Isaiah 23
1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in; from the land of Kittim it is revealed to them.
[I received] this message [from Yahweh] about Tyre [city]: You [sailors on] [APO] ships from Tarshish, weep, because [the harbor of] Tyre and all the houses [in the city] have been destroyed. The reports that you heard in Cyprus [island] about Tyre [are true].
2 Be still, ye inhabitants of the coast-land; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
You people who live along the coast [near Tyre], and merchants of Sidon [city], mourn silently. Your sailors went across the seas [to many places like Tyre].
3 And on great waters the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.
They sailed across deep seas to buy grain in Egypt and [other] crops that are grown along the Nile [River]. Tyre became the city where people from [all] nations bought and sold goods.
4 Be thou ashamed, O Zidon; for the sea hath spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying: 'I have not travailed, nor brought forth, neither have I reared young men, nor brought up virgins.'
But now you people in Sidon should be ashamed, because [you trusted in Tyre], which has been a strong fortress [on an island] in the sea. [Tyre is like a woman who is saying], “[Now it is as though] I have not given birth to [any] children, or raised [any] sons or daughters.”
5 When the report cometh to Egypt, they shall be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
When [the people of] Egypt hear what has happened to Tyre, they will grieve very much.
6 Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the coast-land.
Sail to Tarshish [and tell them what happened]; weep, you people who live along the coast.
7 Is this your joyous city, whose feet in antiquity, in ancient days, carried her afar off to sojourn?
[The people in] the very old city [of Tyre] were [RHQ] previously joyful. Traders [PRS] from Tyre established colonies in many distant nations.
8 Who hath devised this against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
People from Tyre appointed kings [over other places]; their traders were wealthy; they were [as powerful and wealthy as] [MET] kings. [So], who [RHQ] caused the people of Tyre to experience this disaster?
9 The LORD of hosts hath devised it, to pollute the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
It was the Commander of the armies of angels who did it; he did it in order to cause [you people in] Tyre not to be proud any more, to humiliate you men who are honored all over the world.
10 Overflow thy land as the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish! there is no girdle any more.
You people of Tarshish, you must grow crops in your land [instead of trading]; spread out over your land like [SIM] the Nile [River] spreads over the land [of Egypt] when it floods, because there is no harbor [in Tyre for your ships] now.
11 He hath stretched out His hand over the sea, He hath shaken the kingdoms; the LORD hath given commandment concerning Canaan, to destroy the strongholds thereof;
[It is as though] Yahweh stretched out his hand over the sea and shook the kingdoms of the earth. He commanded that in Phoenicia/Canaan all its fortresses must be destroyed.
12 And He said: 'Thou shalt no more rejoice.' O thou oppressed virgin daughter of Zidon, arise, pass over to Kittim; even there shalt thou have no rest.
He said to the people of Sidon, “You will never rejoice again, because you will be crushed; even if you flee to Cyprus [island], you will not escape destruction.”
13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans — this is the people that was not, when Asshur founded it for shipmen — they set up their towers, they overthrew the palaces thereof; it is made a ruin.
Think about what happened in Babylonia: the people who were in that land have disappeared. [The armies of] Assyria have caused that land to become a place where wild animals from the desert live. The Assyrians built dirt ramps to the top of the walls [of the city of Babylon]; [then they entered the city and] tore down the palaces and caused the city to become [a heap of] rubble.
14 Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste.
[So] wail, you [sailors on the] ships of Tarshish, because the harbor [in Tyre where your ships stop] 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; after the end of seventy years it shall fare with Tyre as in the song of the harlot:
For seventy years, which is as long as kings usually live, people will forget about Tyre. [But then it will be rebuilt]. What will happen there will be like what happened to a prostitute in this song:
16 Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot long forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
“You harlot, whom people had forgotten, play your harp well, and sing many songs, in order that people will remember you again.”
17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will remember Tyre, and she shall return to her hire, and shall have commerce with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
[It is true that] after seventy years Yahweh will restore Tyre. Their merchants will again earn a lot of money by buying things from and selling things to many [other] nations [HYP].
18 And her gain and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD; it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her gain shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat their fill, and for stately clothing.
[But] their profits will be given to Yahweh. [The merchants] will not hoard their money; instead, they will give it to Yahweh’s priests in order that they [can] buy food and nice clothes.
