Bible Strands
Ezekiel 27:25
The ships of Tarshish carried your merchandise. And you were filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Ezekiel delivers a divinely inspired lament over Tyre, cataloging its commercial network at its peak just before the predicted collapse.
The words — תַּרְשִׁישׁ (tarshish) = Tarshish, and בְּלֵב (belev) = in the heart of, anchor the verse's geographic scope and location of judgment.
The thread — The phrase "ships of Tarshish" recurs in Isaiah 2:16, Psalms 48:7, and Isaiah 23:14 as a fixed biblical marker for distant maritime wealth and a target of divine judgment.
Why it lands — The text states that cargo volume and distant trade routes do not prevent sudden ruin, requiring the reader to examine what they treat as immovable security before it is shattered.
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
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 2:16 against every ship of Tarshish, and against every stately vessel.
- Psalms 48:7 With a wind from the east You wrecked the ships of Tarshish.
- Isaiah 23:14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your harbor has been destroyed!
- 1 Kings 10:22 For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
- 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, the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you.