Isaiah 23
23
Tyre Will Be Punished
1This is the divine revelation about Tyre.
Cry loudly, you ships of Tarshish!
Your port at Tyre is destroyed.
Word has come to the ships from Cyprus.
2Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland, you merchants from Sidon.
Your messengers have crossed the sea.
3The grain of Shihor is on the Mediterranean.
The harvest of the Nile River is brought to Tyre.
Tyre became the marketplace for the nations.
4Be ashamed, Sidon, because the stronghold by the sea has spoken,
“I’ve never been in labor or given birth.
I’ve raised no sons.
I’ve brought up no daughters.”
5When the news reaches Egypt,
the Egyptians will shudder over the news about Tyre.
6Travel to Tarshish!
Cry loudly, you inhabitants of the seacoast!
7Is this your bustling city founded in the distant past?
Is this the city that sent its people to settle in distant lands?
8Who planned such a thing against Tyre, the city that produced kings?
Its merchants are princes.
Its traders are among the honored people of the world.
9The Lord of Armies planned this
in order to dishonor all arrogant people
and to humiliate all the honored people of the world.
10Travel through your country like the Nile, people of Tarshish.
You no longer have a harbor.
11The Lord has stretched his hand over the sea to shake kingdoms.
He has commanded that Canaan’s fortifications be destroyed.
12He says, “You will no longer be joyful,
my dear abused people Sidon.”
Get up, and travel to Cyprus.
Even there you will find no rest.
13Look at the land of the Babylonians.
These people will be gone.
Assyria gave this land to the desert animals.
Assyria set up battle towers,
stripped palaces bare,
and turned these places into ruins.
14Cry loudly, you ships of Tarshish, because your fortress will be destroyed. 15When that day comes, Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years, the lifetime of one king. At the end of the 70 years, Tyre will be like the prostitute in this song:
16“Take your lyre.
Go around in the city, you forgotten prostitute.
Make sweet music.
Sing many songs so that you’ll be remembered.”
17At the end of 70 years the Lord will come to help Tyre. Then she will go back to earning money as a prostitute. She will become a prostitute for all the world’s kingdoms. 18Her profits and her earnings will be turned over to the Lord for his holy purpose. It won’t be stored or hoarded. Her merchandise will belong to those who live in the presence of the Lord so that they will have plenty of food and expensive clothing.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 23
23
The City of Tyre Will Be Punished
1 #
Ez 26.1—28.19; Jl 3.4-8; Am 1.9,10; Zec 9.1-4; Mt 11.21,22; Lk 10.13,14. This is a message from distant islands about the city of Tyre:#23.1 Tyre: A fortress city built on an island in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of what is now Lebanon.
Cry, you seagoing ships!#23.1 seagoing ships: See the note at 2.16.
Tyre and its houses
lie in ruins.#23.1 Tyre … ruins: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2Mourn in silence,
you shop owners of Sidon,#23.2 Sidon: A coastal city just north of Tyre.
you people on the coast.
Your sailors crossed oceans,
making your city rich.
3Your merchants sailed the seas,
making you wealthy by trading
with nation after nation.
They brought back grain
that grew along the Nile.#23.3 along the Nile: The Hebrew text has “grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile,” but Shihor is probably a name for a region near the lower part of the Nile.
4Sidon, you are a mighty fortress
built along the sea.
But you will be disgraced
like a married woman
who never had children.#23.4 children: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5When Egypt hears about Tyre,
it will tremble.
6All of you along the coast
had better cry and sail
far across the ocean.#23.6 far across the ocean: The Hebrew text has “to Tarshish,” probably meaning a long distance.
7Can this be the happy city
that has stood for centuries?
Its people have spread
to distant lands;
8its merchants were kings
honored all over the world.
Who planned to destroy Tyre?
9The Lord All-Powerful planned it
to bring shame and disgrace
to those who are honored
by everyone on earth.
10People of Tyre,#23.10 People of Tyre: The Hebrew text has “the people of Tarshish,” which stands for the colonies of Tyre.
your harbor is destroyed!
You will have to become farmers
just like the Egyptians.#23.10 Egyptians: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
Tyre Will Be Forgotten
11The Lord's hand has reached
across the sea,
upsetting the nations.
He has given a command
to destroy fortresses
in the land of Canaan.
12The Lord has said
to the people of Sidon,
“Your celebrating is over—
you are crushed.
Even if you escape to Cyprus,
you won't find peace.”
13Look what the Assyrians have done to Babylonia! They have attacked, destroying every palace in the land. Now wild animals live among the ruins.#23.13 ruins: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 13. 14Not a fortress will be left standing, so tell all the seagoing ships#23.14 seagoing ships: See the note at 2.16. to mourn.
15The city of Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years, which is the lifetime of a king. Then Tyre will be like that evil woman in the song:
16You're gone and forgotten,
you evil woman!
So strut through the town,
singing and playing
your favorite tune
to be remembered again.
17At the end of those 70 years, the Lord will let Tyre get back into business. The city will be like a woman who sells her body to everyone of every nation on earth, 18but none of what is earned will be kept in the city. That money will belong to the Lord, and it will be used to buy more than enough food and good clothes for those who worship the Lord.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.