Ezekiel Chapter 27 verse 9 Holy Bible
The old men of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to deal in thy merchandise.
read chapter 27 in ASV
The responsible men of Gebal and its wise men were in you, making your boards watertight: all the ships of the sea with their seamen were in you trading in your goods.
read chapter 27 in BBE
The elders of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee repairing thy leaks; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee, to barter with thee.
read chapter 27 in DARBY
The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.
read chapter 27 in KJV
read chapter 27 in WBT
The old men of Gebal and the wise men of it were in you your repairers of ship seams: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to deal in your merchandise.
read chapter 27 in WEB
Elders of Gebal and its wise men have been in thee, Strengthening thy breach; All ships of the sea and their mariners, Have been in thee, to trade `with' thy merchandise.
read chapter 27 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 9. - The ancients of Gebal. The word is used in the sense of "elders" or "senators," the governing body. Gebal, for which the LXX. gives Biblii, is identified with the Greek Byblus. The name appears in Psalm 83:7 in connection, among other nations, with Tyre and Asshur, as allied with them against Israel; in Joshua 13:5 as near Lebanon and Hermon; in 1 Kings 5:18 (margin Revised Version) as among the stonemasons who worked with Hiram's builders. Byblus was situated on an eminence overlooking the river Adonis between Beirut and Tripoli. Its modern name, Gebail, retains the old Semitic form, and its ruins abound in marble and granite columns of Phoenician and Egyptian workmanship. The work of the caulkers was to stop the chinks of the ship, and the men of Gebal appear to have been especially skilful in this. We note that the metaphor of the ship falls into the background in the latter clause of the verse, and does not appear again.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(9) The ancients of Gebal.--"The ancients" is a thoroughly Semitic expression for the prominent men of a city. Gebal, the ancient Byblos, the modern Gebeil, and the Gu-ba-lu of the Assyrian inscriptions, was a famous Ph?nician town just north of Beir-t. Its site is still rich in ruins. Its people were famous builders, and according to the margin of 1Kings 5:18 (so also the Septuagint and Vulgate) were employed by Solomon on the work of the Temple. The representation is that the whole widely-dispersed Ph?nician race were tributary to the works of Tyre. At this point the figure of the ship gives place for a time to plain language, the better to set forth the military resources and power of this great city.
