Isaiah 23
23
An Oracle concerning Tyre
1The oracle concerning Tyre.
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your fortress is destroyed.#23.1 Cn Compare verse 14: Heb for it is destroyed, without houses
When they came in from Cyprus
they learned of it.
2Be still, O inhabitants of the coast,
O merchants of Sidon,
your messengers crossed over the sea#23.2 Q Ms: MT crossing over the sea, they replenished you
3and were on the mighty waters;
your revenue was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were the merchant of the nations.
4Be 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.”
5When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre.
6Cross over to Tarshish—
wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
7Is this your exultant city
whose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
to settle far away?
8Who has planned this
against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9The Lord of hosts has planned it—
to defile the pride of all glory,
to shame all the honored of the earth.
10Cross over to your own land,
O ships of#23.10 Cn Compare Gk: Heb like the Nile, daughter Tarshish;
this is a harbor#23.10 Cn: Heb restraint no more.
11He has stretched out his hand over the sea,
he has shaken the kingdoms;
the Lord has given command concerning Canaan
to destroy its fortresses.
12He said:
You will exult no longer,
O oppressed virgin daughter Sidon;
rise, cross over to Cyprus—
even there you will have no rest.
13Look at the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people; it was not Assyria. They destined Tyre for wild animals. They erected their siege towers, they tore down her palaces, they made her a ruin.#23.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
14Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your fortress is destroyed.
15From that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the lifetime of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song about the prostitute:
16Take a harp,
go about the city,
you forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody,
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.
17At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her trade, and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18Her merchandise and her wages will be dedicated to the Lord; her profits#23.18 Heb it will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who live in the presence of the Lord.
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Isaiah 23: NRSV-CI
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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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