Isaiah 23
23
Tyre and Sidon
1#This oracle, a satire directed against the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon, is perhaps to be situated at the time of Sennacherib’s campaign against the Phoenician cities in 701 B.C, following his subjugation of their Babylonian allies in 703 B.C. Oracle on Tyre:
Wail, ships of Tarshish,
for your port is destroyed;
From the land of the Kittim#Kittim: Cyprus. The Hebrew word is derived from the term for the well-known city of Cyprus, Kition. In later centuries the term Kittim is used for the Greeks, the Romans, and other distant peoples.
the news reaches them.#Jer 25:22; Ez 26; Am 1:9; Zec 9:2, 4.
2Silence! you who dwell on the coast,
you merchants of Sidon,
Whose messengers crossed the sea
3over the deep waters,
Whose revenue was the grain of Shihor,#Shihor: a synonym for the Nile. the harvest of the Nile,
you who were the merchant among the nations.#Ez 27:3.
4Be ashamed, Sidon, fortress on the sea,
for the sea#The sea: here personified, it brings to distant coasts the news that Sidon must disown her children; her people are dispersed. has spoken,
“I have not been in labor, nor given birth,
nor raised young men,
nor reared young women.”
5When the report reaches Egypt
they shall be in anguish at the report about Tyre.
6Pass over to Tarshish,#Tarshish: perhaps Tartessus in Spain. Distant lands: the reference is to the far-flung colonies established by the Phoenicians throughout the Mediterranean, including North Africa, Spain, and Sardinia. Oceangoing vessels were therefore called Tarshish ships.
wail, you who dwell on the coast!
7Is this your exultant city,
whose origin is from old,
Whose feet have taken her
to dwell in distant lands?
8Who has planned such a thing
against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are the earth’s honored men?
9The Lord of hosts has planned it,
to disgrace the height of all beauty,
to degrade all the honored of the earth.#Is 14:24–27; 22:11; Ez 28:7.
10Cross to your own land,
ship of Tarshish;
the harbor is no more.
11His hand he stretches out over the sea,
he shakes kingdoms;
The Lord commanded the destruction
of Canaan’s strongholds:#Canaan’s strongholds: the fortresses of Phoenicia. #Is 14:27; Ps 65:8.
12Crushed, you shall exult no more,
virgin daughter Sidon.
Arise, pass over to the Kittim,
even there you shall find no rest.#Ez 28:21–22.
13#The reference here seems to be to Assyria’s subjugation of Babylon in 703 B.C., which left the coastal cities of Phoenicia as well as Judah open to Sennacherib’s invasion in 701 B.C. Founded it…its palaces…turn it: the city of Babylon. Look at the land of the Chaldeans,
the people that has ceased to be.
Assyria founded it for ships,
raised its towers,
Only to tear down its palaces,
and turn it into a ruin.#Is 13:21; 34:14; Jer 50:39.
14Lament, ships of Tarshish,
for your stronghold is destroyed.
15On that day, Tyre shall be forgotten for seventy years,#Seventy years: a conventional expression for a long period of time; cf. Jer 25:11 and 29:10. the lifetime of one king. At the end of seventy years, the song about the prostitute will be Tyre’s song:
16Take a harp, go about the city,
forgotten prostitute;
Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.
17At the end of the seventy years the Lord shall visit Tyre. She shall return to her hire and serve as prostitute#Her hire…prostitute: the international trade engaged in by Tyre will become a source of wealth to God’s people (cf. 45:14; 60:4–14; Zec 14:14). with all the world’s kingdoms on the face of the earth.#Rev 17:5; 18:3, 11, 13. 18But her merchandise and her hire shall be sacred to the Lord. It shall not be stored up or laid away; instead, her merchandise shall belong to those who dwell before the Lord, to eat their fill and clothe themselves in choice attire.
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Isaiah 23: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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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