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)

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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

Tyre is Rebuked

23 A message[a] concerning Tyre.

“Wail, you ships of Tarshish,
for Tyre is destroyed
        and is without house or harbor!
From the land of Cyprus[b]
it was revealed to them.

“Be silent,[c] you inhabitants of the coast,
    you merchants of Sidon,
        whose messengers crossed over the sea,[d]
and were on mighty waters.
    Her revenue was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
    and she became the marketplace of nations.
Be ashamed, Sidon, because the sea[e] has spoken,
    the fortress of the sea:
I have neither been in labor nor given birth,
    I have neither reared young men
        nor brought up young women.”
When the news reaches Egypt,
    they will be in anguish
        at the report about Tyre.

“You who are crossing over[f] to Tarshish—
    Wail, you inhabitants of the coast!
Is this your exciting[g] city,
    that was founded long ago,
whose feet carried her
    to settle in far-off lands?
Who has planned this
    against Tyre,
        that bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,[h]
    whose traders were the most renowned on earth?
The Lord of the Heavenly Armies has planned it—
    to neutralize all the hubris of grandeur,[i]
        to discredit all the renowned men of earth.

10 “Cultivate[j] your land like the Nile,
    you daughter of Tarshish;
        for there is no longer a harbor.
11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea;
    he has made[k] kingdoms tremble.
The Lord has issued orders concerning Canaan
    to destroy its strongholds.
12 And he said:
‘You will revel no longer,[l]
    you virgin daughter of Sidon,
        now crushed.
Get up, cross over to Cyprus—
    but even there you will find no rest.’”

Tyre’s Desolation and Restoration

13 “Look at the land of the Chaldeans!
    This is a people that no longer exist;
Assyria destined her[m] for desert creatures.[n]
    They raised up her[o] siege towers,
they stripped her fortresses bare
    and turned her into a ruin.
14 Wail, you ships of Tarshish,
    because your[p] stronghold is destroyed!”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 23:1 Lit. An oracle
  2. Isaiah 23:1 Lit. of the Kittim
  3. Isaiah 23:2 So 1QIsaa 4QIsaa MT; LXX reads To whom are they like?
  4. Isaiah 23:2 So 1QIsaa 4QIsaa LXX; MT reads you whom the merchants of Sidon, passing over the sea, have replenished
  5. Isaiah 23:4 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsaa MT read for he
  6. Isaiah 23:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read Cross over
  7. Isaiah 23:7 Or happy
  8. Isaiah 23:8 So 1QIsaa corrector
  9. Isaiah 23:9 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads the hubris of all grandeur
  10. Isaiah 23:10 Or Worship; so 1QIsaa LXX; 4QIsac MT read Pass through
  11. Isaiah 23:11 So 1QIsaa 4QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsac reads to make
  12. Isaiah 23:12 So 1QIsaa MT LXX; 4QIsac reads won’t take refuge to revel; or won’t revel with gusto
  13. Isaiah 23:13 I.e. Tyre
  14. Isaiah 23:13 Or demons
  15. Isaiah 23:13 So 1QIsaa; MT reads his
  16. Isaiah 23:14 So 1QIsaa (sing.); MT LXX (pl.)