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A funeral song about Tyre
27 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, sing a funeral song about Tyre. 3 Tyre is a city on the coast of the sea. From there, traders go across the sea to sell things to people in many other countries. This is what the Almighty Lord says to Tyre:
“Tyre, you say that you are completely beautiful.
4 Your borders reached into the middle of the sea.
Your builders made you like a great ship.
5 They used wood from the pine trees of Senir.
They used a cedar tree from Lebanon to make your mast.[a]
6 They used oak trees from Bashan to make your oars.
They used pine wood from the coasts of Cyprus to make your deck.[b]
They made it beautiful with ivory.
7 They used good linen from Egypt to make your sail.
They made it pretty with many colours.
The sail was like a flag that everyone could see.
They made tents of cloth to cover your deck.
It was blue and purple cloth that came from Cyprus island.
8 Men from Sidon and Arvad used the oars to move the ship.
Your own clever men from Tyre were your sailors.
9 Leaders from Gebal went with you.
They brought men who knew how to mend the ship.
Sailors of ships from many countries
came to buy things from you.
10 There were brave soldiers from Persia, Lydia and Libya in your army.
They hung their shields and their helmets on your walls.
They caused people to give you honour.
11 Men from Arvad and Helech were guards who stood on your walls.
Soldiers from Gammad were in your strong towers.
They hung their weapons on your walls.
They made you look very beautiful.
12 You had many valuable things to sell. So traders came from Tarshish to buy things from you. They brought silver and other good metals to pay for those things.
13 Traders from Greece, Tubal and Meshech also came to buy things from you. They paid you with slaves and with things made of bronze.
14 Men from Beth Togarmah came. They paid you with horses to use in war or for work, and also with mules.
15 Traders came to you from Rhodes and from other countries beside the sea. They paid you with ivory and with ebony wood.[c]
16 Because you had so many things to sell, traders came to you from Syria. They paid you with different jewels, with valuable purple cloth, with other beautiful cloth and with good linen.
17 Traders came to you from Judah and Israel. They paid you with wheat from Minnith, with figs, with honey, with olive oil and with medicine.
18 Traders from Damascus came to you because you had many valuable things to sell. They sold you wine from Helbon and white wool from Zahar.
19 Greek men from Uzal came to buy your things. They paid you with iron and different spices.
20 Traders from Dedan sold you blankets for your horses.
21 Men from Arabia and the rulers of Kedar came to buy your things. They brought lambs, male sheep and goats to sell to you.
22 Traders from Sheba and Raamah came to buy things from you. They brought the best kinds of spices, jewels and gold to sell to you.
23 Traders came to you from Haran, Canneh and Eden, as well as from Sheba, Asshur and Kilmad. 24 They brought beautiful clothes made with expensive cloth. They also brought carpets that were made with threads of many different colours.[d] And they brought strong ropes. They brought these things to sell in your markets. 25 Big ships from Tarshish carried your valuable things across the sea.
You, Tyre, were like a great ship in the middle of the sea.
You were full with a heavy load of many things.
26 Your sailors took you into the great waves of the sea.
There, a strong east wind has caused you to break into small pieces.
27 All your valuable things and your riches will fall into the deep sea.
All your sailors, your captains, your traders and your soldiers
will also fall into the sea.
Yes, everyone in you will drown in the sea
on that day when you break into pieces.
28 When your sailors call out for help,
the cities on the coast of the sea will shake.
29 All the sailors of other ships will leave their ships.
The sailors and their captains will stand on the shore of the sea.
30 They will weep loudly because they are very upset about you.
They will throw dirt on their heads.
They will lie down in ashes.
31 They will cut all the hair off their heads.
They will wear sackcloth.
They will weep and be very upset
because of the terrible thing that has happened to you.
32 As they weep, they will sing this funeral song about you:
‘Tyre was the greatest city.
But now it lies at the bottom of the sea
and nobody knows that it is there.’
33 Your valuable things went to many people
in nations across the sea.
People were happy with the things that they received from you.
Even kings in far places became rich because of you.
34 Now the sea has broken you into pieces.
You have fallen to the bottom of the deep sea.
All your valuable things and the people who worked in you
lie at the bottom of the sea.
35 The people who live on the coast of the sea are afraid,
because of what has happened to you.
Their kings shake with fear.
Their faces look very sad.
36 Traders from other nations keep away from you.
A terrible thing has happened to you.
It will be the end of you for ever.” ’
God warns the king of Tyre
28 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, say this to the ruler of Tyre. “This is what the Almighty Lord says:
You are a very proud man.
You say, ‘I am a god and Tyre is my throne.
I rule over all the seas around me.’
But, whatever you think, you are only a man. You are not a god.
3 You think that you are wiser than Daniel,
and that you know all secrets.
4 You have been wise and clever enough to make yourself rich.
You have stored much gold and silver in your palace.
5 Because you are a clever trader,
you have become even richer.
And because of your riches, you have become very proud.
6 So this is what the Almighty Lord says:
You think that you are as wise as a god.
7 So listen! I will bring a foreign army to attack you.
They will be a very cruel enemy.
They will use their swords to destroy your beautiful city.
They will spoil the beautiful things that you have used your wisdom to get for yourselves.
8 They will kill you violently in battle,
and the sea will become your grave.
9 When your enemies attack you,
you will no longer say, ‘I am a god.’
When they are ready to kill you,
you will know that you are only human.
10 Foreign people will kill you.
You will die like people who do not belong to me.
I, the Almighty Lord have said this.” ’
11 The Lord gave this message to me: 12 ‘Son of man, sing this funeral song about the king of Tyre. Tell him, “This is what the Almighty Lord says:
At one time, you were the example of a good man.
You were completely wise and beautiful.
13 You lived in God's beautiful garden, Eden.
You wore valuable jewels on your clothes.
The jewels were ruby, topaz, emerald,
chrysolite, onyx, jasper,
sapphire, turquoise and beryl.[e]
They were fixed to pieces of gold.
They were ready for you to wear on the day that you were born.
14 I put you there with a cherub to be your guard.
You lived on my holy mountain.
You walked among the stones that burned with fire.
15 Everything that you did was completely good
from the day that you were born.
But later, you started to do wicked things.
16 As a trader, you bought and sold many things.
As a result, you became violent and you did evil things.
So I sent you away in shame.
I would not allow you to remain on my mountain.
The cherub that had been your guard chased you out.
You could no longer walk among the stones that burned with fire.
17 But because you were so beautiful, you were very proud.
You used your wisdom to do bad things,
because you loved to have beautiful things.
So I threw you down to the ground.
I let other kings see what had happened to you.
18 As a trader, you did many wrong things to cheat people.
Your holy places became unclean.
So I caused fire to completely destroy your city.
Everyone could see that only ashes remained on the ground.
19 All the people of other nations who knew you are very afraid.
They have seen the terrible thing that has happened to you.
You have come to a complete end and you will never return.” ’
God warns Sidon[f]
20 The Lord gave this message to me: 21 ‘Son of man, turn and look towards Sidon. Tell them my message to warn them. 22 Say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says:
Listen! I have become your enemy, Sidon.
I will show your people how great I am.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
I will punish your people for their sins
so that they know that I am a holy God.
23 I will cause disease to kill people in the city.
Enemies will attack from all around the city,
and people will die in the streets.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
24 Israel will no longer suffer because of the nations that are around them. Those nations will not be like sharp thorns that give the Israelites pain. They will not insult the Israelites any more. Then they will know that I am the Almighty Lord.
25 This is what the Almighty Lord says: I will bring Israel's people back from the countries where I sent them to live. Then all the nations will see that I am a holy God for my people. My people will live in their own land that I gave to my servant, Jacob.[g] 26 They will live there safely. They will build houses and they will plant vineyards. I will punish all the nations around them who have insulted them. Then my people will live safely in their homes. And they will know that I am the Lord their God.” ’
17 Here is another example of Abraham's faith. God wanted to see whether Abraham really trusted him. Because Abraham believed God, he offered his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. God had promised Abraham that he would have many grandchildren. But Abraham was still ready to offer his only son as a sacrifice. 18 God had said to Abraham, ‘It is through Isaac that your family will continue.’ 19 But Abraham was sure that, if Isaac died, God could raise Isaac to life again. We could even say that is a picture of what really happened. It was like Abraham did receive Isaac back from death.[a]
20 Isaac himself also believed God. As a result of his faith, he asked God to bless his sons, Jacob and Esau. He trusted that God would help them in the future time.[b]
21 Jacob believed God. As a result of his faith, he asked God to bless each of Joseph's sons. Jacob did that when he was dying. At that time, he used his stick to hold himself up while he worshipped God.[c]
22 Joseph also believed God. At the end of his life, he spoke about what would happen to the family of Israel's people after his death. He understood that they would leave Egypt one day. As a result of his faith, he told his family where they should bury his bones.[d]
23 Moses' parents believed God. When Moses was born, they hid him for three months. They saw that he was a very special child. As a result of their faith, they did not obey Egypt's king. They were not afraid to do that.[e]
24 Moses himself also believed God. When he became a man, he refused to be called the son of the king's daughter. 25 Instead, Moses chose to join with God's people. He chose to receive trouble and pain together with them. He did not want to live in the king's house and do wrong things. He would only be happy for a short time there.[f] 26 Moses could have been very rich in Egypt. But instead, he let people insult him. He chose to receive trouble because of God's special Messiah. He thought that was worth more than if he had a lot of money. He thought carefully about what God would give him at a future time.[g] 27 As a result of his faith, Moses left Egypt. He knew that the king would be angry, but Moses was not afraid of him. Instead, he continued strongly to trust God. Nobody can see God, but Moses lived like someone who could see God.[h]
28 As a result of his faith, Moses told Israel's people to prepare the first Passover meal. He told them to put blood from the sacrifice round their doors. Then the angel who destroyed people came to every home. When he saw the blood, he did not kill the oldest sons in the families of Israel's people.[i]
29 Because of their faith, Israel's people walked across the Red Sea. They walked through there as if they were walking on dry land. But when the soldiers from Egypt tried to cross the same place, they drowned.[j]
30 Because of their faith, Israel's people marched round Jericho city for seven days. Then the city's walls fell down.[k]
31 Rahab, who had been a prostitute in Jericho, also trusted God. She helped the men from Israel who had come to that city earlier. They wanted to discover how to attack the city. Rahab was kind to them. As a result of her faith, she did not die with all the other people in Jericho who did not obey God.[l]
The Lord does great things[a]
111 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all that I am,
when we, his people, meet together.
2 The Lord does great things!
People who enjoy them,
think carefully about them.
3 Everything that he does
shows that he is a very great king!
He will always do what is completely right.
4 The Lord causes us to remember his miracles.
He is kind and he forgives people.
5 He gives food to the people who serve him.
He always remembers the covenant
that he made with his people.
6 He said that he would use his great power
to help his people.
He has given to them
the lands where other nations lived.
7 He is always honest and fair
in the things that he does.
His rules help people to live well.
8 They will continue to be right for all time.
People should trust those rules and obey them.
9 He rescued his people
so that they became free.
He made his covenant with them
so that it would continue for ever.
His name is holy,
and people should respect him with fear.
10 If you want to live in a wise way,
respect and obey the Lord.[b]
Everyone who lives in the way that he teaches
will understand what is right.
People should praise the Lord for ever!
15 A wife who is always arguing with you
is as bad as rain that never stops falling.
16 Can you catch the wind? Can you hold oil in your hand?
No! And you cannot keep that woman quiet.
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