Isaiah 23
23
A Prophecy Against Tyre
1Here is a prophecy against Tyre that the Lord gave me.
Men in the ships of Tarshish, cry out!
The city of Tyre is destroyed.
Its houses and harbor are gone.
That’s the message you have received
from the island of Cyprus.
2People on the island of Tyre, be silent.
Traders from the city of Sidon, be quiet.
Those who sail on the Mediterranean Sea have made you rich.
3Grain from Egypt
came across the mighty waters.
The harvest of the Nile River brought wealth to Tyre.
It became the market place of the nations.
4Sidon, be ashamed. Mighty Tyre out in the sea, be ashamed.
The sea has spoken. It has said,
“It’s as if I had never felt labor pains or had children.
It’s as if I had never brought up sons or daughters.
It’s as if the city of Tyre had never existed.”
5The Egyptians will hear about what has happened to Tyre.
They’ll be very sad and troubled.
6People of the island of Tyre, cry out!
Go across the sea to Tarshish.
7Just look at Tyre.
It’s no longer the old, old city that was known for its wild parties.
It no longer sends its people out
to make their homes in lands far away.
8Tyre was a city that produced kings.
Its traders were princes.
They were honored all over the earth.
So who planned to destroy such a city?
9The Lord who rules over all planned to do it.
He wanted to bring down all its pride and glory.
He wanted to shame those who were honored all over the earth.
10People of Tarshish, farm your land
as they do along the Nile River.
That’s because you don’t have a harbor anymore.
11The Lord has reached his powerful hand out over the sea.
He has made its kingdoms tremble with fear.
He has given a command concerning Phoenicia.
He has ordered that its forts be destroyed.
12He said, “No more wild parties for you!
People of Sidon, you are now destroyed!
“Leave your city. Go across the sea to Cyprus.
Even there you will not find any rest.”
13Look at the land of the Babylonians.
No one lives there anymore.
The Assyrians have turned it
into a place for desert creatures.
They built their towers in order to attack it.
They took everything out of its forts.
They knocked down all its buildings.
14Men in the ships of Tarshish, cry out!
Mighty Tyre is destroyed!
15A time is coming when people will forget about Tyre for 70 years. That’s the length of a king’s life. But at the end of those 70 years, Tyre will be like the prostitute that people sing about. They say,
16“Forgotten prostitute, pick up a harp.
Walk through the city.
Play the harp well. Sing many songs.
Then you will be remembered.”
17At the end of the 70 years, the Lord will punish Tyre. He will let it return to its way of life as a prostitute. It will earn its living with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18But the money it earns will be set apart for the Lord. The money won’t be stored up or kept for Tyre. Instead, it will go to those who live the way the Lord wants them to. It will pay for plenty of food and fine clothes for them.
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Isaiah 23: NIrV
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Isaiah 23
23
A Message about Tyre
1This message came to me concerning Tyre:
Wail, you trading ships of Tarshish,
for the harbor and houses of Tyre are gone!
The rumors you heard in Cyprus#23:1 Hebrew Kittim; also in 23:12.
are all true.
2Mourn in silence, you people of the coast
and you merchants of Sidon.
Your traders crossed the sea,#23:2 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads Those who have gone over the sea have filled you.
3sailing over deep waters.
They brought you grain from Egypt#23:3 Hebrew from Shihor, a branch of the Nile River.
and harvests from along the Nile.
You were the marketplace of the world.
4But now you are put to shame, city of Sidon,
for Tyre, the fortress of the sea, says,#23:4 Or for the god of the sea says; Hebrew reads for the sea, the fortress of the sea, says.
“Now I am childless;
I have no sons or daughters.”
5When Egypt hears the news about Tyre,
there will be great sorrow.
6Send word now to Tarshish!
Wail, you people who live in distant lands!
7Is this silent ruin all that is left of your once joyous city?
What a long history was yours!
Think of all the colonists you sent to distant places.
8Who has brought this disaster on Tyre,
that great creator of kingdoms?
Her traders were all princes,
her merchants were nobles.
9The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has done it
to destroy your pride
and bring low all earth’s nobility.
10Come, people of Tarshish,
sweep over the land like the flooding Nile,
for Tyre is defenseless.#23:10 The meaning of the Hebrew in this verse is uncertain.
11The Lord held out his hand over the sea
and shook the kingdoms of the earth.
He has spoken out against Phoenicia,#23:11 Hebrew Canaan.
ordering that her fortresses be destroyed.
12He says, “Never again will you rejoice,
O daughter of Sidon, for you have been crushed.
Even if you flee to Cyprus,
you will find no rest.”
13Look at the land of Babylonia#23:13 Or Chaldea.—
the people of that land are gone!
The Assyrians have handed Babylon over
to the wild animals of the desert.
They have built siege ramps against its walls,
torn down its palaces,
and turned it to a heap of rubble.
14Wail, you ships of Tarshish,
for your harbor is destroyed!
15For seventy years, the length of a king’s life, Tyre will be forgotten. But then the city will come back to life as in the song about the prostitute:
16Take a harp and walk the streets,
you forgotten harlot.
Make sweet melody and sing your songs
so you will be remembered again.
17Yes, after seventy years the Lord will revive Tyre. But she will be no different than she was before. She will again be a prostitute to all kingdoms around the world. 18But in the end her profits will be given to the Lord. Her wealth will not be hoarded but will provide good food and fine clothing for the Lord’s priests.
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