Ezekiel 27:3
in Ezekiel 27Tell 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.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and say unto Tyre, O thou that dwellest at the entry of the sea, that art the merchant of the peoples unto many isles, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou, O Tyre, hast said, I am perfect in beauty.
KJV
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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This verse in Ezekiel 27
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 3.) O Tyre, you have said, 'I am of perfect beauty' (or you have said, 'I have surrounded myself with beauty') and situated in the heart of the sea. The first crime of Tyre is if it seems to have any good, to not attribute it to God, but to itself, and to value all the beauty that comes from diverse regions as its own accomplishment and virtue.
This site's exposition
the word of the LORD came to me
on Ezekiel 27:1-3
The Lord instructs the prophet to compose a formal dirge, shifting the book's form from courtroom sentence to funeral song. The city is addressed by its boast, I am of perfect beauty. Henry reads the lament's placement, ahead of the fall it describes, as prophetic certainty treated as already accomplished.
This site's exposition
who dwells at the gateway to the sea
The Hebrew speaks of the entrances of the sea, the harbours where ships put in. The island city had two, one facing north toward Sidon and one facing south toward Egypt. Its boast of beauty is the pride the chapter sinks.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
Non omis fert omnia tellus--One land does not supply all the varieties of produce. Providence dispenses its gifts variously, some to each, and all to none, that there may be a mutual commerce among those whom God has made of one blood, though they are made to dwell on all the face of the earth, Acts xvii.
It stood at the east end of the Mediterranean, very convenient for trade by land into all the Levant parts; so that she became a merchant of the people for many isles. Lying between Greece and Asia, it became the great emporium, or mart-town, the rendezvous of merchants from all parts: They borders are in the heart of the seas,
), 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
), of universal beauty (so the word is), every way accomplished, and therefore every where admired. Zion, that had the beauty of holiness, is called indeed the perfection of beauty ( Ps. l. 2 ); that is the beauty of the Lord.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.”
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.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְצ֗וֹר | letzor | to Tyre | H6865 → | 42 times |
| הַיֹּשֶׁ֙בֶת֙ | haiyoshevotei | that sits | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מְבוֹאֹ֣ת | mevoot | [the] entrances of | H3997 → | |
| יָ֔ם | yam | [the] sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| רֹכֶ֙לֶת֙ | rokhelet | [the] trader | H7402 → | 17 times |
| הָֽעַמִּ֔ים | haamim | of the peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אִיִּ֖ים | ʾiyim | islands | H339 → | 36 times |
| רַבִּ֑ים | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| צ֕וֹר | tzor | O Tyre | H6865 → | 42 times |
| אַ֣תְּ | ʾat | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| אָמַ֔רְתְּ | ʾamart | you have said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲנִ֖י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| כְּלִ֥ילַת | kelilat | [am] perfect of | H3632 → | 15 times |
| יֹֽפִי׃ | yofi | beauty | H3308 → | 19 times |
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
לְצ֗וֹרto Tyre
letzorH6865 →42 times
הַיֹּשֶׁ֙בֶת֙that sits
haiyoshevoteiH3427 →1079 times
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מְבוֹאֹ֣ת[the] entrances of
mevootH3997 →
יָ֔ם[the] sea
yamH3220 →396 times
רֹכֶ֙לֶת֙[the] trader
rokheletH7402 →17 times
הָֽעַמִּ֔יםof the peoples
haamimH5971 →1873 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אִיִּ֖יםislands
ʾiyimH339 →36 times
רַבִּ֑יםmany
rabimH7227 →454 times
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
צ֕וֹרO Tyre
tzorH6865 →42 times
אַ֣תְּyou
ʾatH859 →1094 times
אָמַ֔רְתְּyou have said
ʾamartH559 →5305 times
אֲנִ֖יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
כְּלִ֥ילַת[am] perfect of
kelilatH3632 →15 times
יֹֽפִי׃beauty
yofiH3308 →19 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
6 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
Ezekiel 26:17Then 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…
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:12
How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations.
- Ezekiel 19:1
“As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel
- 2 Samuel 1:25–27
How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
- Ezekiel 19:14
Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”
- Ezekiel 32:2
“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash…
- Isaiah 14:12
Through
Ezekiel 27:4Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders perfected your beauty.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 26:5
She will become a place to spread nets in the sea, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. She will become plunder for the nations,
- Ezekiel 26:5
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); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.