Bible Strands
Ezekiel 26:17
Then 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 peoples!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Ezekiel addresses the city of Tyre, describing a future moment when maritime rulers will descend from their thrones to mourn its destruction.
The words — The Hebrew קִינָה (qînâ) denotes a formal lamentation, and אֵיךְ (ʾêkh) introduces a rhetorical exclamation of ruin.
The thread — This pattern of mourning a fallen power echoes the taunt against Babylon in Isaiah 14:12 and the dirge for Israel’s leaders in Ezekiel 19:1.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that geopolitical dominance and maritime wealth are temporary, requiring the reader to assess worldly power against divine judgment without romanticizing the fallen.
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 they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!
Cross-references
- 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 How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
- Isaiah 23:4 Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men or brought up young women.”
- 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 27:2 “Now you, son of man, take up a lament for Tyre.
- 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 about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.’
- Ezekiel 32:16 This is the lament they will chant for her; the daughters of the nations will chant it. Over Egypt and all her multitudes they will chant it, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Revelation 18:9 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.
- Revelation 18:16 saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!