Isaiah 23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
An Oracle concerning Tyre
23 The oracle concerning Tyre.
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your fortress is destroyed.[a]
When they came in from Cyprus
they learned of it.(A)
2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast,
O merchants of Sidon;
your messengers crossed over the sea[b](B)
3 and were on the mighty waters;
your revenue[c] was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were the merchant of the nations.(C)
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,
the fortress of the sea, saying:
“I have neither labored nor given birth;
I have neither reared young men
nor brought up young women.”(D)
5 When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish—
wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
7 Is this your exultant city
whose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
to settle far away?(E)
8 Who has planned this
against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts has planned it—
to defile the pride of all glory,
to shame all the honored of the earth.(F)
10 Cross over to your own land,
O ships of[d] Tarshish;
this is a harbor[e] no more.
11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea;
he has shaken the kingdoms;
the Lord has given command concerning Canaan,
to destroy its fortresses.(G)
12 He said:
“You will exult no longer,
O oppressed virgin daughter Sidon;
rise, cross over to Cyprus—
even there you will have no rest.”(H)
13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people; it was not Assyria. They destined it for wild animals.[f] They erected their siege towers; they tore down her palaces; they made her a ruin.(I)
14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your fortress is destroyed.(J)
15 From that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the lifetime of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song about the prostitute:(K)
16 Take a harp;
go about the city,
you forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody;
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.
17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her trade and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.(L) 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be dedicated to the Lord; her profits[g] will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who live in the presence of the Lord.(M)
Isaiah 23
Expanded Bible
God’s Message to Lebanon
23 This is a ·message [prophecy; oracle; burden] about Tyre [C port city in Phoenicia, north of Israel; present-day Lebanon]:
You ·trading ships [L ships of Tarshish; C western port city, probably in Spain; 2:16], ·cry [wail]!
The houses and harbor of Tyre are ·destroyed [devastated; laid waste].
This news came to the ships
from the land of ·Cyprus [L the Kittim; C the people of Cyprus, an island west of Israel].
2 ·Be silent [or Mourn in silence], you who live on the ·island of Tyre [or coastland];
you merchants of Sidon [C port city of Phoenica], be silent.
·Sailors have made you rich [or …whose messengers have crossed the sea].
3 They traveled ·the sea [the great waters; or many seas] to bring ·grain from Egypt [L the grain of Shihor; C the east branch of the Nile in Egypt];
the harvest of the Nile was Tyre’s ·profit [revenue];
she was the marketplace of the nations.
4 Sidon, be ashamed.
·Strong city [Fortress] of the sea, be ashamed, because the sea says:
“I have not ·felt the pain of giving birth [gone into labor or given birth];
I have not reared young men or women.”
5 Egypt will hear the news about Tyre,
and it will make Egypt ·hurt with sorrow [be in anguish].
6 ·You ships should return [Travel; or Send word; L Cross over] to Tarshish [v. 1].
·Be sad [Wail], you people ·living near the sea [of the coast].
7 ·Look at [L Is this…?] your ·once happy [boisterous] city,
·founded so long ago [whose beginning was from days of antiquity].
·People from that city have traveled […whose feet have taken her]
far away to live.
8 Who planned Tyre’s destruction?
Tyre ·made others rich [bestower of crowns; or wearer of crowns].
Its merchants ·were treated like [L were; or are] princes,
and its traders were ·greatly respected [L the honored/renowned of the earth].
9 It was the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] who planned this.
He decided to ·make these proud people unimportant [L bring down the pride of all her glory/splendor];
he decided to ·disgrace [humble] ·those who were greatly respected [L the honored/renowned of the earth].
10 Go through[a] [or Cultivate; Till] your land, ·people [L daughter] of Tarshish [v. 1],
like ·the Nile goes through Egypt [or they do along the Nile].
There is no ·harbor [or marketplace; or restraint; or strength] for you now!
11 The Lord has stretched his hand over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.
He commands that Canaan’s
·strong, walled cities [fortresses; strongholds] be destroyed.
12 He said, “·Sidon [L Virgin daughter Sidon], you will not ·rejoice [celebrate] any longer,
because you are ·destroyed [crushed; oppressed].
·Even if you cross the sea [L Arise, cross over] to ·Cyprus [L Kittim],
[but] you will not find a place to rest.”
13 Look at the land of the ·Babylonians [Chaldeans];
·it is not a country now [this people is no more].
Assyria has made it a place for ·wild [desert] animals.
Assyria built ·towers to attack it [siege towers];
the soldiers ·took all the treasures from its cities [stripped bare/tore down its fortresses/palaces],
and they turned it into ruins.
14 ·So be sad [Wail], you ·trading ships [L ships of Tarshish; v. 1; 2:16],
because your ·strong city [fortress; stronghold] is destroyed.
15 ·At that time [L In that day] Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, which is the length of a king’s life. ·After [L At the end of] seventy years, Tyre will be like the prostitute in this song:
16 “Oh ·woman [prostitute; harlot], you are forgotten.
Take your harp and walk through the city.
Play your harp well. Sing ·your song often [many songs].
Then people will remember you.”
17 ·After [L At the end of] seventy years the Lord will ·deal with [visit] Tyre, and it will again ·have trade [earn wages]. It will be like a prostitute for all the ·nations [kingdoms] of the earth. 18 The profits will be ·saved [set apart; holy] for the Lord. Tyre will not ·keep [store up or hoard] the money she earns but will give them to the people who ·serve [worship; L dwell before] the Lord, so they will have plenty of food and ·nice clothes [beautiful coverings].
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:10 Go through Hebrew copies read “Go through.” The Dead Sea Scrolls and some Greek copies read “Cultivate.”
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.