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An Oracle Concerning Tyre

23 The [a]oracle concerning (A)Tyre.

Wail, O (B)ships of (C)Tarshish,
For Tyre is destroyed, without house or [b](D)harbor;
It is revealed to them from the land of [c](E)Cyprus.
(F)Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon;
[d]Your messengers crossed the sea
And were on many waters.
(G)The [e]grain of [f](H)Shihor, the harvest of the Nile was her revenue;
And she was the nations’ (I)gain.
Be ashamed, O (J)Sidon;
For the sea speaks, the strong defense of the sea, saying,
“I have neither travailed nor given birth;
I have neither brought up choice men nor reared virgins.”
When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in (K)travail at the report of Tyre.
Pass over to (L)Tarshish;
Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland.
Is this your (M)exultant city,
Whose origin is from days of old,
Whose feet used to lead her to sojourn in distant places?

Who has counseled this against Tyre, (N)the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?
(O)Yahweh of hosts has counseled it, to (P)defile the pride of all beauty,
To make contemptuous all the (Q)honored of the earth.
10 [g]Overflow your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more [h]restraint.
11 He has (R)stretched His hand out (S)over the sea;
He has (T)made the kingdoms tremble;
Yahweh has given a command concerning Canaan to (U)demolish its strong defenses.

12 So He said, “(V)You shall exult no more, O crushed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, pass over to [i](W)Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”

13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans—this is the people which was not; (X)Assyria established it for (Y)desert creatures—they erected their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, (Z)they made it a ruin.

14 Wail, O (AA)ships of Tarshish,
For your strong defense is destroyed.

15 Now it will be in that day, that Tyre will be forgotten for (AB)seventy years like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:

16 Take your harp, walk about the city,
O forgotten harlot;
Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.

17 And it will be at (AC)the end of seventy years that Yahweh will visit Tyre. Then she will go back to her harlot’s wages and will (AD)play the harlot with all the kingdoms [j]on the face of the earth. 18 And her (AE)gain and her harlot’s wages will be (AF)set apart to Yahweh; it will not be treasured up or hoarded, but her gain will become sufficient food and choice attire for those who inhabit the presence of Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 23:1 Or burden of
  2. Isaiah 23:1 Lit entering
  3. Isaiah 23:1 Heb Kittim
  4. Isaiah 23:2 As in DSS; M.T. Who passed over the sea, they replenished you
  5. Isaiah 23:3 Lit seed
  6. Isaiah 23:3 Part of the Nile
  7. Isaiah 23:10 Lit Pass over
  8. Isaiah 23:10 Possibly girdle, shipyard
  9. Isaiah 23:12 Heb Kittim
  10. Isaiah 23:17 Lit of the earth on the face of the land

A Prophecy Against Tyre

23 A prophecy against Tyre:(A)

Wail,(B) you ships(C) of Tarshish!(D)
    For Tyre is destroyed(E)
    and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
    word has come to them.

Be silent,(F) you people of the island
    and you merchants(G) of Sidon,(H)
    whom the seafarers have enriched.
On the great waters
    came the grain of the Shihor;(I)
the harvest of the Nile[a](J) was the revenue of Tyre,(K)
    and she became the marketplace of the nations.

Be ashamed, Sidon,(L) and you fortress of the sea,
    for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;(M)
    I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
When word comes to Egypt,
    they will be in anguish(N) at the report from Tyre.(O)

Cross over to Tarshish;(P)
    wail, you people of the island.
Is this your city of revelry,(Q)
    the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
    to settle in far-off lands?
Who planned this against Tyre,
    the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants(R) are princes,
    whose traders(S) are renowned in the earth?
The Lord Almighty planned(T) it,
    to bring down(U) her pride in all her splendor
    and to humble(V) all who are renowned(W) on the earth.

10 Till[b] your land as they do along the Nile,
    Daughter Tarshish,
    for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The Lord has stretched out his hand(X) over the sea
    and made its kingdoms tremble.(Y)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
    that her fortresses be destroyed.(Z)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,(AA)
    Virgin Daughter(AB) Sidon, now crushed!

“Up, cross over to Cyprus;(AC)
    even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[c](AD)
    this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians(AE) have made it
    a place for desert creatures;(AF)
they raised up their siege towers,(AG)
    they stripped its fortresses bare
    and turned it into a ruin.(AH)

14 Wail, you ships(AI) of Tarshish;(AJ)
    your fortress is destroyed!(AK)

15 At that time Tyre(AL) will be forgotten for seventy years,(AM) the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:

16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
    you forgotten prostitute;(AN)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
    so that you will be remembered.”

17 At the end of seventy years,(AO) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(AP) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(AQ) 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;(AR) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord,(AS) for abundant food and fine clothes.(AT)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 23:3 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls Sidon, / who cross over the sea; / your envoys are on the great waters. / The grain of the Shihor, / the harvest of the Nile,
  2. Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
  3. Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans