Isaiah 23
New King James Version
Proclamation Against Tyre
23 The (A)burden[a] against Tyre.
Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For it is laid waste,
So that there is no house, no harbor;
From the land of [b]Cyprus it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon,
[c]Whom those who cross the sea have filled.
3 And on great waters the grain of Shihor,
The harvest of [d]the River, is her revenue;
And (B)she is a marketplace for the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon;
For the sea has spoken,
The strength of the sea, saying,
“I do not labor, nor bring forth children;
Neither do I rear young men,
Nor bring up virgins.”
5 (C)When the report reaches Egypt,
They also will be in agony at the report of Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish;
Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland!
7 Is this your (D)joyous city,
Whose antiquity is from ancient days,
Whose feet carried her far off to dwell?
8 Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, (E)the crowning city,
Whose merchants are princes,
Whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts has (F)purposed it,
To [e]bring to dishonor the (G)pride of all glory,
To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
10 Overflow through your land like [f]the River,
O daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more [g]strength.
11 He stretched out His hand over the sea,
He shook the kingdoms;
The Lord has given a commandment (H)against Canaan
To destroy its strongholds.
12 And He said, “You will rejoice no more,
O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, (I)cross over to Cyprus;
There also you will have no rest.”
13 Behold, the land of the (J)Chaldeans,
This people which was not;
Assyria founded it for (K)wild beasts of the desert.
They set up its towers,
They raised up its palaces,
And brought it to ruin.
14 (L)Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For your strength is laid waste.
15 Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to 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 a harp, go about the city,
You forgotten harlot;
Make sweet melody, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.”
17 And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and (M)commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her gain and her pay (N)will be set apart for the Lord; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for [h]fine clothing.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 23:1 Heb. Kittim, western lands, especially Cyprus
- Isaiah 23:2 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Tg. Passing over the water; DSS Your messengers passing over the sea
- Isaiah 23:3 The Nile
- Isaiah 23:9 pollute
- Isaiah 23:10 The Nile
- Isaiah 23:10 restraint, lit. belt
- Isaiah 23:18 choice
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.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.