Isaiah 23
1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, you 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.
A message about Tyre. Howl, people on the ships of Tarshish! Tyre has been destroyed—nothing is left of the houses and the harbor. They heard the news from the people of Cyprus.
2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
Stay shocked into silence, people of the coastlands, merchants of Sidon, and sailors.
3 On great waters, the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue. She was the market of nations.
Egyptian grain came across the wide oceans. The Nile's harvest was what made Tyre money; she was the merchant to the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon; for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, "I have not travailed, nor brought forth, neither have I nourished young men, nor brought up virgins."
Feel the shame, Sidon! For the fortress of the sea says, “I have no children, having never been in labor or given birth. I have not brought up young men or brought up young women.”
5 When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report of Tyre.
When the news about Tyre reaches Egypt they will be in agony.
6 Pass over to Tarshish. Wail, you inhabitants of the coast.
Sail across to Tarshish! Howl, people of the coastlands!
7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days, whose feet carried her far away to travel?
Is this really your triumphant city, whose beginnings are from the distant past, who has sent out people to colonize faraway places?
8 Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth?
Who planned this attack on Tyre? Tyre, who created kingdoms, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were honored around the world!
9 YHWH of hosts has planned it, to defile all the pride of glory, to shame all the honored of the earth.
The Lord Almighty planned it, to humble its pride in all its glory, and to bring down all who receive worldly honor.
10 Cultivate your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint any more.
Work your land, people of Tarshish, as they do beside the Nile, for you don't have a harbor anymore.
11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea. He has shaken the kingdoms. YHWH has ordered the destruction of Canaan's strongholds.
The Lord held his hand out over the sea and shook kingdoms. He has condemned Phoenicia, giving the order to destroy their fortresses.
12 He said, "You shall rejoice no more, you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, pass over to Kittim. Even there you will have no rest."
He said, “Don't celebrate any more, mistreated virgin daughter of Sidon. Go and sail over to Cyprus—however, even there you won't find rest.”
13 Look, the land of the Chaldeans, these people who have become nothing. The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals. They set up their siege towers, they tore down her palaces, they made her a ruin.
Look at the country of the Babylonians, this people that are not as they used to be! The Assyrians have turned it into a place for desert animals. They set up their siege towers, they demolished the fortresses, and ruined the country.
14 Howl, you ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste.
Howl, people on the ships of Tarshish because your fortress is destroyed!
15 It will come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. After the end of seventy years it will be to Tyre like in the song of the prostitute.
At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, a king's lifetime, as it were. But at the end of these seventy years, Tyre will be like the song about a prostitute,
16 Take a harp; go about the city, you prostitute that has been forgotten. Make sweet melody. Sing many songs, that you may be remembered.
“Take a lyre and walk around the city, forgotten prostitute! Play and sing so people will remember you!”
17 It will happen after the end of seventy years that YHWH will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her wages, and will play the prostitute with all the kingdoms of the world on the surface of the earth.
After seventy years, the Lord will restore Tyre. But then she will go back to hiring herself out as a prostitute, selling herself to all the kingdoms of the world.
18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holiness to YHWH. It will not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise will be for those who dwell before YHWH, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
However, her profits and what she earns will consecrated to the Lord. They won't be kept or saved up, for her business earnings will go to those who worship the Lord, to provide them with plenty of food and good clothes.
