Isaiah 23
Easy-to-Read Version
God’s Message About Tyre
23 This is a message[a] about Tyre:
Ships traveling from Cyprus heard this message:
“Cry, you ships from Tarshish[b]!
Your harbor has been destroyed.”
2 You people living near the sea, mourn in silence.
The merchants of Sidon sent traders across the sea
and filled the city with riches.
3 They traveled the seas looking for grain.
The men from Tyre bought grain that grows near the Nile River
and sold it to other nations.
4 Sidon, you should be very sad,
because now the Sea and the Fort of the Sea[c] say,
“I have no children.
I have never felt the pain of birth;
I have never given birth to children.
I have never raised young men and women.”
5 When Egypt hears the news about Tyre,
it will feel the pain of sorrow.
6 You ships, try to escape to Tarshish!
Cry out, you people living near the sea!
7 Can this be that happy city that was founded so long ago?
Is it that same city whose people traveled so far to settle other lands?[d]
8 This city produced so many leaders.
Its merchants were like princes.
Its traders had the whole world’s respect.
So who made these plans against Tyre?
9 It was the Lord All-Powerful.
He decided to destroy the great things they were so proud of.
He wanted to disgrace those who were so highly respected.
10 Ships from Tarshish, go back home.
Cross the sea as if it were a river.
No one will stop you now.
11 The Lord raised his arm over the sea
to make the kingdoms angry enough to fight against Tyre.
He commanded Canaan
to destroy her place of safety.[e]
12 He said, “Daughter Sidon,[f] you have been hurt badly,
so you will no longer rejoice like a bride.
Go ahead, go to Cyprus[g] for help,
but you will not find a place to rest there either.”
13 As for Babylon, look at the land of the Chaldeans!
It is not even a country now.
Assyria built war towers to attack it.
The soldiers took everything from the beautiful houses.
Assyria destroyed Babylon.
They turned it into a pile of ruins
and made it a place for wild animals.
14 So be sad, you ships from Tarshish.
Your place of safety has been destroyed.
15 People will forget about Tyre for 70 years—that is, about the length of a king’s rule. After 70 years, Tyre will be like the prostitute in this song:
16 “Oh, woman who men forgot,
take your harp and walk through the city.
Play your song well and sing it often.
Maybe someone will remember you.”
17 After 70 years, the Lord will review Tyre’s case, and he will give her a decision. Tyre will again have trade. She will be like a prostitute for all the nations on earth. 18 But Tyre will not keep the money she earns. The profit from her trade will be saved for the Lord. Tyre will give that money to the people who serve the Lord to buy good food and nice clothes.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:1 message Or “burden.”
- Isaiah 23:1 ships from Tarshish This is probably a special type of cargo ship. Also in verse 14.
- Isaiah 23:4 Fort of the Sea Another name for the city of Tyre.
- Isaiah 23:7 traveled … other lands? Or “came from so far to live here?”
- Isaiah 23:11 Or “He raised his arm over the sea and shook nations. He gave a command about Canaan to destroy its fortresses.”
- Isaiah 23:12 Daughter Sidon Another name for the city of Sidon.
- Isaiah 23:12 Cyprus Literally, “Kittim.” This could also mean “Crete.”
Isaiah 23
New Living Translation
A Message about Tyre
23 This message came to me concerning Tyre:
Wail, you trading ships of Tarshish,
for the harbor and houses of Tyre are gone!
The rumors you heard in Cyprus[a]
are all true.
2 Mourn in silence, you people of the coast
and you merchants of Sidon.
Your traders crossed the sea,[b]
3 sailing over deep waters.
They brought you grain from Egypt[c]
and harvests from along the Nile.
You were the marketplace of the world.
4 But now you are put to shame, city of Sidon,
for Tyre, the fortress of the sea, says,[d]
“Now I am childless;
I have no sons or daughters.”
5 When Egypt hears the news about Tyre,
there will be great sorrow.
6 Send word now to Tarshish!
Wail, you people who live in distant lands!
7 Is this silent ruin all that is left of your once joyous city?
What a long history was yours!
Think of all the colonists you sent to distant places.
8 Who has brought this disaster on Tyre,
that great creator of kingdoms?
Her traders were all princes,
her merchants were nobles.
9 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has done it
to destroy your pride
and bring low all earth’s nobility.
10 Come, people of Tarshish,
sweep over the land like the flooding Nile,
for Tyre is defenseless.[e]
11 The Lord held out his hand over the sea
and shook the kingdoms of the earth.
He has spoken out against Phoenicia,[f]
ordering that her fortresses be destroyed.
12 He says, “Never again will you rejoice,
O daughter of Sidon, for you have been crushed.
Even if you flee to Cyprus,
you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of Babylonia[g]—
the people of that land are gone!
The Assyrians have handed Babylon over
to the wild animals of the desert.
They have built siege ramps against its walls,
torn down its palaces,
and turned it to a heap of rubble.
14 Wail, you ships of Tarshish,
for your harbor is destroyed!
15 For seventy years, the length of a king’s life, Tyre will be forgotten. But then the city will come back to life as in the song about the prostitute:
16 Take a harp and walk the streets,
you forgotten harlot.
Make sweet melody and sing your songs
so you will be remembered again.
17 Yes, after seventy years the Lord will revive Tyre. But she will be no different than she was before. She will again be a prostitute to all kingdoms around the world. 18 But in the end her profits will be given to the Lord. Her wealth will not be hoarded but will provide good food and fine clothing for the Lord’s priests.
Footnotes
- 23:1 Hebrew Kittim; also in 23:12.
- 23:2 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads Those who have gone over the sea have filled you.
- 23:3 Hebrew from Shihor, a branch of the Nile River.
- 23:4 Or for the god of the sea says; Hebrew reads for the sea, the fortress of the sea, says.
- 23:10 The meaning of the Hebrew in this verse is uncertain.
- 23:11 Hebrew Canaan.
- 23:13 Or Chaldea.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
