Isaiah 23:1-14
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)
Isaiah 23:1-14
Lexham English Bible
Oracle against Tyre
23 The oracle of Tyre:
Wail, ships of Tarshish, for the house is destroyed so that no one can enter;[a]
it is announced to them from the land of Cyprus.
2 Be still, inhabitants of the coast,
merchant of Sidon, who travels over the sea, they filled you.
3 And on the great waters is the seed of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile is its produce,
and she was the merchandise of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon, for the sea,
the fortress of the sea said, saying,
“I was not in labor,
and I have not given birth,
and I have not reared young men,
brought[b] up young women.”
5 When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish at the report about[c] Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish!
Wail, inhabitants of the coast!
7 Is this your exultant one,[d] her origin from the days of long ago?
Her feet brought her to dwell afar as an alien.
8 Who has planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,[e]
whose merchants were princes,
her traders the honored ones of the earth?
9 Yahweh of hosts has planned it:
to defile the pride of all glory,
to humble all the honored ones of the earth.
10 Cross over your own land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish;
there is no longer a harbor.[f]
11 He has stretched his hand out over the sea;
he has made kingdoms shake.
Yahweh has commanded concerning Canaan
to destroy her fortresses.
12 And he said,
“You will not continue[g] to exult, crushed one, virgin[h] daughter of Sidon.
Arise, cross over to Cyprus! There will be no rest for you even there.”
13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans!
This people no longer exists.
Assyria destined[i] it for wild animals.
They erected its siege towers;
they demolished its citadel fortresses.
It made her like a ruin.
14 Wail, ships of Tarshish!
For your fortress is destroyed.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:1 Literally “it is destroyed from a house from entering”
- Isaiah 23:4 Or “I have brought”
- Isaiah 23:5 Literally “of”
- Isaiah 23:7 Literally “this to you, exultant”
- Isaiah 23:8 Hebrew “crown”
- Isaiah 23:10 Hebrew “waistband” is emended to “harbor” by transposing two consonants
- Isaiah 23:12 Literally “do again longer”
- Isaiah 23:12 Literally “virgin of the”
- Isaiah 23:13 Literally “this people was not Assyria destined,” which could be translated “It was this people! It was not Assyria. They destined”
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