Isaiah 23

1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish! for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, none entering in. From the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

THE WORD CONCERNING TYRE. Howl, you ships of Carthage; for she has perished, and [men] no longer arrive from the land of the Citians: she is led captive.

2 Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle! The merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished thee.

To whom are the dwellers in the island become like, the merchants of Phoenice, passing over the sea

3 And on great waters, the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the market of the nations.

in great waters, a generation of merchants? as when the harvest is gathered in, [so are] these traders with the nations.

4 Be thou ashamed, Sidon, for the sea hath spoken, the strength of the sea, saying, I have not travailed nor brought forth, neither have I nourished young men [nor] brought up virgins.

Be ashamed, O Sidon: the sea has said, yes, the strength of the sea has said, I have not travailed, nor brought forth, nor have I brought up young men, nor reared virgins.

5 — When the report came into Egypt, they were sorely pained at the news of Tyre.

Moreover when it shall be heard in Egypt, sorrow shall seize them for Tyre.

6 Pass over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the coast!

Depart you to Carthage; howl, you that dwell in this island.

7 Is this your joyous [city], whose antiquity is of ancient days? Her feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.

Was not this your pride from the beginning, before she was given up?

8 Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the distributor of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose dealers were the honourable of the earth?

Who has devised this counsel against Tyre? Is she inferior? or has she no strength? her merchants were the glorious princes of the earth.

9 Jehovah of hosts hath purposed it, to profane the pride of all glory, to bring to nought all the honourable of the earth.

The Lord of hosts has purposed to bring down all the pride of the glorious ones, and to disgrace every glorious thing on the earth.

10 Overflow thy land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish: there is no more restraint.

Till your land; for ships no more come out of Carthage.

11 He hath stretched out his hand over the sea, he shaketh the kingdoms. Jehovah hath given a commandment concerning Canaan, to destroy the strongholds thereof,

And your hand prevails no more by sea, which troubled kings: the Lord of hosts has given a command concerning Chanaan, to destroy the strength thereof.

12 and hath said, Thou shalt no more exult, [thou] oppressed virgin, daughter of Sidon: get thee up, pass over to Chittim; even there shalt thou have no rest.

And [men] shall say, You shall no longer at all continue to insult and injure the daughter of Sidon: and if you depart to the Citians, neither there shall you have rest.

13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans: this people did not exist; the Assyrian founded it for the dwellers in the desert: they set up their towers, they destroyed the palaces thereof; he brought it to ruin.

And [if you depart] to the land of the Chaldeans, this also is laid waste by the Assyrians, for her wall is fallen.

14 Howl, ships of Tarshish! for your fortress is laid waste.

Howl, you ships of Carthage: for your strong hold is destroyed.

15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it shall be for Tyre as the harlot's song.

And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] Tyre shall be left seventy years, as the time of a king, as the time of a man: and it shall come to pass after seventy years, [that] Tyre shall be as the song of a harlot.

16 Take a harp, go about the city, thou forgotten harlot! Make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

Take a harp, go about, O city, you harlot that have been forgotten; play well on the harp, sing many [songs], that you may be remembered.

17 And it shall come to pass at the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre; and she will return to her hire, and will commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the earth upon the face of the ground.

And it shall come to pass after the seventy years, [that] God will visit Tyre, and she shall be again restored to her primitive state, and she shall be a mart for all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holy to Jehovah: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah, to eat and be sufficed, and for excellent clothing.

And her trade and her gain shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be gathered for them, but for those that dwell before the Lord, [even] all her trade, to eat and drink and be filled, and for a covenant [and] a memorial before the Lord.