Isaiah 23:1-9

Common English Bible

Wail, ships of Tarshish,
    because your port is destroyed!^[a]
        When returning from Cyprus, they heard about it.
² Be still, inhabitants of the coast, traders of Sidon,
    whose messengers crossed over the sea,^[b]
3     over the mighty waters.
The grain of Shihor, the Nile’s harvest, was her income;
    she was the marketplace of nations.
⁴ Be ashamed, Sidon, because the sea has spoken;
    the fortress of the sea has said,
    “I haven’t been in labor; I didn’t give birth;
    I never raised young men or brought up young women.”
⁵ When the Egyptians hear,
    they will be in anguish at the news about Tyre.
⁶ Cross over to Tarshish;
    wail, inhabitants of the coast.
⁷ Is this your triumphant town,
    whose origin is from ancient times,
    whose feet carried her to settle far away?
⁸ Who planned this concerning Tyre,
        the one who gives crowns,
    whose merchants were princes,
    whose traders were the honored of the earth?
⁹ The Lord of heavenly forces planned it,
    to defile the pride of all beauty,
    to shame all the honored of the earth.