Isaiah 23
1 The Burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, For it hath been destroyed, Without house, without entrance, From the land of Chittim it was 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 silent, ye inhabitants of the isle, Trader of Zidon, passing the sea, they filled thee.
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 in many waters [is] the seed of Sihor, The harvest of the brook [is] her increase, And she is a 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 ashamed, O Zidon; for the sea spake, 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.'
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 As [at] the report of Egypt they are pained, So [at] the report of Tyre.
When [the people of] Egypt hear what has happened to Tyre, they will grieve very much.
6 Pass over to Tarshish, howl, ye inhabitants of the isle,
Sail to Tarshish [and tell them what happened]; weep, you people who live along the coast.
7 Is this your exulting one? From the days of old [is] her antiquity, Carry her do her own feet 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 counselled this against Tyre, The crowning one, whose traders [are] princes, Her merchants the honoured of 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 Jehovah of Hosts hath counselled it, To pollute the excellency of all beauty, To make light all the honoured of 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 Pass through thy land as a brook, Daughter of Tarshish, there is no more a girdle.
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 His hand He hath stretched out over the sea, He hath caused kingdoms to tremble, Jehovah hath charged concerning the merchant one, To destroy her strong places.
[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 saith, 'Thou dost not add any more to exult, O oppressed one, virgin daughter of Zidon, To Chittim arise, pass over, Even there — there is no rest for thee.'
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 Lo, the land of the Chaldeans — this people was not, Asshur founded it for the Ziim, They raised its watch-towers, They lifted up her palaces, — He hath appointed her for 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 strength hath been destroyed.
[So] wail, you [sailors on the] ships of Tarshish, because the harbor [in Tyre where your ships stop] is destroyed!
15 And it hath come to pass, in that day, That forgotten is Tyre 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.
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 round the city, O forgotten harlot, play well, Multiply song 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 hath come to pass, At the end of seventy years Jehovah inspecteth Tyre, And she hath repented of her gift, That she committed fornication With all kingdoms of the earth on the face of the ground.
[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 merchandise and her gift have been holy to Jehovah, Not treasured up nor stored, For to those sitting before Jehovah is her merchandise, To eat to satiety, and for a lasting covering!
[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.
