Bible Strands
Ezekiel 26:13
So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord speaks through Ezekiel to pronounce judgment on Tyre immediately after detailing its physical plunder and demolition (Ezekiel 26:12). This declaration arrives at the moment of total siege, marking the final cultural eradication of the city.
The words — The Hebrew verb וְהִשְׁבַּתִּי (ve./hish.ba.Ti) literally means "I will put an end to," directly governing הֲמוֹן שִׁירַיִךְ (ha.Mon shi.Ra.yi/kh), "the noise of your songs." The construction leaves no room for partial restoration, emphasizing absolute cessation.
The thread — This motif of silenced music runs through Isaiah 14:11, where harp music falls with fallen pomp, and Jeremiah 7:34, where God removes the sounds of joy from Judah. Isaiah 23:16 also engages the theme by mocking Tyre's former harp culture.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that divine judgment targets cultural identity as thoroughly as physical infrastructure. It demands acceptance that worship and art lose their legitimacy when anchored to a rebellious city's pride.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 23:16 “Take up your harp, stroll through the city, O forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody, sing many a song, so you will be remembered.”
- Jeremiah 7:34 I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”
- Isaiah 14:11 Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket.
- Isaiah 24:8 The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent.
- Jeremiah 16:9 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom.
- Jeremiah 25:10 Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.
- Isaiah 5:12 At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.
- Isaiah 22:2 O city of commotion, O town of revelry? Your slain did not die by the sword, nor were they killed in battle.
- Isaiah 23:7 Is this your jubilant city, whose origin is from antiquity, whose feet have taken her to settle far away?
- Ezekiel 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.