A Prophecy Against Tyre

23 A prophecy against Tyre:(A)

Wail,(B) you ships(C) of Tarshish!(D)
    For Tyre is destroyed(E)
    and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
    word has come to them.

Be silent,(F) you people of the island
    and you merchants(G) of Sidon,(H)
    whom the seafarers have enriched.
On the great waters
    came the grain of the Shihor;(I)
the harvest of the Nile[a](J) was the revenue of Tyre,(K)
    and she became the marketplace of the nations.

Be ashamed, Sidon,(L) and you fortress of the sea,
    for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;(M)
    I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
When word comes to Egypt,
    they will be in anguish(N) at the report from Tyre.(O)

Cross over to Tarshish;(P)
    wail, you people of the island.
Is this your city of revelry,(Q)
    the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
    to settle in far-off lands?
Who planned this against Tyre,
    the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants(R) are princes,
    whose traders(S) are renowned in the earth?
The Lord Almighty planned(T) it,
    to bring down(U) her pride in all her splendor
    and to humble(V) all who are renowned(W) on the earth.

10 Till[b] your land as they do along the Nile,
    Daughter Tarshish,
    for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The Lord has stretched out his hand(X) over the sea
    and made its kingdoms tremble.(Y)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
    that her fortresses be destroyed.(Z)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,(AA)
    Virgin Daughter(AB) Sidon, now crushed!

“Up, cross over to Cyprus;(AC)
    even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[c](AD)
    this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians(AE) have made it
    a place for desert creatures;(AF)
they raised up their siege towers,(AG)
    they stripped its fortresses bare
    and turned it into a ruin.(AH)

14 Wail, you ships(AI) of Tarshish;(AJ)
    your fortress is destroyed!(AK)

15 At that time Tyre(AL) will be forgotten for seventy years,(AM) the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:

16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
    you forgotten prostitute;(AN)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
    so that you will be remembered.”

17 At the end of seventy years,(AO) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(AP) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(AQ) 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;(AR) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord,(AS) for abundant food and fine clothes.(AT)

The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth

24 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth(AU)
    and devastate(AV) it;
he will ruin its face
    and scatter(AW) its inhabitants—
it will be the same
    for priest as for people,(AX)
    for the master as for his servant,
    for the mistress as for her servant,
    for seller as for buyer,(AY)
    for borrower as for lender,
    for debtor as for creditor.(AZ)
The earth will be completely laid waste(BA)
    and totally plundered.(BB)
The Lord has spoken(BC) this word.

The earth dries up(BD) and withers,(BE)
    the world languishes and withers,
    the heavens(BF) languish with the earth.(BG)
The earth is defiled(BH) by its people;
    they have disobeyed(BI) the laws,
violated the statutes
    and broken the everlasting covenant.(BJ)
Therefore a curse(BK) consumes the earth;
    its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,(BL)
    and very few are left.
The new wine dries up(BM) and the vine withers;(BN)
    all the merrymakers groan.(BO)
The joyful timbrels(BP) are stilled,
    the noise(BQ) of the revelers(BR) has stopped,
    the joyful harp(BS) is silent.(BT)
No longer do they drink wine(BU) with a song;
    the beer is bitter(BV) to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city(BW) lies desolate;(BX)
    the entrance to every house is barred.
11 In the streets they cry out(BY) for wine;(BZ)
    all joy turns to gloom,(CA)
    all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12 The city is left in ruins,(CB)
    its gate(CC) is battered to pieces.
13 So will it be on the earth
    and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,(CD)
    or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.(CE)

14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;(CF)
    from the west(CG) they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15 Therefore in the east(CH) give glory(CI) to the Lord;
    exalt(CJ) the name(CK) of the Lord, the God of Israel,
    in the islands(CL) of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth(CM) we hear singing:(CN)
    “Glory(CO) to the Righteous One.”(CP)

But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!(CQ)
    Woe(CR) to me!
The treacherous(CS) betray!
    With treachery the treacherous betray!(CT)
17 Terror(CU) and pit and snare(CV) await you,
    people of the earth.(CW)
18 Whoever flees(CX) at the sound of terror
    will fall into a pit;(CY)
whoever climbs out of the pit
    will be caught in a snare.(CZ)

The floodgates of the heavens(DA) are opened,
    the foundations of the earth shake.(DB)
19 The earth is broken up,(DC)
    the earth is split asunder,(DD)
    the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,(DE)
    it sways like a hut(DF) in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion(DG)
    that it falls(DH)—never to rise again.(DI)

21 In that day(DJ) the Lord will punish(DK)
    the powers(DL) in the heavens above
    and the kings(DM) on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together
    like prisoners(DN) bound in a dungeon;(DO)
they will be shut up in prison
    and be punished[d] after many days.(DP)
23 The moon will be dismayed,
    the sun(DQ) ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign(DR)
    on Mount Zion(DS) and in Jerusalem,
    and before its elders—with great glory.(DT)

Praise to the Lord

25 Lord, you are my God;(DU)
    I will exalt you and praise your name,(DV)
for in perfect faithfulness(DW)
    you have done wonderful things,(DX)
    things planned(DY) long ago.
You have made the city a heap of rubble,(DZ)
    the fortified(EA) town a ruin,(EB)
the foreigners’ stronghold(EC) a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.(ED)
Therefore strong peoples will honor you;(EE)
    cities of ruthless(EF) nations will revere you.
You have been a refuge(EG) for the poor,(EH)
    a refuge for the needy(EI) in their distress,
a shelter from the storm(EJ)
    and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless(EK)
    is like a storm driving against a wall
    and like the heat of the desert.
You silence(EL) the uproar of foreigners;(EM)
    as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless(EN) is stilled.

On this mountain(EO) the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast(EP) of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.(EQ)
On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud(ER) that enfolds all peoples,(ES)
the sheet that covers all nations;
    he will swallow up death(ET) forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears(EU)
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace(EV)
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.(EW)

In that day(EX) they will say,

“Surely this is our God;(EY)
    we trusted(EZ) in him, and he saved(FA) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice(FB) and be glad in his salvation.”(FC)

10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;(FD)
    but Moab(FE) will be trampled in their land
    as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will stretch out their hands in it,
    as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down(FF) their pride(FG)
    despite the cleverness[e] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls(FH)
    and lay them low;(FI)
he will bring them down to the ground,
    to the very dust.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 23:3 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls Sidon, / who cross over the sea; / your envoys are on the great waters. / The grain of the Shihor, / the harvest of the Nile,
  2. Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
  3. Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans
  4. Isaiah 24:22 Or released
  5. Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

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