Tarshish trafficked with you because of your great wealth of every kind: Tarshish was probably a trading colony on the west coast of Spain (compare Good News Translation “Spain”). It was nearly 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) west of Tyre, and people thought of it almost as the end of the world (compare Jonah 1.3). To identify Tarshish translators may say “city of Tarshish.” For the Hebrew verb rendered trafficked and the phrase because of your great wealth of every kind, see the introductory comments on this subunit.

Silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares: Tarshish was an area rich in metals. In cultures where silver, iron, tin, and lead are unknown, it is appropriate to use a general expression, such as “precious/valuable metals” (see 22.18, where these four metals are mentioned). It is not appropriate to use a term for money here (compare the comments on 7.19). For the Hebrew word rendered wares, see the introductory comments on this subunit.

Models for this verse are:

• “The people of Tarshish did business with you because you were so rich. In exchange for the things you had to sell, they gave you valuable metals.

• “People in Spain were your trading partners because you were so rich. They imported your products and exported silver, iron, tin and lead to you.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .