Isaiah 23
23
Concerning Tyre
1An oracle about Tyre.
Wail, ships of Tarshish,
because your port is destroyed!#23.1 Heb uncertain
When returning from Cyprus, they heard about it.
2Be still, inhabitants of the coast, traders of Sidon,
whose messengers crossed over the sea,#23.2 Correction; MT one crossing over the sea filled you
3over the mighty waters.
The grain of Shihor, the Nile’s harvest, was her income;
she was the marketplace of nations.
4Be ashamed, Sidon, because the sea has spoken;
the fortress of the sea has said,
“I haven’t been in labor; I didn’t give birth;
I never raised young men or brought up young women.”
5When the Egyptians hear,
they will be in anguish at the news about Tyre.
6Cross over to Tarshish;
wail, inhabitants of the coast.
7Is this your triumphant town,
whose origin is from ancient times,
whose feet carried her to settle far away?
8Who planned this concerning Tyre,
the one who gives crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9The LORD of heavenly forces planned it,
to defile the pride of all beauty,
to shame all the honored of the earth.
10Go through your own land, Daughter Tarshish,
for the harbor#23.10 Heb uncertain is gone.
11God’s hand is extended over the sea, shaking nations.
The LORD gave the command to destroy Phoenicia’s fortresses,
12saying, You will no longer celebrate,
violated virgin Daughter Sidon.
Get up and head to Cyprus;
even there you will find no rest.
13Look at the land of the Chaldeans,
the people who are no more.
Assyria destined it for wild animals:
they raised up their siege towers,
stripped its palaces,
and made it a ruin.
14Wail, ships of Tarshish,
for your fortress is destroyed!
15On that day, Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, the lifetime of one king. At the end of seventy years, Tyre will become like the prostitute in the song:
16Take a harp, go around the city, forgotten prostitute.
Play well, sing many songs, so they’ll remember you.
17At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre. She will return to her trade and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms on the earth. 18Her profits and wages will be sacred to the LORD. They won’t be stored or saved. Her profits will go to those living before the LORD, for plentiful food and elegant clothes.
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Isaiah 23: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. 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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