“I will send fire
On Magog,
On those who live securely
In the coastlands.
They shall know
That I am Yahweh.”
For no apparent reason, Yahweh set a fire in Magog, the homeland of Gog. Why he also sent fire to the coastland towns was not clear. The main reason given was that they would know that he was Yahweh God.
“The men of Rhodes
Traded with you.
Many coastlands
Were your own
Special markets.
They brought you
In payment
Ivory tusks
With ebony.”
Ezekiel continued with his tour of the trading partners of Tyre. Rhodes was another Mediterranean island northeast of Crete. They traded with Tyre. Many of the coastland towns were specialty markets for Tyre. Some even traded ivory and ebony with Tyre.
“The princes of the sea
Will raise
A lamentation
Over you.
They will say
To you.
‘How you have vanished
From the seas!
O city renowned!
Once mighty one
On the sea!
You!
Your inhabitants!
You imposed
Your terror
On all the mainland!
Now coastlands
Tremble On the day
Of your fall!
The coastlands
By the sea
Are dismayed
At your passing.’”
The princes of the sea or the trading partners of Tyre would lament over what had happened to Tyre, since it had vanished from the seas. This once renowned city had been a mighty force on the Mediterranean Sea. They and their inhabitants had imposed terror on all the mainland towns. Now these coastland towns were trembling because they had lost this mercantile seaside town. They saw what had happened to Tyre. Thus they were dismayed by the passing and demise of Tyre.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 