Ezekiel 27:31

Translations

Modern

They will shave their heads for you and wrap themselves in sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and bitter mourning.

Traditional

And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.

Literal

And they will shave themselves bald because of you, and they will gird themselves with sackcloth and weep for you with bitterness of heart—bitter wailing.

Latin

Et radent super te calvitium, et accingentur ciliciis: et plorabunt te in amaritudine animæ, ploratu amarissimo.

Original

Hebrew

English

They will shave their heads for you and wrap themselves in sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and bitter mourning.

Notes

Ezekiel 27:1–36

The second part of the prophet’s message to Tyre (see study note on Ezekiel 26:1–28:19) is a funeral song.

The song compares Tyre’s past glory with its present loss. It connects with the previous chapter in several ways. Both speak directly to Tyre. Both describe Tyre as a gateway and a center of trade (see Ezekiel 26:1–2). Both end with the same message: Tyre has come to a terrible end and will exist no more (compare Ezekiel 26:21).

Ezekiel 26:1–28:19

The message against Tyre, Israel’s northwestern neighbor, is more detailed than the short messages before it. It consists of three similar sections (Ezekiel 26:2–21; 27:1–36; and 28:1–19). Each section conveys the same idea: Tyre would meet a terrible end and cease to exist (Ezekiel 27:36).

Ezekiel 25:1–32:32

This section contains a series of messages of judgment against nearby nations. There are six shorter messages against Judah's immediate neighbors, arranged in a clockwise order, followed by a final message against Egypt (Ezekiel 30–32). Through experiencing God's judgment, the nations would recognize God's control over everything. The nations might be used to carry out God's judgment on his people, but they would not avoid judgment themselves.
One of the main purposes of these messages was to show that the negative part of God's promise to Abraham ("I will … curse those who curse you," Genesis 12:3) was still active. No one can harm God's people and avoid consequences, even when God's people are under his judgment.

Theme notes and profiles

Messages Against the Nations

Events

Prophecies of Ezekielc. 593 BC

Related verses

Ezekiel 7:18
They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.
Isaiah 22:12
On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
Isaiah 16:9
So I weep with Jazer for the vines of Sibmah; I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears. Triumphant shouts have fallen silent over your summer fruit and your harvest.
Isaiah 15:2
Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
Isaiah 22:4
Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
Leviticus 21:5
Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
Jeremiah 47:5
The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. O remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself?
Amos 8:10
I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.
Jeremiah 48:37
For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.
Jeremiah 16:6
“Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.
Micah 1:8
Because of this I will lament and wail; I will walk barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich.
Deuteronomy 14:1
You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,

Glossary

Baldness Book of Jeremiah Ezekiel, Book of Lebanon Lord Phoenicia, Phoenicians Sackcloth

Topics

Baldness: Artificial, a Sign of Mourning Merchant: General Scriptures Concerning Tyre: Prophecies Respecting: All Nations to be Terrified at Its Destruction

Ezekiel 27:31

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