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
Revised Standard Version
An Oracle concerning Tyre
23 The oracle concerning Tyre.
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for Tyre is laid waste, without house or haven!
From the land of Cyprus
it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast,
O merchants of Sidon;
your messengers passed over the sea[a]
3 and were on many waters;
your revenue was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were the merchant of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,
the stronghold of the sea, saying:
“I have neither travailed nor given birth,
I have neither reared young men
nor brought up virgins.”
5 When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre.
6 Pass 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 afar?
8 Who has purposed 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 purposed it,
to defile the pride of all glory,
to dishonor all the honored of the earth.
10 Overflow your land like the Nile,
O daughter of Tarshish;
there is no restraint any 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 strongholds.
12 And he said:
“You will no more exult,
O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;
arise, pass over to Cyprus,
even there you will have no rest.”
13 Behold the land of the Chalde′ans! This is the people; it was not Assyria. They destined Tyre for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they razed her palaces, they made her a ruin.[b]
14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your stronghold is laid waste.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:2 One ancient Ms: Heb who passed over the sea, they replenished you
- Isaiah 23:13 The Hebrew of this verse is obscure
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.