Ezekiel 27 is a funeral song for the city of Tyre, a great Phoenician trading port that had grown rich by selling goods across the known world. The chapter lists its ships, its suppliers and its customers, then describes the grief of sailors and merchants when the city sinks beneath the sea. These questions are written for a small group, a Sunday class or personal study, and they move from what the text says, to what it means, to how it shapes everyday choices about money, pride and dependence.
Ezekiel 27 at a Glance
The chapter opens with God telling Ezekiel to raise a lament over Tyre. Ezekiel then describes the city as a magnificent ship, built from the finest materials and crewed by skilled people from many nations. Its trade reaches from Tarshish in the west to Sheba and Dedan in the south, and its wealth seems unshakable.
The tone shifts in the later verses. The ship is wrecked in the open sea, and the sailors, pilots and merchants who depended on it cry out in mourning. The lament ends with a stark verdict: the city that seemed perfect will be no more. Leaders can use the questions below without a separate summary, since each set follows this same arc.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before anyone offers an interpretation. Ask the group to point to the words on the page, and resist the urge to explain too quickly. Let people notice the repetition, the lists and the imagery before moving on.
Ezekiel 27:3-4
3 And tell Tyre, ‘You who dwell at the entry of the sea, who are the merchant of the peoples to many islands, thus says the Lord the LORD: “You, Tyre, have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ 4 Your borders are in the heart of the seas. Your builders have perfected your beauty.
(WEB)
Read these verses to introduce the city and its self-description. Their confident tone sets up the contrast with the storm that follows.
Ezekiel 27:9
The old men of Gebal and its wise men were your repairers of ship seams in you. All the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to deal in your merchandise.
(WEB)
This verse shows how many skilled people and ships served the city. Reading it aloud helps the group see the reach of Tyre’s trade network.
Ezekiel 27:26-27
26 Your rowers have brought you into great waters. The east wind has broken you in the heart of the seas. 27 Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners, your pilots, your repairers of ship seams, the dealers in your merchandise, and all your men of war, who are in you, with all your company which is among you, will fall into the heart of the seas in the day of your ruin.
(WEB)
These verses describe the wreck in the heart of the seas. Reading them slowly lets the group feel the sudden and total nature of the loss.
Ezekiel 27:32
In their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you, saying, ‘Who is there like Tyre, like her who is brought to silence in the middle of the sea?’
(WEB)
This verse gives the words of the lament itself. Reading it aloud reminds the group that the chapter is a funeral song, not simply a list of goods.
Ezekiel 27:36
The merchants among the peoples hiss at you. You have become a terror, and you will be no more.”’”
(WEB)
The chapter closes with the verdict that Tyre will be no more. Ending the reading here gives the group a sober point for reflection.
Memory Verse for Ezekiel 27
Ezekiel 27:27
Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners, your pilots, your repairers of ship seams, the dealers in your merchandise, and all your men of war, who are in you, with all your company which is among you, will fall into the heart of the seas in the day of your ruin.
(WEB)
This verse names everything Tyre trusted, from riches to warriors, and shows how all of it sinks in the day of ruin. Memorizing it helps keep the chapter’s warning about misplaced security in mind.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who have often trusted in things that cannot last. Like the city of Tyre, we are tempted to build our sense of worth on what we own, what we produce and who we know, and we forget how quickly those things can be lost. Forgive us for the pride that says we are secure on our own. Teach us to see the storms in our lives as reminders to lean on you rather than on our resources. Give us humble hearts, honest hands and steady faith as we go back into our days. Amen.
