And down from their ships come all that handle the oar …: When the sailors on other ships hear about the shipwreck (that is, the downfall of Tyre), they leave their ships and go ashore, presumably to be in a safe place to watch while [the ship of] Tyre is destroyed. All that handle the oar are “rowers” (Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible; see Ezek 27.8).

The mariners and all the pilots of the sea stand on the shore: For mariners and pilots, see verses 8-9. The sailors from the other ships represent people from other cities around Tyre.

Good News Translation combines all that handle the oar, the mariners and the pilots into one expression, saying simply “every sailor.” However, if possible, translators will do well to retain some of the poetic parallelism in this verse; for example, New Century Version has “All the men who row leave their ships; the seamen and the sailors of other ships stand on the shore.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .