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 Pronouncement against Tyre
1A pronouncement#Is 13:1 concerning Tyre:#Jos 19:29; 1Kg 5:1; Jr 25:22; 47:4; Ezk 26:1–27:36; Jl 3:4–8; Am 1:9; Zch 9:2–4
Wail, ships of Tarshish,#Gn 10:4; 1Kg 10:22
for your haven has been destroyed.
Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.#23:1 Hb Kittim#Jr 2:10; Ezk 27:6; Ac 11:19
2Mourn, inhabitants of the coastland,
you merchants of Sidon;#Gn 10:15; Jos 19:28; Jr 25:22; 27:3; Ezk 27:8; 32:30; Jl 3:4; Zch 9:2
your agents have crossed the sea#23:2 DSS; MT reads Sidon, whom the seafarers have filled
3over deep water.
Tyre’s revenue was the grain from Shihor —
the harvest of the Nile.
She was the merchant among the nations.#Ezk 27:3–23
4Be ashamed, Sidon, the stronghold of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have not been in labor or given birth.
I have not raised young men
or brought up young women.”
5When the news reaches Egypt,
they will be in anguish over the news about Tyre.#Ac 21:7
6Cross over to Tarshish;
wail, inhabitants of the coastland!
7Is this your jubilant city,
whose origin was in ancient times,
whose feet have taken her
to reside far away?
8Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose traders are princes,
whose merchants are the honored ones of the earth?
9The Lord of Armies planned it,
to desecrate all its glorious beauty,
to disgrace all the honored ones of the earth.
10Overflow#23:10 DSS, LXX read Work your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish;
there is no longer anything to restrain you.#23:10 Or longer any harbor
11He stretched out his hand over the sea;#Ex 14:21; Is 14:26
he made kingdoms tremble.
The Lord has commanded
that the Canaanite fortresses be destroyed.
12He said,
“You will not celebrate anymore,
ravished young woman, daughter of Sidon.
Get up and cross over to Cyprus#Is 23:1; Jr 2:10; Ezk 27:6; Ac 4:36; 11:19–20; 13:4; 15:39; 21:3,16; 27:4 —
even there you will have no rest!”
13Look at the land of the Chaldeans —
a people who no longer exist.
Assyria destined it for desert creatures.
They set up their siege towers
and stripped its palaces.
They made it a ruin.
14Wail, ships of Tarshish,
because your fortress is destroyed!
15On that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years — the life span of one king. At the end of seventy years, what the song says about the prostitute will happen to Tyre:
16Pick up your lyre,
stroll through the city,
you forgotten prostitute.
Play skillfully,
sing many a song
so that you will be remembered.
17And at the end of the seventy years,#Jr 25:11,22 the Lord will restore Tyre#Ac 21:7 and she will go back into business, prostituting herself with all the kingdoms of the world throughout the earth. 18But her profits and wages will be dedicated to the Lord. They will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live in the Lord’s presence, to provide them with ample food and sacred clothing.
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