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
The Fall of Tyre
1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (#I.e. an urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.a burden to be carried) concerning #Ancient Tyre was a Phoenician trading center with two separate urban areas; the major trading center was located on a fortified island and the suburban center was located on the adjacent coast. They were connected by a causeway built by Alexander the Great during his siege of Tyre.Tyre:
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
For Tyre is destroyed, without house, without harbor;
It is reported to them from the land of Cyprus (Kittim).
2Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You #So some versions; MT reads merchant.merchants of Sidon;
# The DSS so read. MT reads Who crossed the sea, they replenished you. Your messengers crossed the sea
3And they were on great waters.
The grain of the #An Egyptian name meaning “the pond of Horus”; it is probably a branch of the Nile or an unspecified lake.Shihor, the harvest of the Nile River, was Tyre’s revenue;
And she was the market of nations.
4Be ashamed, O Sidon [mother-city of Tyre, now like a widow bereaved of her children];
For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying,
“I have neither labored nor given birth [to children];
I have neither brought up young men nor reared virgins.”
5When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in agony at the report about Tyre.
6Cross over to Tarshish [to seek safety as exiles];
Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland [of Tyre].
7Is this your jubilant city,
Whose origin dates back to antiquity,
Whose feet used to carry her [far away] to colonize distant places?
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 beauty,
To bring into contempt and humiliation all the honored of the earth.
10Overflow your land like [the overflow of] the Nile, O Daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more restraint [on you to make you pay tribute to Tyre].
11He has stretched out His hand over the sea,
He has shaken the kingdoms;
The Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to destroy her strongholds and her fortresses [like Tyre and Sidon].
12He has said, “You shall never again exult [in triumph], O crushed Virgin Daughter of Sidon.
Arise, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”
13Now look at the land of the Chaldeans (Babylonia)—this is the people which was not; the Assyrians allocated Tyre for desert creatures—they set up their #Besieging a heavily fortified (walled) city was an ancient military tactic. The attackers would surround the city and cut off all supplies and communication to or from the inhabitants, then they would use siege towers to tear down the walls. The tower was a massive support structure for a heavy beam or log that was sharpened on one end and hung horizontally. It would be pushed against a wall and worked in such a way as to dislodge the stones that had been stacked to form the wall.siege towers, they stripped its palaces, they made it a ruin.
14Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
For your stronghold [of Tyre] is destroyed.
15Now 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 prostitute’s song:
16Take a harp, walk around the city,
O forgotten prostitute;
Play the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.
17It will come to pass at the end of seventy years that the Lord will remember Tyre. Then she will return to her prostitute’s wages and will play the [role of a] prostitute [by trading] with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18But her commercial gain and her prostitute’s wages will be #Tyre was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 572 b.c. and lay desolate for seventy years. The new city built on the island was taken by Alexander the Great in 332 b.c. Eventually Christianity prevailed at Tyre. Jesus visited there (Matt 15:21) and so did Paul (Acts 21:3-6). In his commentary on Isaiah Eusebius says that when the church of God was founded in Tyre, much of its wealth was consecrated to God and presented for the support of ministers. This is also the testimony of Jerome, the Latin church father writing in the fourth century.dedicated to the Lord; it will not be treasured or stored up, but her commercial gain will become sufficient food and stately clothing for those who dwell (minister) in the presence of the Lord.
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