יחזקאל, פרק כ״ו, פסוק ג׳

A powerful decree of divine judgment is issued against the great city of Tyre. God steps forward to declare war on the city, announcing that He Himself will fight against it [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. To carry out this destruction, God uses human armies as His chosen weapon. A massive coalition of nations is summoned to attack, specifically referring to the Babylonian forces led by King Nebuchadnezzar [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. This devastating campaign culminated in the ruin of Tyre during the twenty-seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign [מלבי״ם].

The sheer scale of the Babylonian invasion is compared to the ocean raising its waves. The primary approach among commentators is that this imagery captures the overwhelming power and vast numbers of the attacking forces. Just as a violent storm causes the sea to churn and sends countless massive waves crashing forward, the Babylonian armies will surge against Tyre in an unstoppable flood of soldiers [רד״ק, מצודת דוד].

While this serves as a striking metaphor for the military assault, it also carries a literal, physical reality. After Nebuchadnezzar successfully dismantled the city and gathered its wealth, the actual sea rose and flooded Tyre. Because the waters swallowed the ruins and the spoils, the Babylonian king and his army were ultimately left empty-handed, receiving no reward for their exhausting military campaign [מלבי״ם].