Ezekiel 27:32
in Ezekiel 27As 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?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, Who is there like Tyre, like her that is brought to silence in the midst of the sea?
KJV
And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?
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This verse in Ezekiel 27
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd 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? as there was none like it a few years ago for riches, splendour, and glory, so now there is none like it for misery and ruin; see Rev 18:
This site's exposition
The countryside will shake
on Ezekiel 27:28-32
The mariners and pilots come down from their ships, casting dust on their heads. Commentators have long noted how closely Revelation 18 echoes this scene in its own lament over Babylon's fall. Henry reads the parallel as evidence that John drew on Ezekiel's dirge for the shape of his own.
This site's exposition
Who was ever like Tyre
The question echoes the praise Israel sang to God in Exodus 15:11, now spoken over a city. The Hebrew word rendered silenced is rare, and older versions read it as destroyed. The dirge ends the ship's voyage.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
24 These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise. 25 The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas. The prophet is ordered to take up a lamentation for Tyrus,
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:85%@v23-25
All that dealt with them were gainers; they did not cheat or oppress the people, but did enrich them with the multitude of their merchandise. "But now those that used to be enriched by thee shall be ruined with thee" (as is usual in trade); " when thou shalt be broken, and all thou hast is seized on, all thy company shall fall too, "
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
What city is like Tyrus - This, to the end of the chapter, is the lamentation.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָשְׂא֨וּ | venaseu | and they will take up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֵלַ֤יִךְ | ʾelayikh | concerning you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּנִיהֶם֙ | benihem | in wailing their | H5204 → | |
| קִינָ֔ה | kinah | a lamentation | H7015 → | 18 times |
| וְקוֹנְנ֖וּ | vekonu | and they will lament | H6969 → | 8 times |
| עָלָ֑יִךְ | ʾalayikh | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| כְצ֔וֹר | khetzor | [is] like Tyre | H6865 → | 42 times |
| כְּדֻמָ֖ה | kedumah | like one silenced | H1822 → | |
| בְּת֥וֹךְ | betokh | in [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הַיָּֽם׃ | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
וְנָשְׂא֨וּand they will take up
venaseuH5375 →656 times
אֵלַ֤יִךְconcerning you
ʾelayikhH413 →5510 times
בְּנִיהֶם֙in wailing their
benihemH5204 →
קִינָ֔הa lamentation
kinahH7015 →18 times
וְקוֹנְנ֖וּand they will lament
vekonuH6969 →8 times
עָלָ֑יִךְon you
ʾalayikhH5921 →5755 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
כְצ֔וֹר[is] like Tyre
khetzorH6865 →42 times
כְּדֻמָ֖הlike one silenced
kedumahH1822 →
בְּת֥וֹךְin [the] middle of
betokhH8432 →418 times
הַיָּֽם׃the sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
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
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
- Ezekiel 19:1
“As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- 2 Samuel 1:25–27
How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
- Ezekiel 19:1
Through
Revelation 18:18and 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.
it leads to
- Revelation 18:9–10
Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 13:4
They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”
- Jeremiah 51:37
Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals, an object of horror and scorn, without inhabitant.
- Revelation 18:9–10
Through
Lamentations 2:13What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your…
it leads to
- Lamentations 1:12
Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see! Is there any sorrow like mine, which was inflicted on me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day…
- Lamentations 1:12
Through
Ezekiel 27:26Your oarsmen have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind will shatter you in the heart of the sea.
it leads to
- Psalms 48:7
With a wind from the east You wrecked the ships of Tarshish.
- Psalms 48:7
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; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.