Bible Strands

Ezekiel 27:29

All who handle the oars will abandon their ships. The sailors and all the captains of the sea will stand on the shore.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The prophet delivers an oracle of judgment against Tyre, positioned between the report of the countryside shaking at the sailors' cries and the command to raise bitter voices and roll in ashes.

The words — תֹּפְשֵׂי מָשׁוֹט (to.fe.Sei ma.Shot) literally denotes those who grip or wield an oar, while מַלָּחִים and חֹבְלֵי (ma.la.Chim / choe.Lei) identify the mariners and ship captains who will stand on the shore.

The thread — This maritime withdrawal echoes the descent of sea princes from their thrones in Ezekiel 26:16, the appalled reaction of kings in Ezekiel 32:10, and the distant observation of shipmasters and sailors in Revelation 18:17.

Why it lands — The text records the complete abandonment of maritime expertise and the forced positioning of seafarers on land, requiring the reader to recognize the total collapse of commercial infrastructure before the subsequent lament.

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

וְֽיָרְד֞וּve./ya.re.Duand/ they will come downמֵאָנִיּֽוֹתֵיהֶ֗םme./'a.ni.yo.tei./Hemfrom/ ships/ theirכֹּ֚לkolallתֹּפְשֵׂ֣יto.fe.Sei[those who] wieldמָשׁ֔וֹטma.Shot<of> an oarמַלָּחִ֕יםma.la.Chimmarinersכֹּ֖לkolallחֹבְלֵ֣יchoe.Lei[the] sailors ofהַיָּ֑םhai./Yamthe/ seaאֶל־'el-toהָאָ֖רֶץha./'A.retzthe/ landיַעֲמֹֽדוּ׃ya.'a.Mo.duthey will stand

King James Version

And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land;

Cross-references