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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)
Be still, O inhabitants of the coast,
    O merchants of Sidon;
your messengers crossed over the sea[b](B)
    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)
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)
When the report comes to Egypt,
    they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre.
Cross over to Tarshish—
    wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
Is this your exultant city
    whose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
    to settle far away?(E)
Who has planned this
    against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
    whose traders were the honored of the earth?
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)

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Footnotes

  1. 23.1 Cn: Heb for it is destroyed, without houses
  2. 23.2 Q ms: MT crossing over the sea, they replenished you
  3. 23.3 Heb its
  4. 23.10 Cn Compare Gk: Heb like the Nile, daughter
  5. 23.10 Cn: Heb restraint
  6. 23.13 Or This is the people that was not. Assyria founded it for its fleet.

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.)