“Yahweh says.
‘You have rebelled
Against me.
Your ways,
Your doings
Have brought this
Upon you.
This is your doom.
It is bitter.
It has reached
Your very heart.’”
Yahweh, via Jeremiah, says that they had rebelled against him. Their ways and actions brought this destruction upon themselves. They were doomed because this bitterness had reached their hearts.
“The oracle concerning Tyre.
Wail!
O ships of Tarshish!
Your fortress is destroyed.
When they came in
From Cyprus
They learned of it.”
Tyre was a Phoenician costal island city that still exists in southern Lebanon. Known for its maritime trade and purple dye, it was actually in the Israelite territory of Asher. The ships of Tarshish are mentioned 24 times in the biblical books, most notably when speaking about the wealth of King Solomon, in 1 Kings, chapter 10. Tarnish must have been someplace where there was a lot of metal, such as silver, probably some distance away, since speculation continues as to its exact location. The fortress or the houses of Tyre would be destroyed. Apparently these Phoenician sailors from Tyre were coming back from the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea, when they learned about this destruction.
“When the oppressor is no more,
When the destruction has ceased,
When marauders have vanished
From the land,
Then a throne will be established
In steadfast love,
In the tent of David.
On it,
Shall sit in faithfulness
A ruler who seeks justice.
He will be swift
To do what is right.”
At one time the Moabites had paid tribute to Judah, so that this did not seem out of place to have the same set up again. When all this destruction and oppression of the marauders had passed, the Moabites should pay tribute to the tent of David, or the king of Judah. There they would receive steadfast love and faithful justice. They will do what is right.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 