“Then Jesus said
To the crowds
And to his disciples.”
Τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐλάλησεν τοῖς ὄχλοις καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ
This opening statement is typical and unique to Matthew. He has Jesus speaking (Τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐλάλησεν) to the crowds (τοῖς ὄχλοις) and his disciples (καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ) at the same time.
“All these seamen
Wail aloud
Over you.
They cry bitterly.
They cast dust
On their heads.
They wallow
In ashes.
They make themselves
Bald
For you.
They put on
Sackcloth.
They weep
Over you,
In bitterness of soul,
With bitter mourning.
In their wailing,
They raise
A lamentation
For you.
They lament
Over you.
‘Who was ever destroyed
Like Tyre
In the midst
Of the sea?’”
All these seamen onlookers lamented and mourned for Tyre. They wailed loudly and cried bitterly over Tyre. In typical mourning fashion, they put dust on their heads and wallowed in ashes. They made themselves bald and put on sackcloth. They wept with a bitterness of soul in their mourning. They lamented over Tyre. They wondered if anyone had ever been destroyed on the high seas like Tyre.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 