以賽亞書 23
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
關於泰爾的預言
23 以下是關於泰爾的預言：
他施的船隻哀號吧！
因為從基提[a]傳來消息，
說泰爾已被毀滅，
房屋和港口都蕩然無存。
2 海邊的居民，西頓[b]的商賈啊，
要靜默無言。
你們的商人飄洋過海，
3 把西曷的糧食、尼羅河流域的農產都運到泰爾。
泰爾成為列國的商埠。
4 西頓啊，你要羞愧！
你這海上的堡壘啊，
大海否認你，說：
「我沒有經歷過產痛，
沒有生過孩子，
也未曾養育過兒女。」
5 埃及人聽見泰爾的消息，
都感到傷痛。
6 海邊的居民啊，你們要去他施！
你們要哀號！
7 這就是你們那歷史悠久、
充滿歡樂的城嗎？
她曾經派人到遠方居住。
8 泰爾曾是封王之地，
她的商賈是王侯，
她的商人名聞天下。
但她如今的遭遇是誰定的？
9 是萬軍之耶和華定的，
為要摧毀因榮耀而生的驕傲，
羞辱世上的尊貴者。
10 他施的人民啊，
要像尼羅河一樣穿行在自己的土地上，
因為再沒有人壓制你們。
11 耶和華已經在大海之上伸出懲罰之手，
使列國震動。
祂已下令毀滅迦南的堡壘。
12 祂說：「受欺壓的西頓人啊，
你們再也不能歡樂了！
你們就是逃到基提，
也得不到安寧。」
13 看看迦勒底人的土地，那裡已杳無人煙！亞述人使它成為野獸出沒之地，他們築起圍城的高臺，摧毀它的宮殿，使它淪為廢墟。
14 他施的船隻都哀號吧！
因為你們的堡壘已被摧毀。
15 到那日，泰爾必被遺忘七十年，正好一個王的壽數。七十年之後，泰爾必如歌中所描述的妓女：
16 「被遺忘的妓女啊，
拿起琴，走遍全城。
要彈得美妙，要多唱幾首歌，
好使人再記起你。」
17 那時，耶和華必眷顧泰爾。她必重操舊業，與天下萬國交易。 18 但她得到的利潤和收入不會被積攢或儲存起來，而是要被獻給耶和華，用來供應那些事奉耶和華的人，使他們吃得飽足，穿得精美。
Isaiah 23
The Message
It Was All Numbers, Dead Numbers, Profit and Loss
23 1-4 Wail, ships of Tarshish,
your strong seaports all in ruins!
When the ships returned from Cyprus,
they saw the destruction.
Hold your tongue, you who live on the seacoast,
merchants of Sidon.
Your people sailed the deep seas,
buying and selling,
Making money on wheat from Shihor,
grown along the Nile—
multinational broker in grains!
Hang your head in shame, Sidon. The Sea speaks up,
the powerhouse of the ocean says,
“I’ve never had labor pains, never had a baby,
never reared children to adulthood,
Never gave life, never worked with life.
It was all numbers, dead numbers, profit and loss.”
5 When Egypt gets the report on Tyre,
what wailing! what wringing of hands!
Nothing Left Here to Be Proud Of
6-12 Visit Tarshish, you who live on the seacoast.
Take a good, long look and wail—yes, cry buckets of tears!
Is this the city you remember as energetic and alive,
bustling with activity, this historic old city,
Expanding throughout the globe,
buying and selling all over the world?
And who is behind the collapse of Tyre,
the Tyre that controlled the world markets?
Tyre’s merchants were the business tycoons.
Tyre’s traders called all the shots.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies ordered the crash
to show the sordid backside of pride
and puncture the inflated reputations.
Sail for home, O ships of Tarshish.
There are no docks left in this harbor.
God reached out to the sea and sea traders,
threw the sea kingdoms into turmoil.
God ordered the destruction
of the seacoast cities, the centers of commerce.
God said, “There’s nothing left here to be proud of,
bankrupt and bereft Sidon.
Do you want to make a new start in Cyprus?
Don’t count on it. Nothing there will work out for you either.”
13 Look at what happened to Babylon: There’s nothing left of it. Assyria turned it into a desert, into a refuge for wild dogs and stray cats. They brought in their big siege engines, tore down the buildings, and left nothing behind but rubble.
14 Wail, ships of Tarshish,
your strong seaports all in ruins!
* * *
15-16 For the next seventy years, a king’s lifetime, Tyre will be forgotten. At the end of the seventy years, Tyre will stage a comeback, but it will be the comeback of a worn-out whore, as in the song:
“Take a harp, circle the city,
unremembered whore.
Sing your old songs, your many old songs.
Maybe someone will remember.”
17-18 At the end of the seventy years, God will look in on Tyre. She’ll go back to her old whoring trade, selling herself to the highest bidder, doing anything with anyone—promiscuous with all the kingdoms of earth—for a fee. But everything she gets, all the money she takes in, will be turned over to God. It will not be put in banks. Her profits will be put to the use of God-Aware, God-Serving-People, providing plenty of food and the best of clothing.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson