Isaiah 23
23
An Oracle Concerning Tyre
1#Joel 3:4–8; Ge 10:4The oracle of Tyre.
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for Tyre is laid waste
so that there is no house or harbor;
from the land of Cyprus
it is reported to them.
2#Isa 47:5 Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland,
you merchants of Sidon;
your messengers passed over the sea,
3#1Ch 13:5; Jer 2:18 and were on many waters;
the grain of the Nile,
the harvest of the River#Nile River. was her revenue;
and she was the market of nations.
4Be ashamed, O Sidon; for the sea has spoken,
even the stronghold of the sea, saying,
“I have not travailed nor brought forth children;
neither have I brought up young men nor raised virgins.”
5#Ex 15:14–16; Jos 2:9–11 When the report reaches Egypt,
they shall be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
6#Isa 23:12 Pass over to Tarshish;
wail, O inhabitants of the coastland.
7#Isa 22:2 Is this your joyous city,
whose origin is from ancient days,
whose feet used to carry her
to sojourn in distant locations?
8Who has planned this against Tyre,
the crowning city,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth?
9#Isa 13:11; Job 40:11–12 The Lord of Hosts has purposed it,
to stain the pride of all glory
and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
10Pass through your land as the Nile,
O daughter of Tarshish;
there is no more restraint.
11#Zec 9:3–4; Ex 14:21 He stretched out His hand over the sea,
He shook the kingdoms;
the Lord has given a command against the merchant city,
to destroy its strongholds.
12#Rev 18:22; Isa 23:1–2 He said: You shall rejoice no more,
O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, pass over to Cyprus;
there also you shall have no rest.
13Look at the land of the Chaldeans;
this was a people who was not;
Assyria founded it
for those who dwell in the wilderness.
They set up their siege towers,
they stripped its palaces,
and brought it to ruin.
14#Isa 23:1 Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your stronghold is laid waste.
15#Jer 25:22In that day Tyre shall be forgotten for seventy years, according to the days of one king. After the end of seventy years Tyre shall sing as a harlot:
16Take your harp, go about the city,
O forgotten harlot;
make sweet melody, sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.
17#Na 3:4At the end of seventy years, the Lord will punish Tyre. Then she shall turn to her harlot’s wages and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18#Ps 72:10Her merchandise and her harlot’s wages shall be set apart to the Lord. It shall not be treasured nor stored up, for her merchandise shall be for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for choice clothing.
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Isaiah 23: MEV
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Military Bible Association
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®)
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