And say to Tyre: In those languages where it may be difficult to speak to a city or country, translators may render this clause as “and say about Tyre.”
Who dwells at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands: Tyre was a strong trading nation just north of Jerusalem (see the introductory comments on chapter 26). It had two good harbors for the ships of traders to use, and because of that it was able to control the trade between people who lived around the Mediterranean Sea and the nations in Asia, especially the great Persian Empire. Who dwells at the entrance to the sea refers to Tyre’s position that enabled it to become a strong trading nation. Good News Translation says “which stands at the edge of the sea,” but New Century Version offers a better model with “which has ports for the Mediterranean Sea,” and so does New International Reader’s Version with “It is located at the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea.” Another acceptable model is “which is built where there is access to the Mediterranean Sea.” Merchant of the peoples on many coastlands means Tyre did business with the nations that lived around the Mediterranean Sea and on all the islands in the Mediterranean. This phrase may be rendered “It [or, Tyre] trades [or, does business] with many of the groups of people living along the coast.” For coastlands see 26.15. A model for this whole description of Tyre is “It [or, Tyre] is located on the Mediterranean Sea where it is a good place to do business with the people who live on the islands and the coast of the sea.”
As in the previous prophecies against the nations in chapters 25 and 26, the actual words of the funeral song are introduced with the traditional prophetic formula thus says the Lord GOD. Lord renders the Hebrew word ʾadonai, and GOD renders “Yahweh” (YHWH in Hebrew). New Century Version renders this clause as “This is what the Lord GOD says.”
O Tyre: God addresses Tyre directly (and continues to speak to it until the end of the chapter).
You have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty’: God begins the funeral song with this quotation of what Tyre said. It arrogantly claimed to be the best, most beautiful city in the world. In this context the verb said may be rendered “boasted” (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “bragged” (similarly Contemporary English Version). New Century Version changes slightly the Hebrew text for I am perfect in beauty to read “I am like a beautiful ship” (similarly Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible). This change is unnecessary. In many languages translators will need to use indirect speech here instead of direct speech (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), for example, “you have said that you are perfectly beautiful” or “you have said that your beauty is perfect.”
Those languages in which it is not appropriate to address a city or for a city to speak may use the third person for Tyre instead of first and second person; for example, the beginning of this funeral song may be rendered “That city of Tyre, the people who live there think that it is the number one city in the world.”
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 .