The Fall of Tyre

23 The pronouncement concerning (A)Tyre:

Wail, you (B)ships of (C)Tarshish,
For Tyre is destroyed, without house or [a](D)harbor;
It is reported to them from the land of [b](E)Cyprus.
(F)Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon;
[c]Your messengers crossed the sea
And were on many waters.
(G)The grain of the [d](H)Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue;
And she was the (I)market of nations.
Be ashamed, (J)Sidon,
For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying,
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth,
I have neither brought up young men nor raised virgins.”
When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in (K)anguish over the report of Tyre.
Pass over to (L)Tarshish;
Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland.
Is this your (M)jubilant city,
Whose origin is from antiquity,
Whose feet used to bring her to [e]colonize distant places?

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

12 He has said, “(V)You shall not be jubilant anymore, you crushed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, pass over to [h](W)Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”

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

14 Wail, you (AA)ships of Tarshish,
For your stronghold is destroyed.

15 Now on that day 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 prostitute:

16 Take your harp, wander around the city,
You forgotten prostitute;
Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.

17 It will come about at (AC)the end of seventy years that the Lord will visit Tyre. Then she will go back to her prostitute’s wages and (AD)commit prostitution with all the kingdoms [i]on the face of the earth. 18 Her (AE)profit and her prostitute’s wages will be (AF)sacred to the Lord; it will not be stored up or hoarded, but her profit will become sufficient food and magnificent attire for those who dwell in the presence of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 23:1 Lit entering
  2. Isaiah 23:1 Heb Kittim
  3. Isaiah 23:2 As in DSS; MT Who passed over the sea, they replenished you
  4. Isaiah 23:3 Heb Shihor
  5. Isaiah 23:7 Lit sojourn afar off
  6. Isaiah 23:10 Lit Pass over
  7. Isaiah 23:10 Perhaps girdle or shipyard
  8. Isaiah 23:12 Heb Kittim
  9. 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