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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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 23
23
XXIII
1THE ORACLE CONCERNING TYRE.
Howl, ye ships of Tarshish,
For she is laid waste; so that there is no house, no entering in:
From the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
2Be silent, ye inhabitants of the sea-coast:
Thou whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, crowded.
3And upon the mighty waters the seed of Sihor,
The harvest of the river, was her revenue;
And she was the mart of nations.
4Be thou ashamed, O Zidon; for the sea hath spoken.
Even the fortress of the sea, saying:
I have travailed not, nor brought forth children;
Neither have I nourished youths, nor reared up virgins.
5When the tidings shall reach Egypt,
They shall be seized with anguish at the tidings of Tyre.
6Pass ye over to Tarshish;
Howl, ye inhabitants of the sea-coast!
7Is this your joyous city;
Whose antiquity is of ancient days?
Her own feet bear her far away to sojourn.
8Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the dispenser of crowns;
Whose merchants are princes,
Her traders the honourable of the earth!
9 Jehovah of hosts hath purposed it,
To defile the pride of all beauty;
To bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth,
10Pass through thy land, like the river, O daughter of Tarshish!
There is now no defence left
11He hath stretched his hand over the sea,
He hath caused the kingdoms to tremble:
Jehovah hath issued a command concerning Canaan,
To destroy her strong holds.
12And he hath said: Thou shalt no more rejoice,
O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon:
Arise, pass over to Chittim; even there thou shalt have no rest.
13Behold the land of the Chaldeans!
This people was not,
Till the Assyrian founded it for the inhabitants of the desert.
They have raised their watch-towers,
They have demolished the palaces thereof;
Reduced her to a ruin.
14Howl, ye ships of Tarshish:
For your strong hold is destroyed.
15And it shall come to pass in that day,
That Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years,
According to the days of one king:
At the end of seventy years,
There shall be unto Tyre as it were the song of an harlot.
16Take an harp, go about the city,
Thou harlot that hast been forgotten;
Touch skilfully the strings, sing many songs, that thou mayest again be remembered.
17And it shall come to pass at the end of seventy years, That Jehovah will visit Tyre,
And she shall return to her hire;
And she shall play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world,
That are upon the face of the earth.
18But her merchandise and her hire shall be holy to Jehovah:
It shall not be treasured up, nor shall it be kept in store;
For her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah,
To eat sufficiently; and for beautiful clothing.
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.