Esias 23

1 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.

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.

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

Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.

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

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

4 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.

Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, the strong hold of the sea; saying, I have not travailed, nor brought forth, neither have I nourished young men, nor brought up virgins.

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

When the report cometh to Egypt, they shall be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.

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

Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.

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

Is this your joyous [city], whose antiquity is of ancient days, whose feet carried her afar off to sojourn?

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

Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the crowning [city], whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?

9 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.

The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.

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

Pass through thy land as the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no girdle [about thee] any more.

11 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.

He hath stretched out his hand over the sea, he hath shaken the kingdoms: the LORD hath given commandment concerning Canaan, to destroy the strong holds thereof.

12 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.

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.

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

Behold, the land of the Chaldeans; this people is no more; the Assyrian hath appointed it for the beasts of the wilderness: they set up their towers, they overthrew the palaces thereof; he made it a ruin.

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

Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strong hold is laid waste.

15 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.

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 be unto Tyre as in the song of the harlot.

16 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.

Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

17 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.

And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her hire, and shall play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

18 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.

And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.