Ezekiel 27:31
And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
Ezekiel 27:31 pictures the nations mourning the destruction of Tyre with extreme and public grief, shaving their heads bald, clothing themselves in sackcloth, and weeping over her with deep bitterness of heart and bitter lamentation. The word rendered heart in that bitter weeping is the Hebrew nephesh, most often rendered soul. It stands within the prophecies of Ezekiel 26-28 foretelling the utter ruin and wiping out of Tyre, the great merchant and commercial city of ancient times. Its commercial spirit is set forth as the pattern of Babylon's corrupt traffic and coming humiliation, making Tyre's fall a warning of the judgment that comes upon cities and peoples that forget and defy God. That warning is applied to the present day, that a proud, prosperous and openly wicked city such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco and others may meet the same judgment, with the lament over the ruined merchant city finding its likeness in San Francisco laid low by earthquake.
Mourning Over Fallen Tyre
The nations and peoples mourn the destruction of Tyre with extreme and intense public signs of grief. Those grieving make themselves utterly bald by shaving their heads and gird themselves with sackcloth. They weep over her with bitterness of heart and with bitter wailing and lamentation and deep sorrow.
The word rendered heart in the description of bitter weeping is the Hebrew nephesh. That Hebrew word is most often translated soul. The chapter in which this mourning stands sets forth the extent of the commerce of Tyre. She was the great commercial and merchant city of ancient times, the London, Liverpool, and New York of the Orient, and this explains why Tyrian traders brought goods to Jerusalem and sold them on the Sabbath.
Prophecy and Present Warning
Ezekiel 27:31 belongs to the prophecies in Ezekiel 26-28 that give the ruin of Tyre and the lamentation over her destruction, predicting her utter destruction. The prophecy against Tyre shows that the great commercial city would be utterly wiped out. It is part of the prophecy foretelling the destruction of Tyre and Sidon. It is part of the prophecy concerning Tyre among the prophecies of Ammon, Moab, Tyre, and Egypt in Ezekiel 25 to 31, and its fulfillment is evident today.
The chapter's commercial spirit is a pattern for Babylon's corrupt traffic and coming humiliation. The chapter is presented as part of the warning about Babylon's unheeded judgment. The verse belongs to the picture of Tyre's downfall and mourning, whose mourning is not explained further beyond that pattern.
The verse is part of a prophetic lesson about the judgment that comes upon cities and people that forget and defy God. That warning is applied as a lesson to cities of the present day, including San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and other places. Tyre's fate is a warning that a proud, prosperous, and openly wicked city may meet the judgment its defiance invites. The lament over the ruined merchant city is applied to San Francisco after the earthquake, portraying the city as a modern Tyre laid low.