BABYLON AND PERSIA

1 34 MEDIA, BABYLON, AND PERSIA.that she is laid waste ;therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, Iam .against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come upagainst thee, .as the sea c.auseth his waves to come up. And theyshall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers.I willalso scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock. ... Forbehold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon,king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, andwith horsemen. . . ." (Ch. XXVI., 2-14.)That the Phoenician capital suffered severely ismost probable, since the siege is said to have lastedSiege of Tyre, 1, J,,, J -^1-^^.nigh on thirteen years. On the otherygrv fact that it could last soby Nebuchad- ' ^T^^''-^ r lone and not end in conquest even then,been very close.mained open ?shows that the blockade could not haveHow should it, when the sea re¬It seems to have ended in a capitu¬lation, the people of Tyre acknowledging the king ofBabylon's overiordship and accepting anew kingfrom his hands, in place of the "rebel" who wasdeposed.16. The prophet Ezekiel, seeing his prediction, forthe time being, only half fulfilled, takes aview of the event.the sackpeculiarHe appears to have consideredof Tyre as a reward due to the king ofBabylon for the work he did as instrument of theLord's vengeance against Judah, and speaks in aone of disappointment of his being deprived of it :" Nebuchadraezar, king of Babylon, caused his army to serve agreat service against Tyre ; every head was made bal.l, and everyshoulder was peeled* ; yet had he no w.ages, nor his army, from Tyre."Then the prophet promises the conquest of Egyptas a compensation :* By the long friction of the helmet and the shield-strap.