Beginning

Word about Tyre

23 The special word about Tyre: Cry out in sorrow, O ships of Tarshish. For Tyre is destroyed, so that there is no house or safe place for ships. It is made known to them from the land of Cyprus. ² Be quiet, you people who live on the islands, you traders of Sidon. You sent men to cross the sea ³ and go on many waters. The grain of the Nile, that was gathered beside that River, made money for Tyre who was the trader of the nations. ⁴ Be ashamed, O Sidon, the strong-place of the sea. The sea speaks and says, “I have not suffered or given birth. I have not brought up young men or young women.” ⁵ When the news comes to Egypt, they will be in pain when they hear about Tyre. ⁶ Pass over to Tarshish. Cry out in sorrow, O people of the islands. ⁷ Is this your joy-filled city, whose beginning was long ago, whose feet have taken her to live in places far away?

⁸ Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose traders were princes and the honored of the earth? ⁹ The Lord of All has planned it, to put to shame the pride of all beauty, and to take honor away from all the honored of the earth. ¹⁰ Flow over your land like the Nile, O people of Tarshish. There is nothing holding you back any more. ¹¹ He has put out His hand over the sea. He has made the nations shake with fear. The Lord has said that the strong-places of Canaan must be destroyed. ¹² He has said, “You will not be filled with joy anymore, O pure crushed daughters of Sidon. Get up and go over to Cyprus. Even there you will not find any rest.”

¹³ It was the Babylonians, not the Assyrians, who let the wild animals come upon Tyre. They built towers for their armies. They tore down her beautiful houses. They destroyed her. ¹⁴ Cry out in sorrow, O ships of Tarshish, for your strong-place is destroyed. ¹⁵ In that day Tyre will be forgotten for 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 woman who sells the use of her body: ¹⁶ “Take your harp and walk through the city, O forgotten woman who sells the use of her body. Play the strings well. Sing many songs, that you may be remembered.” ¹⁷ At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre. Then she will return to her sinful woman’s pay. She will be as a woman who sells the use of her body to all the nations on the earth. ¹⁸ Her riches and her pay for selling the use of her body will be set apart to the Lord. It will not be stored up or saved. But what she receives will give much food and good clothes to those who live for the Lord.

The Earth Will Be Punished

24 See, the Lord will lay the earth waste. He will destroy it, turn its ground up-side-down, and send its people everywhere. ² What happens to the people will happen to the religious leader. What happens to the man servant will happen to his owner. The woman servant will be like her owner. The buyer will be like the seller. The giver will be like the receiver. The one who lets another use his money will be like the one who uses it. ³ All the earth will be laid waste and destroyed, for the Lord has said this.

⁴ The earth cries in sorrow and wastes away. The world becomes weak with sorrow and wastes away, together with the honored people of the earth. ⁵ The earth has been made unclean by its people. They have sinned and not obeyed the laws, and have broken the agreement that was to be forever. ⁶ So the earth is cursed and those who live in it suffer for their guilt. So the people of the earth are burned, and few men are left.

⁷ The new wine dries up and the vine wastes away. All the glad in heart are in sorrow. ⁸ The happiness of the music-makers stops. The noise of those filled with joy stops. The happiness of the harp stops. ⁹ They do not drink wine with singing. Strong drink tastes bad to those who drink it. ¹⁰ The city of trouble is broken down. Every house is shut up so no one may go in. ¹¹ There is a crying out in the streets about the wine. All joy turns to darkness. The happiness of the earth is gone. ¹² The city is laid waste. The gate is broken to pieces. ¹³ For this is how it will be on the earth among the nations. It will be like the shaking of an olive tree, and like what is left after the grapes have been gathered. ¹⁴ They raise their voices. They call out for joy. They cry out from the west about the wonderful power of the Lord. ¹⁵ So honor the Lord in the east. Honor the name of the Lord God of Israel in the islands of the sea. ¹⁶ From the ends of the earth we hear songs: “Praise the One Who is right and good.” But I say, “I waste away! I waste away! It is bad for me! The false ones are not faithful. Yes, their way is very false.” ¹⁷ Fear and the deep hole and the trap are before you, O people of the earth. ¹⁸ He who runs from the news of trouble will fall into a deep hole. And he who comes out of the hole will be caught in a trap. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the earth shakes. ¹⁹ The earth is broken in pieces. The earth is torn apart. The earth is very shaken. ²⁰ The earth turns from one side to the other side like a drunk man. It shakes like a tent because its sin is heavy upon it. It will fall, never to rise again. ²¹ In that day the Lord will punish the powers of heaven above, and the kings of the earth below. ²² They will be gathered together like those in a prison. They will be kept in a deep, dark prison, and after many days they will be punished. ²³ Then the moon will be dark and the sun will not shine, for the Lord of All will rule on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. And in front of His leaders, He will let His shining-greatness be seen.

A Song of Praise

25 O Lord, You are my God. I will praise You. I will give thanks to Your name. For You have been faithful to do great things, plans that You made long ago. ² For You have laid waste a city. You have destroyed a strong city. The beautiful house of strangers is a city no more. And it will never be built again. ³ So strong people will honor You. Cities of nations that show no pity will fear You. ⁴ For You have been a strong-place for those who could not help themselves and for those in need because of much trouble. You have been a safe place from the storm and a shadow from the heat. For the breath of the one who shows no pity is like a storm against a wall. ⁵ Like heat in a dry place, You quiet the noise of the strangers. Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the one who shows no pity is made quiet.

A Supper for All People

⁶ On this mountain the Lord of All will make a supper of good things ready for all people. It will be a supper of good wine, of the best foods, and of fine wine. ⁷ And on this mountain He will destroy the covering which is over all people, the covering which is spread over all nations. ⁸ He will take away death for all time. The Lord God will dry tears from all faces. He will take away the shame of His people from all the earth. For the Lord has spoken. ⁹ It will be said in that day, “See, this is our God. We have waited for Him, that He might save us. This is the Lord for Whom we have waited. Let us be glad and full of joy because He saves us.”

Moab Will Be Punished

¹⁰ For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. And Moab will be crushed in his place, as straw is crushed down in animal waste. ¹¹ Moab will spread out his hands in it, as a man spreads out his hands to swim. But the Lord will put his pride to shame, together with the sinful work of his hands. ¹² And the Lord will bring down your high walls built for war and lay them low. He will throw them to the ground, even to the dust.

A Song of Trust in God

26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city. The Lord saves us and puts up walls to keep us safe. ² Open the gates, that the nation that is right with God may come in, the one that keeps faithful. ³ You will keep the man in perfect peace whose mind is kept on You, because he trusts in You. ⁴ Trust in the Lord forever. For the Lord God is a Rock that lasts forever. ⁵ For He has brought down low those who live on a high place, the high city. He lays it low. He lays it low to the ground. He throws it to the dust. ⁶ It will be crushed under foot, under the feet of those who have suffered and the steps of those who cannot help themselves.”

⁷ The way of the man who is right with God is smooth. O Upright One, make the path straight of those who are right with You. ⁸ While following in Your ways, O Lord, we have waited for You. To remember You and Your name is the desire of our souls. ⁹ My soul has a desire for You in the night. Yes, my spirit within me looks for You in the morning. For when you punish the earth, the people of the world learn what is right and good. ¹⁰ When favor is shown to the sinful, he does not learn what is right and good. He goes on doing what is wrong in the land of those who are right. He does not see the wonderful power of the Lord.

¹¹ O Lord, Your hand is lifted up but they do not see it. Let them see Your care for Your people and be ashamed. Let fire destroy those who hate You. ¹² O Lord, You will give us peace, for You have done all our works for us. ¹³ O Lord our God, other lords than You have ruled us, but Your name alone is the One we honor. ¹⁴ They are dead, and will not live. Their spirits will not return. So You have punished and destroyed them. You have caused them all to be forgotten. ¹⁵ You have made the nation great, O Lord. You have made the nation great. You have received much praise. You have made the land larger. ¹⁶ O Lord, they looked for You in their trouble. They could only say a quiet prayer while You were punishing them. ¹⁷ As the woman who is going to have a baby comes close to the time to give birth, she suffers and cries out in her pains. This is how we were before You, O Lord. ¹⁸ We suffered in pain. We gave birth, as it were, only to wind. We could not bring the world out of its trouble. And no people of the earth were born. ¹⁹ Your dead will live. Their dead bodies will rise. You who lie in the dust, wake up and call out for joy. For as the water on the grass in the morning brings new life, the earth will bring back to life those who have been dead.

Punishment of Sinners

²⁰ Come, my people, go into your rooms. Close your doors behind you. Hide for a little while until God’s anger is past. ²¹ For see, the Lord is about to come out from His place to punish the people of the earth for their sin. And the earth will let the blood be seen that has poured on her. She will no longer cover her dead.

Israel Set Free

27 In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan, the large snake-like sea animal, with His sharp and great and powerful sword. He will punish Leviathan the turning snake, and kill the big dragon that lives in the sea.

² In that day it will be said: “Sing about a grape-field of wine! ³ I, the Lord, am its keeper. I water it all the time. I watch over it day and night so no one will hurt it. ⁴ I am not angry. If someone were to give Me thistles and thorns in battle, I would step on them. I would burn them together. ⁵ Or let him trust in Me to keep him safe. Let him make peace with Me. Yes, let him make peace with Me.” ⁶ In the days to come Jacob will take root. Israel will flower and begin to grow, and fill the whole world with fruit.

⁷ Has the Lord punished Israel as He punished those who went against Israel? Or have as many people of Israel been killed as their killers were killed? ⁸ You showed Your anger towards them by driving them out of the land. You moved them out with Your strong wind on the day of the east wind. ⁹ So by this Jacob’s sin will be forgiven. This will be the full price of taking his sin away: When he crushes all the altar stones into fine pieces, so the wooden female goddess Asherah and the altars of special perfume will not stand. ¹⁰ The city made strong for battle is empty and alone, a place left alone like the desert. The calves eat there, and they lie down and eat from its branches. ¹¹ When its branches are dry, they are broken off. Women come and make a fire with them. They are not a people of understanding, so their Maker will not have pity on them. The One Who made them will not show kindness to them.

¹² In that day the Lord will beat out His grain from the flowing river of the Euphrates to the river of Egypt. And you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. ¹³ In that day a great horn will be blown. Those who were dying in the land of Assyria and those who were sent everywhere through the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.