Isaiah 23
Complete Jewish Bible
23 A prophecy about Tzor:
Howl, you “Tarshish” ships,
because the harbor is destroyed!
On returning from Kittim,
they discover they cannot enter it.
2 Silence, you who live on the coast,
you who have been enriched
by the merchants of Tzidon crossing the sea.
3 By the great water the grain of Shichor,
the harvest of the Nile, brought you profits.
She was marketplace for the nations.
4 Shame, Tzidon, for the sea speaks;
the fortress of the sea says,
“I no longer have labor pains or bear children,
yet I have raised neither boys nor girls.”
5 When the report reaches Egypt,
they will be in anguish at the fate of Tzor.
6 Cross over to Tarshish!
Howl, you who live on the coast!
7 Is this your boisterous city,
whose feet long ago in antiquity
carried her off to found distant colonies?
8 Who planned this against Tzor,
the city that once bestowed crowns,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are honored throughout the earth?
9 Adonai-Tzva’ot planned it
to break the pride of all the arrogant,
to humiliate all those who are honored
everywhere on earth.
10 People of Tarshish!
Nothing restricts you now.
You can flow freely over your land
just like the Nile River.
11 He has stretched out his hand against the sea,
he has shaken kingdoms;
Adonai has ordered that Kena‘an’s
fortresses be destroyed.
12 He has said, “Exult no more,
oppressed virgin daughter of Tzidon.
Arise, cross to Kittim;
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Kasdim!
This was the people who did not exist
when Ashur destined it for desert creatures.
They erected their siege towers
and tore down her palaces,
so that it has been made a ruin.
14 Howl, you “Tarshish” ships,
because your fortress is destroyed.
15 When that day comes, Tzor will be forgotten for seventy years, the lifetime of a king. After seventy years, its fate will be the same as that of the prostitute in this song:
16 “Take a lyre, walk the city,
you poor, forgotten whore!
Play sweetly, sing all your songs,
so that they will remember you!”
17 After seventy years are over Adonai will remember Tzor. She will receive her wages again and prostitute herself to all the world’s kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18 But her merchandise and profits will be dedicated to Adonai; they will not be stored up or hoarded, because her profits will be for those living in Adonai’s presence, so that they can eat their fill and wear fine clothing.
Isaiah 23
Legacy Standard Bible
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.
2 (F)Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon;
[d]Your messengers crossed the sea
3 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.
4 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.”
5 When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in (K)travail at the report of Tyre.
6 Pass over to (L)Tarshish;
Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland.
7 Is this your (M)exultant city,
Whose origin is from days of old,
Whose feet used to lead her to sojourn in distant places?
8 Who has counseled this against Tyre, (N)the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9 (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
- Isaiah 23:1 Or burden of
- Isaiah 23:1 Lit entering
- Isaiah 23:1 Heb Kittim
- Isaiah 23:2 As in DSS; M.T. Who passed over the sea, they replenished you
- Isaiah 23:3 Lit seed
- Isaiah 23:3 Part of the Nile
- Isaiah 23:10 Lit Pass over
- Isaiah 23:10 Possibly girdle, shipyard
- Isaiah 23:12 Heb Kittim
- Isaiah 23:17 Lit of the earth on the face of the land
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.