Ezekiel 27 Study Notes: Funeral Song for Tyre the Great Ship
Ezekiel is told to sing a funeral song for Tyre, picturing the proud trading city as a magnificent ship built from the finest materials and loaded with the wealth of many nations. An east wind wrecks it at sea, and sailors mourn bitterly while coastal kings shudder as it sinks for good.
General
In the lament, what wrecks the ship that pictures Tyre (Ezekiel 27:26-27)?
Answer: The east wind breaks it apart on the open sea
Tyre’s own oarsmen rowed the ship out into deep water, and there the east wind smashed it far from land (27:26). Everything on board went down together: its wealth and goods, its sailors, captains, and repairers, its merchants and soldiers, and all its people, when it fell (27:27). The very riches that made the ship great sank with it. A psalm praises God for wrecking great trading ships with an east wind (Psalm 48:7), and another says that storms at sea rise at His word (Psalm 107:25). Proverbs teaches that riches are no help when God’s wrath comes (Proverbs 11:4). God rules the wind, and He can bring down what looked unsinkable.
- Ezekiel 27:26 (BSB)“Your oarsmen have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind will shatter you in the heart of the sea.”Tyre’s own rowers take the ship out to deep water, where the east wind breaks it.
- Ezekiel 27:27 (BSB)“Your wealth, wares, and merchandise, your sailors, captains, and shipwrights, your merchants and all the warriors within you, with all the other people on board, will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your downfall.”Everything and everyone aboard goes down together on the day the ship is lost.
- Psalm 48:7 (BSB)“With a wind from the east You wrecked the ships of Tarshish.”A psalm praises God for wrecking great trading ships with an east wind.
- Psalm 107:25 (BSB)“For He spoke and raised a tempest that lifted the waves of the sea.”Storms at sea rise at God’s command.
- Proverbs 11:4 (BSB)“Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.”Wealth cannot rescue anyone when God’s wrath arrives.
Theological
According to the lament, what destroys the ship that represents Tyre (Ezekiel 27:26-27)?
Answer: The east wind breaks it apart on the open sea
Tyre’s own rowers bring the vessel out into deep water, where the east wind shatters it far from shore (27:26). The loss is total: wealth, wares, sailors, captains, shipwrights, merchants, soldiers, and every person aboard sink together in its ruin (27:27). The cargo that constituted its greatness is precisely what goes down with it. A psalm credits God with wrecking great trading fleets by the east wind (Psalm 48:7), and another ascribes the raising of storms at sea to His command (Psalm 107:25). Proverbs states the principle: riches avail nothing when God’s wrath arrives (Proverbs 11:4). What seemed unsinkable lies under the sovereign hand that governs wind and wave.
- Ezekiel 27:26 (BSB)“Your oarsmen have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind will shatter you in the heart of the sea.”Tyre’s own rowers take the ship out to deep water, where the east wind breaks it.
- Ezekiel 27:27 (BSB)“Your wealth, wares, and merchandise, your sailors, captains, and shipwrights, your merchants and all the warriors within you, with all the other people on board, will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your downfall.”Everything and everyone aboard goes down together on the day the ship is lost.
- Psalm 48:7 (BSB)“With a wind from the east You wrecked the ships of Tarshish.”A psalm praises God for wrecking great trading ships with an east wind.
- Psalm 107:25 (BSB)“For He spoke and raised a tempest that lifted the waves of the sea.”Storms at sea rise at God’s command.
- Proverbs 11:4 (BSB)“Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.”Wealth cannot rescue anyone when God’s wrath arrives.
General
How do the sailors and sea captains respond when the ship sinks (Ezekiel 27:28-32)?
Answer: They weep bitterly and put on the signs of mourning
The countryside shakes at the sailors’ cries. Everyone who works the oars leaves the ships, and the sailors and captains gather on the beach and cry out in grief. They toss dust over their heads, roll in ashes, shave their heads, put on sackcloth (rough cloth worn in grief), and weep with deep anguish (27:28-31). Then they sing their own lament, asking whether any city had ever matched Tyre, now silenced out at sea (27:32). Their song recalls how Tyre’s trade had made kings rich (27:33), so its loss was their loss too. The coastal princes had already been pictured mourning Tyre (26:17). Revelation gives a related picture: sailors and ship captains stand far off, mourn, and grieve over a fallen city that had made them rich (Revelation 18:17-19).
- Ezekiel 27:28-30 (BSB)“The countryside will shake when your sailors cry out. All who handle the oars will abandon their ships. The sailors and all the captains of the sea will stand on the shore. They will raise their voices for you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.”The sailors leave their ships, gather on the shore, and cry out in grief.
- Ezekiel 27:31-32 (BSB)“They will shave their heads for you and wrap themselves in sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and bitter mourning. 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?”They shave their heads, wear sackcloth, and raise their own lament over Tyre.
- Ezekiel 26:17 (BSB)“Then 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!”The coastal princes had already been pictured mourning the once-mighty sea city.
- Revelation 18:17-19 (BSB)“For in a single hour such fabulous wealth has been destroyed!” Every shipmaster, passenger, and sailor, and all who make their living from the sea, will stand at a distance and 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. Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been destroyed.””Revelation gives a related picture of seafarers grieving over a fallen city whose wealth had made them rich.
Theological
What response of the mariners does the lament describe at the ship’s sinking (Ezekiel 27:28-32)?
Answer: They weep bitterly and put on the signs of mourning
The mariners’ cries make the countryside shake. The rowers abandon their vessels, and sailors and pilots gather on the beach in loud grief, with dust tossed over their heads, rolling in ashes, shaved heads, sackcloth, and bitter weeping (27:28-31). They then raise their own dirge, asking whether any city had ever matched Tyre, now silenced out at sea (27:32). Their grief is bound up with their own loss, for Tyre’s commerce had enriched kings and nations (27:33). The coastal princes had already been pictured lamenting the city (26:17). Revelation offers a related image of shipmasters and sailors standing far off, mourning a fallen city whose wealth had enriched them (Revelation 18:17-19).
- Ezekiel 27:28-30 (BSB)“The countryside will shake when your sailors cry out. All who handle the oars will abandon their ships. The sailors and all the captains of the sea will stand on the shore. They will raise their voices for you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.”The sailors leave their ships, gather on the shore, and cry out in grief.
- Ezekiel 27:31-32 (BSB)“They will shave their heads for you and wrap themselves in sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and bitter mourning. 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?”They shave their heads, wear sackcloth, and raise their own lament over Tyre.
- Ezekiel 26:17 (BSB)“Then 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!”The coastal princes had already been pictured mourning the once-mighty sea city.
- Revelation 18:17-19 (BSB)“For in a single hour such fabulous wealth has been destroyed!” Every shipmaster, passenger, and sailor, and all who make their living from the sea, will stand at a distance and 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. Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been destroyed.””Revelation gives a related picture of seafarers grieving over a fallen city whose wealth had made them rich.
General
What boast of Tyre does the LORD quote at the start of the lament (Ezekiel 27:3)?
Answer: That its beauty was perfect and complete
God told Ezekiel to sing a lament, a funeral song, over Tyre, the merchant city on the sea’s edge that traded with many coastal peoples (27:2-3). The lament begins by quoting Tyre’s own boast that its beauty was perfect (27:3). Its builders had indeed made it splendid (27:4), but the boast shows Tyre resting its confidence in that splendor. In the next chapter God says the king of Tyre grew proud because of his beauty (28:17). Proverbs teaches that pride leads to ruin (Proverbs 16:18), and James says that God sets Himself against the proud and shows favor to the humble (James 4:6). Tyre’s boast is the first sign of the fall the lament goes on to describe.
- Ezekiel 27:2-3 (BSB)““Now you, son of man, take up a lament for Tyre. Tell Tyre, who dwells at the gateway to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coasts, that this is what the Lord GOD says: You have said, O Tyre, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’”Ezekiel is told to lament over Tyre, and the lament opens by quoting the city’s boast about its beauty.
- Ezekiel 27:4 (BSB)“Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders perfected your beauty.”Tyre’s builders had in fact made it splendid.
- Ezekiel 28:17 (BSB)“Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.”In the next chapter the king of Tyre is judged because his beauty made his heart proud.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Proverbs teaches that arrogance leads straight to ruin.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””James cites Scripture to show that God sets Himself against the proud and favors the humble.
Theological
Which self-assessment of Tyre does the LORD cite at the opening of the lament (Ezekiel 27:3)?
Answer: That its beauty was perfect and complete
The lament, a formal dirge Ezekiel is commanded to raise over the merchant city that traded with many coastal peoples (27:2-3), opens with Tyre’s own self-assessment: its beauty is perfect (27:3). The claim had a basis, since its builders had made it splendid (27:4), but the boast shows Tyre resting its confidence in that splendor. The following chapter identifies the same sin in the king of Tyre, whose beauty made his heart proud (28:17). Proverbs links arrogance and ruin (Proverbs 16:18), and James, citing Scripture, states that God sets Himself against the proud while favoring the humble (James 4:6). The boast stands at the head of the lament, ahead of the shipwreck that follows.
- Ezekiel 27:2-3 (BSB)““Now you, son of man, take up a lament for Tyre. Tell Tyre, who dwells at the gateway to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coasts, that this is what the Lord GOD says: You have said, O Tyre, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’”Ezekiel is told to lament over Tyre, and the lament opens by quoting the city’s boast about its beauty.
- Ezekiel 27:4 (BSB)“Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders perfected your beauty.”Tyre’s builders had in fact made it splendid.
- Ezekiel 28:17 (BSB)“Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.”In the next chapter the king of Tyre is judged because his beauty made his heart proud.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Proverbs teaches that arrogance leads straight to ruin.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””James cites Scripture to show that God sets Himself against the proud and favors the humble.
General
True or False: The sailors’ lament ends with the hope that Tyre will one day rise again from the sea (Ezekiel 27:33-36).
Answer: False
This is false. The lament remembers how Tyre’s trade once satisfied many nations and made kings rich (27:33). But now Tyre has been broken by the seas and lies in the deep waters, with all its goods and people gone down with it (27:34). The coastlands are horrified, their kings shake with fear, and traders hiss at it. The lament ends by saying Tyre has come to a terrible end and is gone forever (27:35-36). Wealth that once seemed endless could not keep Tyre afloat. A psalm warns that those who trust in their riches still cannot pay God a ransom for a life (Psalm 49:6-7), and Paul tells the rich to set their hope on God, not on wealth that can vanish (1 Timothy 6:17). Jesus told of a rich man whom God called a fool, and warned that the same end awaits all who hoard riches for their own sake while poor toward God (Luke 12:20-21).
- Ezekiel 27:33-34 (BSB)“When your wares went out to sea, you satisfied many nations. You enriched the kings of the earth with your abundant wealth and merchandise. Now you are shattered by the seas in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and the people among you have gone down with you.”The lament recalls how Tyre once enriched nations and kings, but now it lies broken in the deep.
- Ezekiel 27:35-36 (BSB)“All the people of the coastlands are appalled over you. Their kings shudder with fear; their faces are contorted. Those who trade among the nations hiss at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’””The coastlands and their kings are horrified, and the lament closes with Tyre’s final end.
- Psalm 49:6-7 (BSB)“They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches. No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.”Wealth that people boast in cannot buy back a single life from God.
- 1 Timothy 6:17 (BSB)“Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.”Paul tells the rich to hope in God rather than in wealth, which is never certain.
- Luke 12:20-21 (BSB)“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.””Jesus warns that hoarding wealth for oneself while being poor toward God ends in loss.
Theological
True or False: The mariners’ lament closes by anticipating Tyre’s eventual rise from the sea (Ezekiel 27:33-36).
Answer: False
This is false. The dirge recalls Tyre’s former role in satisfying nations and enriching kings through its commerce (27:33), then sets beside it the present reality: broken by the seas, its wares and people sunk with it (27:34). The coastal peoples are horrified, kings shudder, traders hiss, and the lament ends on finality, not hope: a terrible end, and Tyre gone forever (27:35-36). The structure exposes the impotence of wealth in the face of divine judgment. The psalmist observes that those who trust in riches cannot ransom a life from God (Psalm 49:6-7); Paul directs the rich to set their hope on God rather than on uncertain wealth (1 Timothy 6:17); and in Jesus’ parable God calls the hoarder a fool, a verdict Jesus extends to all who store up for themselves yet are poor toward God (Luke 12:20-21).
- Ezekiel 27:33-34 (BSB)“When your wares went out to sea, you satisfied many nations. You enriched the kings of the earth with your abundant wealth and merchandise. Now you are shattered by the seas in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and the people among you have gone down with you.”The lament recalls how Tyre once enriched nations and kings, but now it lies broken in the deep.
- Ezekiel 27:35-36 (BSB)“All the people of the coastlands are appalled over you. Their kings shudder with fear; their faces are contorted. Those who trade among the nations hiss at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’””The coastlands and their kings are horrified, and the lament closes with Tyre’s final end.
- Psalm 49:6-7 (BSB)“They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches. No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.”Wealth that people boast in cannot buy back a single life from God.
- 1 Timothy 6:17 (BSB)“Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.”Paul tells the rich to hope in God rather than in wealth, which is never certain.
- Luke 12:20-21 (BSB)“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.””Jesus warns that hoarding wealth for oneself while being poor toward God ends in loss.
General
In the lament, what picture does the LORD use for Tyre (Ezekiel 27:4-9)?
Answer: A splendid ship built from the finest materials
The lament pictures Tyre as a magnificent ship. Its builders used the best timber for its planks, mast, oars, and deck, fine embroidered linen for its sail, and rich colored cloth for its awning; skilled crews rowed it, steered it, and kept it in repair (27:4-9). Ships and sailors from everywhere came alongside to trade with it, and soldiers from many lands added to its splendor (27:10-11). A wide trading network filled it with wealth until it sat heavy in the sea (27:12-25). The picture fits a city whose whole life was the sea and its commerce. The lament describes this glory at length before telling of its sinking. Isaiah says a day is coming when the LORD will humble all that is proud and lofty, including every grand ship (Isaiah 2:12, 16).
- Ezekiel 27:4-6 (BSB)“Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders perfected your beauty. They constructed all your planking with cypress from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you. Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of wood from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.”Tyre is pictured as a vessel whose planks, mast, oars, and deck come from the choicest woods.
- Ezekiel 27:7-8 (BSB)“Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning. The men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen. Your men of skill, O Tyre, were there as your captains.”Its sail and awning are made of costly cloth, and skilled crews row and steer it.
- Ezekiel 27:25 (BSB)“The ships of Tarshish carried your merchandise. And you were filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea.”Loaded with the goods of its many trading partners, the ship sits heavy in the open sea.
- Isaiah 2:12 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—”Isaiah warns of a coming day when the LORD will bring low everything proud and exalted.
- Isaiah 2:16 (BSB)“against every ship of Tarshish, and against every stately vessel.”Among the lofty things God will bring low, Isaiah names the great seagoing trading ships and every splendid vessel.
Theological
Under what image does the lament portray Tyre (Ezekiel 27:4-9)?
Answer: A splendid ship built from the finest materials
The lament renders Tyre as a magnificent merchant vessel: choice timbers for its planking, mast, oars, and deck, embroidered linen for its sail, costly colored cloth for its awning, and expert crews to row, steer, and repair it (27:4-9). Seafarers from every quarter come alongside to trade, foreign soldiers lend it splendor (27:10-11), and an extensive trading network loads it heavily on the open sea (27:12-25). The image suits a city whose existence was maritime commerce, and the lament lingers over its glory before narrating its loss. Isaiah sets the same kind of proud vessel under the coming day in which the LORD humbles everything lofty, every ship of trade among them (Isaiah 2:12, 16).
- Ezekiel 27:4-6 (BSB)“Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders perfected your beauty. They constructed all your planking with cypress from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you. Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of wood from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.”Tyre is pictured as a vessel whose planks, mast, oars, and deck come from the choicest woods.
- Ezekiel 27:7-8 (BSB)“Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning. The men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen. Your men of skill, O Tyre, were there as your captains.”Its sail and awning are made of costly cloth, and skilled crews row and steer it.
- Ezekiel 27:25 (BSB)“The ships of Tarshish carried your merchandise. And you were filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea.”Loaded with the goods of its many trading partners, the ship sits heavy in the open sea.
- Isaiah 2:12 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—”Isaiah warns of a coming day when the LORD will bring low everything proud and exalted.
- Isaiah 2:16 (BSB)“against every ship of Tarshish, and against every stately vessel.”Among the lofty things God will bring low, Isaiah names the great seagoing trading ships and every splendid vessel.