts of seafaring people, differently employed in ships; some at the oar; some at the sails; and others at the helm; but all shall quit…

And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee The rulers and governors of the city, for having taken a false step in provoking the enemy, and then holding out the siege no longer, as it was thought they might and would: or rather “over thee”, or, “for thee” [[7]]; mourning over the city, and…

And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee Either by shaving their heads, or tearing off their hair, as mourners in distress have been used to do: and gird them with sackcloth; about their loins, as was very customary in such distressed cases: and they shall weep for thee with bitterness…

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?…

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…

In the time when thou shall be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters. &c.] By the Chaldean army, which came upon them like the waves of the sea, by which they were overpowered and destroyed; just as a ship on the mighty waters is dashed and broke to pieces by the waves thereof: thy…

All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, &c.] Both near and afar off; and not only the inhabitants of the isles, properly so called, but all that dwelt on the continent by the seaside; who would all be amazed when they heard of the ruin of Tyro, which they thought inexpugnable,…

The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee As Tyre had done at Jerusalem, as she hoped to make better markets upon the fall of Jerusalem, and therefore rejoiced at it; so these merchants upon her fall will hope that her trade will come into their hands, and therefore despise her, hiss, and…