Isaiah 23
1 The Burden of Tyre. Howl, you ships of Tarshish, For it has been destroyed, Without house, without entrance, From the land of Chittim it was revealed to them.
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.
2 Be silent, you inhabitants of the island, Trader of Sidon, passing the sea, they filled you.
Be silent, you inhabitants of the island! The merchants of Sidon, crossing over the sea, have filled you.
3 And the seed of Sihor [is] in many waters, Her increase [is] the harvest of the brook, And she is a market of nations.
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.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon; for the sea spoke, The strength of the sea, saying, “I have not been pained, nor have I brought forth, Nor have I nourished young men, [nor] brought up virgins.”
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.”
5 As they are pained [at] the report of Egypt, So [at] the report of Tyre.
When it has been heard in Egypt, they will be in anguish, when they hear of Tyre.
6 Pass over to Tarshish, howl, you inhabitants of the island,
Cross over the seas. Wail, you inhabitants of the island!
7 Is this your exulting one? Her antiquity [is] from the days of old, Her own feet carry her far off to sojourn.
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.
8 Who has counseled this against Tyre, The crowning one, whose traders [are] princes, Her merchants—the honored of earth?
Who has made this plan against Tyre, which formerly was crowned, whose merchants were leaders, whose traders were illustrious on the earth?
9 YHWH of Hosts has counseled it, To defile the excellence of all beauty, To make light all the honored of earth.
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.
10 Pass through your land as a brook, Daughter of Tarshish, There is no longer a girdle.
Cross through your land, as through a river, O daughter of the sea. You no longer have a belt.
11 He has stretched out His hand over the sea, He has caused kingdoms to tremble, YHWH has charged concerning the merchant one, To destroy her strong places.
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.
12 And He says, “You do not add to exult anymore, O oppressed one, virgin daughter of Sidon, To Chittim arise, pass over, Even there—there is no rest for you.”
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.”
13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans—this people was not, Asshur founded it for desert-dwellers, They raised its watchtowers, They lifted up her palaces—He has appointed her for a ruin!
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 Howl, you ships of Tarshish, For your strength has been destroyed.
Wail, you ships of the sea! For your strength has been devastated.
15 And it has come to pass in that day, That Tyre is forgotten seventy years, According to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years there is to Tyre as the song of the harlot.
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.
16 Take a harp, go around the city, O forgotten harlot, play well, Multiply song that you may be remembered.
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.
17 And it has come to pass, At the end of seventy years YHWH inspects Tyre, And she has returned to her wage, And she committed fornication With all kingdoms of the earth on the face of the ground.
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.
18 And her merchandise and her wage have been holy to YHWH, Not treasured up nor stored, For her merchandise is to those sitting before YHWH, To eat to satiety, and for a lasting covering!
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.
