Ezekiel 27:10
in Ezekiel 27Men of Persia, Lydia, and Put served as warriors in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls; they gave you splendor.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Persia and Lud and Put were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.
KJV
They of Persia and of 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.
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This verse in Ezekiel 27
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 10) The Persians, Lydians (commonly known as Lydia), and Libyans were in your army, your mighty warriors. They hung their shields and helmets on you for your adornment (or they themselves hung up their shields and helmets, giving glory to you). The Persians were the bravest, of whom Cyrus, their king, as prophesied by Isaiah (Isa. XLV), conquered Babylon after overthrowing Astyages, the king of the Medes. This is narrated in both sacred and secular history.
This site's exposition
Men of Persia, Lydia, and Put
on Ezekiel 27:10-11
Military glory joins commercial glory: Persia, Lud and Phut supply soldiers who hang shield and helmet in thee, decorative arms. Fairbairn reads the militarized decoration as part of the chapter's larger point, that Tyre had turned every resource into an expression of wealth and beauty.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Lud - Lydians, not those Cresus was king over, but those that dwelt in Egypt about the lake Maraeolis. Phut - Lybians, a people of Africa; these were their hired soldiers.
), which is designed to make its ruin the more lamentable. A prediction of its fall and ruin, and the confusion and consternation which all its neighbours shall thereby be put into,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
They of Persia, and of Lud, and of Phut, were in thine army, thy men of war,....
The Tyrians were themselves wholly given to trade; but it was necessary that they should have a good army on foot, and therefore they took those of other states into their pay, such as were fittest for service, though they had them from afar (which perhaps was their policy), from Persia, Lud, and Phut.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They of Persia - Lud, the Lydians; Phut, a people of Africa, see Gen 10:6. From these places they had auxiliary troops; for as they traded with the then known world, were rich, and could afford to give good pay, they no doubt had soldiers and sailors from every part. Skilful and desperate men will go any where after their price.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The prophet here leaves the allegory of the ship to describe the armies of the Tyrians composed of mercenary soldiers. Eze 27:10 Persia - The name of this people does not occur in the more ancient books of the Old Testament; but in the books of the exile and after the exile it is frequent. This exactly corresponds with the record of history. It was just at the time that Ezekiel wrote that the rude and warlike people of Persia were rising into notice, soon about to seize, under Cyrus, the empire of the Asiatic world. Lud - See Gen 10:13. The union here of “Lud with Phut,” an undoubtedly African tribe (compare Eze 30:5; Isa 66:19) seems to indicate Lud to be of Hamitic race, not the Semitic race. Both names occur repeatedly on Egyptian inscriptions, especially as supplying mercenary soldiers. Phut - Libyans (see Gen 10:6). Eze 27:11 Gammadims - Rendered by Septuagint “watchmen;” by others, “brave warriors;” but more probably the name of some nation of which we have no record. The custom of hanging shields upon the walls of a town by way of ornament seems to have been of purely Phoenician origin, and thence introduced by Solomon into Jerusalem 1Ki 10:16.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Persians, Ludim, and Putim were in your army, your men of war; shields and helmets they hung in you, they increased your splendor.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פָּרַ֨ס | paras | Persia | H6539 → | |
| וְל֤וּד | velud | and Lud | H3865 → | |
| וּפוּט֙ | ufut | and Put | H6316 → | 7 times |
| הָי֣וּ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְחֵילֵ֔ךְ | vecheilekh | in army your | H2428 → | 246 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֖י | ʾanshei | men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| מִלְחַמְתֵּ֑ךְ | milchamtekh | war your | H4421 → | 320 times |
| מָגֵ֤ן | magen | shield | H4043 → | 63 times |
| וְכוֹבַע֙ | vekhova' | and helmet | H3553 → | |
| תִּלּוּ־ | tilu- | they hung up | H8518 → | 27 times |
| בָ֔ךְ | vakh | in you | ||
| הֵ֖מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| נָתְנ֥וּ | natenu | they gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| הֲדָרֵֽךְ׃ | hadarekh | splendor your | H1926 → |
פָּרַ֨סPersia
parasH6539 →
וְל֤וּדand Lud
veludH3865 →
וּפוּט֙and Put
ufutH6316 →7 times
הָי֣וּthey were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
בְחֵילֵ֔ךְin army your
vecheilekhH2428 →246 times
אַנְשֵׁ֖יmen of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
מִלְחַמְתֵּ֑ךְwar your
milchamtekhH4421 →320 times
מָגֵ֤ןshield
magenH4043 →63 times
וְכוֹבַע֙and helmet
vekhova'H3553 →
תִּלּוּ־they hung up
tilu-H8518 →27 times
בָ֔ךְin you
vakh
הֵ֖מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
נָתְנ֥וּthey gave
natenuH5414 →2011 times
הֲדָרֵֽךְ׃splendor your
hadarekhH1926 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 66:19I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who…
it leads to
- Isaiah 52:15
so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard.
- Romans 15:21
Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”
- Isaiah 55:5
Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory…
- Isaiah 60:9
Surely the islands will wait for Me, with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God,…
- Isaiah 52:15
Through
Jeremiah 46:9Advance, O horses! Race furiously, O chariots! Let the warriors come forth—Cush and Put carrying their shields, men of Lydia drawing the bow.
it leads to
- Nahum 3:9
Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were her allies.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nahum 3:9
Through
Song of Solomon 4:4Your neck is like the tower of David, built with rows of stones; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 7:4
Your neck is like a tower made of ivory; your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus.
- Song of Solomon 7:4
Through
Ezekiel 30:5Cush, Put, and Lud, and all the various peoples, as well as Libya and the men of the covenant land, will fall with Egypt by the sword.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 25:20
all the mixed tribes; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
- Jeremiah 25:20
Through
Ezekiel 38:5Persia, Cush, and Put will accompany them, all with shields and helmets,
it leads to
- Genesis 10:6
The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
- Genesis 10:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.