THEOSISJerome of Stridon
In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, declaring, "Son of man, because Tyre has spoken against Jerusalem, saying, 'The gates of the nations are shattered; it has turned to me; I am filled; it now lies desolate,' the Lord God declares, 'Behold, I will come against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations upon you, just as the tumultuous sea swells. They will tear down your walls and demolish your towers, and I will sweep you away, leaving only a bare rock. You shall become a place for drying nets in the midst of the sea, for I have decreed it, and it shall be plundered by the nations. Even your daughters in the fields shall be slain by the sword, and they will know that I am the Lord.'
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The prophet speaks in a clear progression, addressing the sons of Ammon, Moab, Seir—also known as Idumeans—and the coastal Philistines, who share the same boundaries along the shore. Beyond Palestine lies the land of the Phoenicians, with Tyre as its principal city, known as Sor in Hebrew and Syriac. In the wake of Jerusalem's capture, when Tyre rejoiced and proclaimed, 'The gates of the nations are shattered; I have a safe harbor', and upon its destruction, when the multitude he governed turned to me, thinking 'I am filled' or 'What was once full has become wilderness,' therefore, since you have spoken these things and rejoiced at Jerusalem's downfall—brought about not by messengers or others, but by my decree for its sins—I, the Lord, shall rise against you, O Tyre, bringing the Babylonians and many nations like surging waves to assault you.
Your walls and towers will be destroyed and reduced to rubble, and your ashes scattered. Your once-great city will be made desolate, so bare that fishermen will cast their nets there and dry them. For this promise, which I, the Lord, have spoken will not fail: I will surrender you to the nations as spoils. Moreover, your daughters in the fields—your cities and towns dotting the coastline—will face destruction by the sword. This figurative use of the term 'daughters' denotes the ruin that shall come, allowing them to understand that I am the Lord, who commanded these actions.
As the Hebrew word for Tyre, 'sor', connotes confinement, it can be understood metaphorically as any soul in distress who, witnessing the ruin of Jerusalem—the place of the temple and peace—rejoices at this judgment for sin, thinking that its power will be transferred to them. This sentiment can also reflect on those who take pleasure in the misfortunes of the righteous, believing that they have succeeded when they witness a holy person stumble. Thus, the Lord warns that He will confront such people, raising up nations like a great wave to dismantle their fortified arguments, turning them to dust.
Additionally, they will abandon the nets they once used to ensnare the deceived, spreading them in the desolate city, allowing new fishermen sent by the Lord to gather them instead. Their daughters, previously shielded as if in peaceful solitude and safeguarded by esoteric beliefs, shall be made visible, and slaughtered by the sword of the Church. This is so that they may realize that He is the Lord, who gradually withdrew from Jerusalem due to its sins and brought ruin upon Tyre for its delight in Judah's calamity.