Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.

EZEKIEL 27:26KJV
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Ezekiel 27:26 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 27:26 mean?

Ezekiel 27:26 pictures the wealthy trading city of Tyre as a ship carried into danger and destroyed. The city’s rowers bring the ship into deep water, where a fierce east wind breaks it apart.

Ezekiel speaks to Tyre in a song of grief over the city’s coming downfall. After the long description of Tyre as a splendid ship, the verse turns from its beauty and busy trade to the moment of disaster.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 27:26

  • “east” — קָדִים (qadim): This word means “east” and can describe an east wind. For people in the region, a wind from the east could suggest a hot, drying, and destructive force.
  • “midst” — לֵב (lev): This word commonly means “heart.” Here it pictures the ship as being in the heart of the seas, far out amid the waters.

Why Ezekiel 27:26 matters

  • The ship stands for a city, not just a vessel in trouble. Earlier in the passage, Tyre says, “I am of perfect beauty” (verse 3), and Ezekiel develops the picture of the city as a finely made ship.
  • The rowers and the wind have distinct roles in the picture. The rowers bring the ship into great waters, while the east wind breaks it there.
  • The disaster reaches beyond Tyre itself. The following verses picture its wealth, goods, and sailors falling into the sea, showing how the city’s downfall affects those tied to its trade.

Where else these words appear

“rowers” Hebrew H7751 · used in 13 verses

  • Numbers 11:8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
  • Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
  • Ezekiel 27:8 The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.

“east” Hebrew H6921 · used in 64 verses

  • Genesis 41:6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
  • Ezekiel 40:44 And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.
  • Ezekiel 48:3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.

“broken” Hebrew H7665 · used in 145 verses

  • Genesis 19:9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
  • Psalms 34:20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
  • Jeremiah 28:13 Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.