Isaiah 23

1 The burden of Tyre. Wail, you ships of the sea! For the house, from which they were accustomed to go forth, has been laid waste. From the land of Kittim, this has been revealed to them.

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.

2 Be silent, you inhabitants of the island! The merchants of Sidon, crossing over the sea, have filled you.

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;

3 The offspring of the Nile is in the midst of many waters. The harvest of the river is her crop. And she has become the marketplace of the nations.

Who get in the seed of Shihor, whose wealth is the trade of the nations.

4 Be ashamed, O Sidon! For the sea speaks, the strength of the sea, saying: “I have not been in labor, and I have not given birth, and I have not raised young men, nor have I promoted the development of virgins.”

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.

5 When it has been heard in Egypt, they will be in anguish, when they hear of Tyre.

When the news comes to Egypt they will be bitterly pained at the fate of Tyre.

6 Cross over the seas. Wail, you inhabitants of the island!

Go over to Tarshish; give cries of sorrow, O men of the sea-land.

7 Is this not your place, which from its earliest days has gloried in its antiquity? Her feet will lead her to a sojourn far away.

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?

8 Who has made this plan against Tyre, which formerly was crowned, whose merchants were leaders, whose traders were illustrious on the earth?

By whom was this purposed against Tyre, the crowning town, whose traders are chiefs, whose business men are honoured in the land?

9 The Lord of hosts has planned this, so that he may tear down the arrogance of all glory, and may bring disgrace to all the illustrious of the earth.

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.

10 Cross through your land, as through a river, O daughter of the sea. You no longer have a belt.

Let your land be worked with the plough, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no longer any harbour.

11 He has extended his hand over the sea. He has stirred up kingdoms. The Lord has given an order against Canaan, so that he may crush its strong.

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.

12 And he said: “You shall no longer increase so as to glory, while enduring calumny, O virgin daughter of Sidon. Rise up and set sail for Kittim; in that place, too, there will be no rest for you.”

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.

13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans: never before was there such a people! Assur founded it. They have led away its strong ones into captivity. They have dug under its houses. They have left it in ruins.

14 Wail, you ships of the sea! For your strength has been devastated.

Let a cry of sorrow go up, O ships of Tarshish: because your strong place is made waste.

15 And this shall be in that day: you, O Tyre, will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. Then, after seventy years, there will be, for Tyre, something like the canticle of a harlot.

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.

16 Take up a stringed instrument. Circulate through the city, you harlot who had been forgotten. Sing many canticles well, so that you may be remembered.

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.

17 And this shall be after seventy years: the Lord will visit Tyre, and he will lead her back to her profits. And she will fornicate again with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

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.

18 And her businesses and her profits will be sanctified to the Lord. They will not be locked away and they will not be stored. For her business will be for those who will live in the presence of the Lord, so that they may eat until satisfied, and may be well-clothed even into old age.

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.