Isaiah 23
1 The word about Tyre. Let a cry of sorrow go up, O ships of Tarshish, because your strong place is made waste; on the way back from the land of Kittim the news is given to them.
The Burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, For it hath been destroyed, Without house, without entrance, From the land of Chittim it was revealed to them.
2 Send out a cry of grief, you men of the sea-land, traders of Zidon, who go over the sea, whose representatives are on great waters;
Be silent, ye inhabitants of the isle, Trader of Zidon, passing the sea, they filled thee.
3 Who get in the seed of Shihor, whose wealth is the trade of the nations.
And in many waters [is] the seed of Sihor, The harvest of the brook [is] her increase, And she is a mart of nations.
4 Be shamed, O Zidon: for the sea, the strong place of the sea has said, I have not been with child, or given birth; I have not taken care of young men, or kept watch over the growth of virgins.
Be ashamed, O Zidon; for the sea spake, The strength of the sea, saying: 'I have not been pained, nor have I brought forth, Nor have I nourished young men, [nor] brought up virgins.'
5 When the news comes to Egypt they will be bitterly pained at the fate of Tyre.
As [at] the report of Egypt they are pained, So [at] the report of Tyre.
6 Go over to Tarshish; give cries of sorrow, O men of the sea-land.
Pass over to Tarshish, howl, ye inhabitants of the isle,
7 Is this the town which was full of joy, whose start goes back to times long past, whose wanderings took her into far-off countries?
Is this your exulting one? From the days of old [is] her antiquity, Carry her do her own feet afar off to sojourn.
8 By whom was this purposed against Tyre, the crowning town, whose traders are chiefs, whose business men are honoured in the land?
Who hath counselled this against Tyre, The crowning one, whose traders [are] princes, Her merchants the honoured of earth?'
9 It was the purpose of the Lord of armies to put pride to shame, to make sport of the glory of those who are honoured in the earth.
Jehovah of Hosts hath counselled it, To pollute the excellency of all beauty, To make light all the honoured of earth.
10 Let your land be worked with the plough, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no longer any harbour.
Pass through thy land as a brook, Daughter of Tarshish, there is no more a girdle.
11 His hand is stretched out over the sea, the kingdoms are shaking: the Lord has given orders about Canaan, to make waste its strong places.
His hand He hath stretched out over the sea, He hath caused kingdoms to tremble, Jehovah hath charged concerning the merchant one, To destroy her strong places.
12 And he said, There is no more joy for you, O crushed virgin daughter of Zidon: up! go over to Kittim; even there you will have no rest.
And He saith, 'Thou dost not add any more to exult, O oppressed one, virgin daughter of Zidon, To Chittim arise, pass over, Even there — there is no rest for thee.'
Lo, the land of the Chaldeans — this people was not, Asshur founded it for the Ziim, They raised its watch-towers, They lifted up her palaces, — He hath appointed her for a ruin!
14 Let a cry of sorrow go up, O ships of Tarshish: because your strong place is made waste.
Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, For your strength hath been destroyed.
15 And it will be in that day that Tyre will go out of mind for seventy years, that is, the days of one king: after the end of seventy years it will be for Tyre as in the song of the loose woman.
And it hath come to pass, in that day, That forgotten is Tyre seventy years, According to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years there is to Tyre as the song of the harlot.
16 Take an instrument of music, go about the town, O loose woman who has gone out from the memory of man; make sweet melody with songs, so that you may come back to men's minds.
Take a harp, go round the city, O forgotten harlot, play well, Multiply song that thou mayest be remembered.
17 And it will be after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will have mercy on Tyre, and she will go back to her trade, acting as a loose woman with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
And it hath come to pass, At the end of seventy years Jehovah inspecteth Tyre, And she hath repented of her gift, That she committed fornication With all kingdoms of the earth on the face of the ground.
18 And her goods and her trade will be holy to the Lord: they will not be kept back or stored up; for her produce will be for those living in the Lord's land, to give them food for their needs, and fair clothing.
And her merchandise and her gift have been holy to Jehovah, Not treasured up nor stored, For to those sitting before Jehovah is her merchandise, To eat to satiety, and for a lasting covering!
