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.
We have seen Tyre flourishing; here we have Tyre falling, and great is the fall of it, so much the greater for its having made such a figure in the world. Note, The most mighty and magnificent kingdoms and states, sooner or later, have their day to come down. They have their period; and, when they are in their zenith, they will begin to decline.
Commenting on Ezekiel 27:26-36
And in their wailing they shall takes up a lamentation for thee,.... A mournful song, such as was used at funerals, or in times of calamity; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it: and lament over thee; saying the following ditty; what city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?
utterly bald--literally, "bald with baldness." The Phœnician custom in mourning; which, as being connected with heathenish superstitions, was forbidden to Israel (Deu 14:1). take up--lift up. the destroyed--a destroyed one. Literally, (as opposed to its previous bustle of thronging merchants and mariners, Eze 27:27), "one brought to death's stillness." in . . . midst of . . . sea--insular Tyre.