Isaiah 23
1 The burden of Tyrus. Howle, yee shippes of Tarshish: for it is destroied, so that there is none house: none shall come from the lande of Chittim: it is reueiled vnto them.
The oracle on Tyre, —Howl! ye ships of Tarshish, For it is laid too waste to be a haven to enter, From the land of Cyprus, hath it been unveiled to them.
2 Be still, yee that dwell in the yles: the marchantes of Zidon, and such as passe ouer the sea, haue replenished thee.
Be dumb, ye inhabitants of the Coast, —Whom the merchants of Zidon, passing over the sea, once replenished;
3 The seede of Nilus growing by the abundance of waters, and the haruest of the riuer was her reuenues, and she was a marte of the nations.
Yea on mighty waters, was the grain of Shihor, The harvest of the Nile, was her increase, —And so she became a mart of nations.
4 Be ashamed, thou Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, euen the strength of the sea, saying, I haue not trauailed, nor brought forth children, neither nourished yong men, nor brought vp virgins.
Turn thou pale, O Zidon, For spoken hath the sea, the fortress of the sea saying, —I have neither been in pangs nor given birth I have neither brought up young men nor promoted virgins.
5 When the fame commeth to the Egyptians, they shall be sorie, concerning the rumour of Tyrus.
Like the report of Egypt, They shall be in pangs at the like report of Tyre.
6 Goe you ouer to Tarshish: howle, yee that dwell in the yles.
Pass ye over to Tarshish, —Howl ye inhabitants of the Coast:
7 Is not this that your glorious citie? her antiquitie is of ancient daies: her owne feete shall leade her afarre off to be a soiourner.
Is this to you an exultation? Though from ancient days, is her antiquity, Yet shall her own feet carry her away, far off to dwell.
8 Who hath decreed this against Tyrus (that crowneth men) whose marchantes are princes? whose chapmen are the nobles of the worlde?
Who hath purposed this, against Tyre, The bestower of crowns, —Whose merchants are princes, Her traders the honourable of the earth?
9 The Lord of hostes hath decreed this, to staine the pride of all glorie, and to bring to contempt all them that be glorious in the earth.
Yahweh of hosts, hath purposed it, —To humble the pride of all beauty, To make of little esteem all the honourable of the earth.
10 Passe through thy lande like a flood to the daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.
Pass through thy land as the Nile, —O daughter of Tarshish, there is no restraint any longer!
11 He stretched out his hand vpon the sea: he shooke the kingdomes: the Lord hath giuen a commandement concerning the place of marchandise, to destroy the power thereof.
His hand, hath he stretched out over the sea, He hath shaken kingdoms, —Yahweh, hath given command against the Phoenician coast, To destroy her fortresses.
12 And he saide, Thou shalt no more reioyce when thou art oppressed: O virgin daughter of Zidon: rise vp, goe ouer vnto Chittim: yet there thou shalt haue no rest.
Therefore hath he said, —No more, again, do thou exult, Thou violated virgin daughter of Zidon, —To Cyprus, arise and pass over, Even there, shall one find thee no rest.
13 Behold the lande of the Caldeans: this was no people: Asshur founded it by the inhabitantes of the wildernesse: they set vp the towers thereof: they raised the palaces thereof and hee brought it to ruine.
Lo! the land of the Chaldeans, This is the people that was not, Assyria, founded it for the inhabitants of the desert, —They set up its siege-towers, They demolished its palaces Made it a ruin!
14 Howle yee shippes of Tarshish, for your strength is destroyed.
Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, —For laid waste is your fortress.
15 And in that day shall Tyrus bee forgotten seuentie yeeres, (according to the yeeres of one King) at the ende of seuentie yeeres shall Tyrus sing as an harlot.
So shall it be in that day, That Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, According to the days of a certain king: At the end of seventy years, shall it befall Tyre according to the song of the harlot:
16 Take an harpe and go about the citie: (thou harlot thou hast beene forgotten) make sweete melodie, sing moe songes that thou maiest be remembred.
Take thou a lyre, Go round the city, O harlot forgotten, —Sweetly touch the strings Lengthen out the song, That thou mayest be called to mind.
17 And at the ende of seuentie yeres shall the Lord visite Tyrus, and shee shall returne to her wages, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdomes of the earth, that are in the world.
So shall it be, at the end of seventy years, That Yahweh will visit Tyre, And she will return to her hire, —Yea she will play the harlot—with all the kingdoms of the earth, upon the face of the ground.
18 Yet her occupying and her wages shall bee holy vnto the Lord: it shall not be laied vp nor kept in store, but her marchandise shalbe for them that dwell before the Lord, to eate sufficiently, and to haue durable clothing.
But her merchandise and her hire, shall be hallowed unto Yahweh, It shall not be stored up, nor hoarded, —For, to them who dwell before Yahweh, shall her merchandise belong, That they may eat to satisfaction And have stately apparel.
