Isaiah 23

Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 725 BC – 700 BC · Judah alone · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·

18 verses · 435 words · ~2 min read · ~3 min listen

The Burden against Tyre

Ezekiel 26:1–21

¹This is the burden against Tyre:

Wail, O ships of Tarshish,

for Tyre is laid waste,

without house or harbor.

Word has reached them

from the land of Cyprus.

²Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland,

you merchants of Sidon,

whose traders have crossed the sea.

³On the great waters

came the grain of Shihor;

the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre;

she was the merchant of the nations.

⁴Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea,

for the sea has spoken:

“I have not been in labor

or given birth.

I have not raised young men

or brought up young women.”

⁵When the report reaches Egypt,

they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre.

⁶Cross over to Tarshish;

wail, O inhabitants of the coastland!

⁷Is this your jubilant city,

whose origin is from antiquity,

whose feet have taken her

to settle far away?

⁸Who planned this against Tyre,

the bestower of crowns,

whose traders are princes,

whose merchants are renowned on the earth?

⁹The Lord of Hosts planned it,

to defile all its glorious beauty,

to disgrace all the renowned of the earth.

¹⁰Cultivate your land like the Nile, O Daughter of Tarshish;

there is no longer a harbor.

¹¹The Lord has stretched out His hand over the sea;

He has made kingdoms tremble.

He has given a command

that the strongholds of Canaan be destroyed.

¹²He said, “You shall rejoice no more,

O oppressed Virgin Daughter of Sidon.

Get up and cross over to Cyprus—

even there you will find no rest.”

¹³Look at the land of the Chaldeans—

a people now of no account.

The Assyrians destined it for the desert creatures;

they set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces.

They brought it to ruin.

¹⁴Wail, O ships of Tarshish,

for your harbor has been destroyed!

¹⁵At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years—the span of a kingʼs life. But at the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:

¹⁶“Take up your harp,

stroll through the city,

O forgotten harlot.

Make sweet melody,

sing many a song,

so you will be remembered.”

¹⁷And at the end of seventy years, the Lord will restore Tyre. Then she will return to hire as a prostitute and sell herself to all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. ¹⁸Yet her profits and wages will be set apart to the Lord; they will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live before the Lord, for abundant food and fine clothing.

Footnotes (5)

a v1 Or Wail, O fleet of trading ships; also in verse 14
b v1 Hebrew Kittim; also in verse 12
c v2 DSS and LXX; MT whom the seafarers have enriched
d v10 DSS and some LXX manuscripts; MT Overflow
e v13 That is, the Babylonians

Study notes on this chapter · 1

Prophecy & fulfillmentWidely held reading

Tyre forgotten for seventy years

Isaiah declares that Tyre, the great trading city, will be laid waste and forgotten for seventy years, and then will return to her trade. Tyre was hit by Assyria and Babylon, and later recovered its prosperity as a trading port. The 'seventy years' is debated: literal, round number, or parallel to the seventy years of Babylon's rule.

When: Isaiah, c. 701 BC; Tyre under Assyrian and Babylonian pressure, c. 700–570 BC.

Original passageIsaiah 23:1–18

Echoed inZechariah 9:3–4

Ways people read this (3)

A period of diminished power under Assyria or Babylon followed by recovery.
'Seventy years' is the lifetime of a king or a round number for a generation.
Some see a spiritual fulfillment in Isaiah 23:18, where Tyre's profits are dedicated to the LORD.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

See all prophecy & fulfillment notes →

Isaiah 23

The Burden against Tyreⓘ

Study notes on this chapter · 1

Tyre forgotten for seventy years

The Burden against Tyre