and tell Tyre, ‘You who dwell at the entry of the sea, who are the merchant of the peoples to many islands, the Lord Yahweh says: “You, Tyre, have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
Parallel Translations
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and tell Tyre, ‘You who dwell at the entry of the sea, who are the merchant of the peoples to many islands, the Lord Yahweh says: “You, Tyre, have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
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And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.
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and say unto Tyre, that dwelleth at the entry of the sea, that is the merchant of the peoples unto many isles: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Thou, O Tyre, hast said: I am of perfect beauty.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Ezekiel 27:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezekiel 27:4 Your borders are in the heart of the seas. Your builders have perfected your beauty.
- Psalms 50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines out.
- Isaiah 23:2-3 Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you whom the merchants of Sidon that pass over the sea, have replenished. On great waters, the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue. She was the market of nations.
- Isaiah 23:8-9 Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honorable of the earth? Yahweh of Armies has planned it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
- Isaiah 23:11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea. He has shaken the kingdoms. Yahweh has ordered the destruction of Canaan’s strongholds.
- Ezekiel 26:17 They will take up a lamentation over you, and tell you, “How you are destroyed, who were inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, who was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who caused their terror to be on all who lived there!”
- Ezekiel 27:10-36 “ ‘ “Persia, Lud, and Put were in your army, your men of war. They hung the shield and helmet in you. They showed your beauty. The men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around, and valiant men were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around. They have perfected your beauty. “ ‘ “Tarshish was your merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches. They traded for your wares with silver, iron, tin, and lead. “ ‘ “Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They traded the persons of men and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. “ ‘ “They of the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, war horses, and mules. “ ‘ “The men of Dedan traded with you. Many islands were the market of your hand. They brought you horns of ivory and ebony in exchange. “ ‘ “Syria was your merchant by reason of the multitude of your handiworks. They traded for your wares with emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies. “ ‘ “Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded wheat of Minnith, confections, honey, oil, and balm for your merchandise. “ ‘ “Damascus was your merchant for the multitude of your handiworks, by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches, with the wine of Helbon, and white wool. “ ‘ “Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for your wares: bright iron, cassia, and calamus were among your merchandise. “ ‘ “Dedan was your trafficker in precious cloths for riding. “ ‘ “Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar were the merchants of your hand; in lambs, rams, and goats. In these, they were your merchants. “ ‘ “The traders of Sheba and Raamah were your traders. They traded for your wares with the chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold. “ ‘ “Haran, Canneh, and Eden, the traders of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad, were your traders. These were your traders in choice wares, in wrappings of blue and embroidered work, and in chests of rich clothing, bound with cords and made of cedar, among your merchandise. “ ‘ “The ships of Tarshish were your caravans for your merchandise. You were replenished and made very glorious in the heart of the seas. Your rowers have brought you into great waters. The east wind has broken you in the heart of the seas. Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners, your pilots, your repairers of ship seams, the dealers in your merchandise, and all your men of war, who are in you, with all your company which is among you, will fall into the heart of the seas in the day of your ruin. At the sound of the cry of your pilots, the pasture lands will shake. All who handle the oars, the mariners and all the pilots of the sea, will come down from their ships. They will stand on the land, and will cause their voice to be heard over you, and will cry bitterly. They will cast up dust on their heads. They will wallow in the ashes. They will make themselves bald for you, and clothe themselves with sackcloth. They will weep for you in bitterness of soul, with bitter mourning. In their wailing they will 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?’ When your wares went out of the seas, you filled many peoples. You enriched the kings of the earth with the multitude of your riches and of your merchandise. In the time that you were broken by the seas, in the depths of the waters, your merchandise and all your company fell within you. All the inhabitants of the islands are astonished at you, and their kings are horribly afraid. They are troubled in their face. The merchants among the peoples hiss at you. You have become a terror, and you will be no more.” ’ ”
- Ezekiel 28:2-3 “Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the middle of the seas;’ yet you are man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God— behold, you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is hidden from you;
- Revelation 18:3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury.”
- Revelation 18:11-15 The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more: merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, all expensive wood, every vessel of ivory, every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; and cinnamon, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, sheep, horses, chariots, and people’s bodies and souls. The fruits which your soul lusted after have been lost to you. All things that were dainty and sumptuous have perished from you, and you will find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand far away for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,
- Ezekiel 28:12-17 “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “You were the seal of full measure, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. They were prepared in the day that you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers. Then I set you up on the holy mountain of God. You have walked up and down in the middle of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your commerce, your insides were filled with violence, and you have sinned. Therefore I have cast you as profane out of God’s mountain. I have destroyed you, covering cherub, from the middle of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I have cast you to the ground. I have laid you before kings, that they may see you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which servest all the world with thy merchandise.
Which servest all the world with thy merchandise.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Eze 27:3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that…
Eze 27:3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, [which art] a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I [am] of perfect beauty.
Ver. 3. O thou that art situated at the entry of the sea.] As now the city of Venice is,
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“ Media insuperabilis unda. ”
Environed with her embracing Neptune, to whom (as the ceremony of throwing a ring into the sea implieth, saith one) she marrieth herself with yearly nuptials. But hath she so learned Christ? and doth not the Nebuchadnezzar of Constantinople now threaten her sore?
Thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.] So that nothing can be added to me: I am ocellus orbis. But who made thee to differ? Is not all thy beauty borrowed? will not this thy bulging wall down ere long?
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Personate Tyre as near thee, and hearing what thou…
Personate Tyre as near thee, and hearing what thou sayest unto or of her; describe her, that she may know thou speakest to her.
That art situate; that dwellest, so the Hebrew.
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The entry, Heb. entrances, she was but four furlongs, or five hundred paces, or half our English mile, from the continent, as it were in the very door of the sea, far enough off to have convenient harbors between her and the continent, and to be out of danger of sudden or easy surprises.
A merchant; a rich and populous emporium or mart for all commodities, either to vend or buy to islanders, or those that dwell on firm land.
Thou hast said; in thy riches, strength, alliances, and trade, thou art grown proud, thou hast thought and said too a great deal more than becomes a changeable state.
I am of perfect beauty: thou hast boasted of the excellency of thy government, the strength of thy city, the inaccessibleness of thy situation, nearness, strength, and obligations of thy allies, and as if nothing were wanting to perpetuate thy glory and happiness, poor self-flattering Tyre! But let us view particulars.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Thy borders are in the midst of the seas,…
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. The Sidonians were the first builders of the city, as Justin (q) says; who began and carried on the building of it to the utmost of their knowledge and skill; and which was afterwards perfected by other builders, who made it the most beautiful city in all those parts; unless this is to be understood of her shipbuilders, who brought the art of building ships in her to such a perfection, as made her famous throughout the world; since they are immediately spoken of without any other antecedent.
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(q) Ex Trago, l. 18. c. 3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain At the entry - Hebrew. Entrances. She was about…
At the entry - Hebrew. Entrances. She was about four furlongs, or half an English mile from the continent, as it were in the very door of the sea.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 3. The entry of the sea] Tyre was…
Verse 3. The entry of the sea] Tyre was a small island, or rather rock, in the sea, at a short distance from the main land. We have already seen that there was another Tyre on the main land; but they are both considered as one city.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Entry - literally, “entries.” Ancient Tyre had two ports,…
Entry - literally, “entries.” Ancient Tyre had two ports, that called the Sidonian to the north, the Egyptian to the south; the former exists to the present day. The term “entry of the sea” is naturally enough applied to a harbor as a place from which ships enter and return from the sea. The city was known in the earliest times as “Tyre the port.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Entry, whence merchants may proceed from an excellent harbour…
Entry, whence merchants may proceed from an excellent harbour to any place.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain situate at the entry of the sea--literally, plural, "entrances,"…
situate at the entry of the sea--literally, plural, "entrances," that is, ports or havens; referring to the double port of Tyre, at which vessels entered round the north and south ends of the island, so that ships could find a ready entrance from whatever point the wind might blow (compare Eze 28:2).
merchant of . . . people for many isles--that is, a mercantile emporium of the peoples of many seacoasts, both from the east and from the west (Isa 23:3), "a mart of nations."
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of perfect beauty-- (Eze 28:12).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 3. At the entry — Literally, entries. Tyre was…
3. At the entry — Literally, entries. Tyre was built on an island having a double harbor.
A merchant — See note Eze_26:2.
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I am of perfect beauty — This was the verdict of all antiquity. Travelers tried in vain to describe this princess of the seas. (Compare Nonnus, Dionysiaca, 40:311, etc.) “Greatly Dionysus rejoiced when he saw the city which the ocean god had bound with the liquid girdle of the waves. In shape she was like the crescent moon. As he looked it seemed a double wonder, since Tyre lies in the sea and is bound by the waves and yet belongs to the land. She seemed like a maiden floating motionless, half submerged in the waters.” A letter written in the fourteenth century B.C. reads, “Behold the palace of the city of Tyre: there is no palace of any other governor like unto it.” (For further description of Tyre see notes Eze_26:2; Eze_28:2; Eze_28:12. Compare Scholar Gypsy, Arnold.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 3. entry of the sea] lit. entries, reference possibly…
3. entry of the sea] lit. entries, reference possibly being to the two harbours of Tyre, one of which was to the N.-E. of the island, called the Sidonian harbour, because looking towards Sidon; and the other on the S. or S.-E. of the island, the exact position of which is uncertain owing to the silting which has taken place. See plate in Rawlinson, Phœnicia, p. 71.
people for many isles] peoples unto many coasts, or, countries, cf. Eze_27:3; Eze_27:6; Eze_27:15. Her traffic with the peoples extended to many and distant coastlands.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (3) At the entry of the sea.—The word for…
(3) At the entry of the sea.—The word for “entry” in the original is plural, and means the approaches to the sea, or harbours. Tyre had two of these, both remarkably good: the “Egyptian,” facing the south, and the “Sidonian,” facing the north, the latter having also an outer harbour or roadstead, formed by a ledge off the north-west extremity of the island. The former is now completely, and the latter nearly, filled up with sand and ruins.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain We begin with the picture of the city, situate…
We begin with the picture of the city, situate at the entry (Hebrew, entries), or harbors of the sea. Of these Tyro had two the northern, known as the Sidonian; the southern, as the Egyptian. There she dwelt, a merchant of the peoples, that came, in the wider sense of the word, (see Eze_26:15) from the isles of the Mediterranean. I am perfect in beauty. The boast here put into the mouth of the city appears afterwards as the utterance of its ruler, or as applied to him. (Eze_28:2, Eze_28:15-17) We are reminded of Genoa, la superba.
Ver. 3 (last clause, "Thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty"). AEstheticism as a religion.
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The craze for aestheticism has been exalted into the creed of a new religion. It is well so see once for all what this means, and how hollow, foolish, and fatal are its pretensions.
I AeSTHETICISM AS A RELIGION IS THE WORSHIP OF BEAUTY.
1. It is more than the enjoyment of beauty, which is innocent and even helpful to a right appreciation of God"s wonderful works. Beauty implies harmony and refinement; it excludes everything harsh and coarse. So far it is good.
2. Aestheticism is more than the effort to produce beauty. This aim of art is good.
3. It is more also than the consecration of beauty to the service of religion. This is right; we should bring our best to God; religion should be honored with the homage rendered to it by art.
4. But aestheticism as a religion makes an idol of the sacrifice, by putting the beauty, which should be enlisted in the service of God, in the place of God himself. It is bowing the knee to beauty. It sees nothing higher than the perfection of grace and color and melody. This is as much idolatry as the Hottentot"s adoration of a hideous fetish.
II AeSTHETICISM AS A RELIGION MAY BE JOINED TO THE GREATEST ERRORS. The beautiful is not always the true. There are lovely lies and there are ugly truths. By exalting the idea of the beautiful above all else, we sacrifice truth wherever the two do not agree. Thus the sterner facts of life are ignored and its less attractive duties left out of account.
III AeSTHETICISM AS A RELIGION RISKS MORALITY. It is satisfied with something lower than the beauty of holiness. If it rose to the celestial beauty, it could not afford to discard goodness, for all beauty that admits evil is corrupted with moral ugliness; but this is not perceived by the religion of aestheticism. Therefore there is a degradation of the very idea of beauty. Too often this is in danger of falling even lower, till Beauty becomes a tempter to sin.
IV AeSTHETICISM AS A RELIGION WILL NOT SATISFY THE SOUL. A man cannot live on the perpetual contemplation of a lily. Too much beauty cloys. The soul needs the sustenance of solid truth. It requires inward spiritual grace. In the hour of temptation and in the season of great sorrow the religion of beauty utterly fails. It may charm the sentimental; it has no spell for the suffering; it cannot save the fallen; it has no evangel.
V AeSTHETICISM AS A RELIGION CANNOT AVERT RUIN. Tyre was proud of her beauty and confident in it. But this was only a piece of senseless self-deception. Her imposing palaces did not keep back the invader; they rather invited his ruthless armies. She found no security in the vain boast, "I am of perfect beauty." There is no redemption in aestheticism. The sinner will not find here any refuge from the doom of his guilt. It would be a poor diet for unfallen angels; for fallen men it is assuredly no healing balm. Beauty has been brought down to shame and suffering. No culture of art or literature will lift the refined mind out of the danger that threatens "the common herd" of sinners. Cultured and rough people must come through the same strait gate of penitence and walk the same narrow way of the footsteps of Christ if they would hope for salvation.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.