Isaiah 23
This is an oracle about Tyre:
Wail, you large ships,
for the port is too devastated to enter!
From the land of Cyprus this news is announced to them.
Lament, you residents of the coast,
you merchants of Sidon who travel over the sea,
whose agents sail over
Grain from the Shihor region,
crops grown near the Nile she receives;
she is the trade center of the nations.
Be ashamed, O Sidon,
for the sea says this, O fortress of the sea:
“I have not gone into labor
or given birth;
I have not raised young men
or brought up young women.”
When the news reaches Egypt,
they will be shaken by what has happened to Tyre.
Travel to Tarshish!
Wail, you residents of the coast!
Is this really your boisterous city
whose origins are in the distant past
and whose feet led her to a distant land to reside?
Who planned this for royal Tyre,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are the dignitaries of the earth?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies planned it—
to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty,
to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.
Daughter Tarshish, travel back to your land, as one crosses the Nile;
there is no longer any marketplace in Tyre.
The Lord stretched out his hand over the sea,
he shook kingdoms;
he gave the order
to destroy Canaan’s fortresses.
He said,
“You will no longer celebrate,
oppressed virgin daughter Sidon!
Get up, travel to Cyprus,
but you will find no relief there.”
Look at the land of the Chaldeans,
these people who have lost their identity!
The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.
They erected their siege towers,
demolished its fortresses,
and turned it into a heap of ruins.
Wail, you large ships,
for your fortress is destroyed!
At that time Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years, the typical life span of a king. At the end of 70 years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song:
“Take the harp,
go through the city,
forgotten prostitute!
Play it well,
play lots of songs,
so you’ll be noticed.”
At the end of 70 years the Lord will revive Tyre. She will start making money again by selling her services to all the earth’s kingdoms.
Isaiah 23
This is an oracle about Tyre:
Wail, you large ships,
for the port is too devastated to enter!
From the land of Cyprus this news is announced to them.
Lament, you residents of the coast,
you merchants of Sidon who travel over the sea,
whose agents sail over
Grain from the Shihor region,
crops grown near the Nile she receives;
she is the trade center of the nations.
Be ashamed, O Sidon,
for the sea says this, O fortress of the sea:
“I have not gone into labor
or given birth;
I have not raised young men
or brought up young women.”
When the news reaches Egypt,
they will be shaken by what has happened to Tyre.
Travel to Tarshish!
Wail, you residents of the coast!
Is this really your boisterous city
whose origins are in the distant past
and whose feet led her to a distant land to reside?
Who planned this for royal Tyre,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are the dignitaries of the earth?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies planned it—
to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty,
to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.
Daughter Tarshish, travel back to your land, as one crosses the Nile;
there is no longer any marketplace in Tyre.
The Lord stretched out his hand over the sea,
he shook kingdoms;
he gave the order
to destroy Canaan’s fortresses.
He said,
“You will no longer celebrate,
oppressed virgin daughter Sidon!
Get up, travel to Cyprus,
but you will find no relief there.”
Look at the land of the Chaldeans,
these people who have lost their identity!
The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.
They erected their siege towers,
demolished its fortresses,
and turned it into a heap of ruins.
Wail, you large ships,
for your fortress is destroyed!
At that time Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years, the typical life span of a king. At the end of 70 years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song:
“Take the harp,
go through the city,
forgotten prostitute!
Play it well,
play lots of songs,
so you’ll be noticed.”
At the end of 70 years the Lord will revive Tyre. She will start making money again by selling her services to all the earth’s kingdoms.