Isaiah 23-27

New American Standard Bible

The Fall of Tyre

23 The pronouncement concerning ^(A)Tyre:

Wail, you ^(B)ships of ^(C)Tarshish,
For Tyre is destroyed, without house or ^[a]^(D)harbor;
It is reported to them from the land of ^[b]^(E)Cyprus.
²^(F)Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon;
^[c]Your messengers crossed the sea
³And were on many waters.
^(G)The grain of the ^[d]^(H)Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue;
And she was the ^(I)market of nations.
⁴Be ashamed, ^(J)Sidon,
For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying,
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth,
I have neither brought up young men nor raised virgins.”
⁵When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in ^(K)anguish over the report of Tyre.
⁶Pass over to ^(L)Tarshish;
Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland.
⁷Is this your ^(M)jubilant city,
Whose origin is from antiquity,
Whose feet used to bring her to ^[e]colonize distant places?

⁸Who has planned this against Tyre, ^(N)the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?
⁹^(O)The Lord of armies has planned it, to ^(P)defile the pride of all beauty,
To despise all the ^(Q)honored of the earth.
¹⁰^[f]Overflow your land like the Nile, you daughter of Tarshish,
There is no more ^[g]restraint.
¹¹He has ^(R)stretched His hand out ^(S)over the sea,
He has ^(T)made the kingdoms tremble;
The Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to ^(U)demolish its strongholds.

¹²He has said, “^(V)You shall not be jubilant anymore, you crushed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, pass over to ^[h]^(W)Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”

¹³Behold, the land of the Chaldeans—this is the people that did not exist; ^(X)Assyria allocated it for ^(Y)desert creatures—they erected their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, ^(Z)they made it a ruin.

¹⁴Wail, you ^(AA)ships of Tarshish,
For your stronghold is destroyed.

¹⁵Now on that day Tyre will be forgotten for ^(AB)seventy years like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:

¹⁶Take your harp, wander around the city,
You forgotten prostitute;
Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.

¹⁷It will come about at ^(AC)the end of seventy years that the Lord will visit Tyre. Then she will go back to her prostitute’s wages and ^(AD)commit prostitution with all the kingdoms ^[i]on the face of the earth. ¹⁸Her ^(AE)profit and her prostitute’s wages will be ^(AF)sacred to the Lord; it will not be stored up or hoarded, but her profit will become sufficient food and magnificent attire for those who dwell in the presence of the Lord.

Judgment on the Earth

24 Behold, the Lord ^(AG)lays the earth waste, devastates it, twists its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. ²And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the female servant like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the ^(AH)creditor like the debtor. ³The earth will be completely laid waste and completely plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. ⁴The ^(AI)earth dries up and crumbles away, the mainland dries out and crumbles away, the ^(AJ)exalted of the people of the earth dwindle. ⁵The earth is also ^(AK)defiled ^[j]by its inhabitants, for they violated laws, altered statutes, and ^(AL)broke the everlasting covenant. ⁶Therefore, a ^(AM)curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer for their guilt. Therefore, the ^(AN)inhabitants of the earth decrease in number, and few people are left.

⁷The ^(AO)new wine mourns,
The vine decays,
All the joyful-hearted sigh.
⁸The ^(AP)joy of tambourines ceases,
The noise of revelers stops,
The joy of the harp ceases.
⁹They do not drink wine with song;
^(AQ)Intoxicating drink is ^(AR)bitter to those who drink it.
¹⁰The ^(AS)city of chaos is broken down;
^(AT)Every house is shut up so that no one may enter.
¹¹There is an ^(AU)outcry in the streets concerning the wine;
^(AV)All joy ^[k]turns to gloom.
The joy of the earth is banished.
¹²Desolation is left in the city
And the ^(AW)gate is battered to ruins.
¹³For ^(AX)so it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,
As the ^[l]shaking of an olive tree,
As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.
¹⁴^(AY)They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
They cry out from the ^[m]west concerning the majesty of the Lord.
¹⁵Therefore ^(AZ)glorify the Lord in the ^[n]east,
The ^(BA)name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
In the ^[o]^(BB)coastlands of the sea.
¹⁶From the ^(BC)ends of the earth we hear songs: “^(BD)Glory to the Righteous One,”
But I say, “^[p]I am finished! I am finished! Woe to me!
The ^(BE)treacherous deal treacherously,
And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
¹⁷^(BF)Terror and pit and snare
^[q]Confront you, you inhabitant of the earth.
¹⁸Then it will be that the one who flees the sound of terror will fall into the pit,
And the one who ^[r]climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare;
For the ^(BG)windows ^[s]above are opened, and the ^(BH)foundations of the earth shake.
¹⁹^(BI)The earth is broken apart,
The earth is ^(BJ)split through,
The earth is shaken violently.
²⁰The earth ^(BK)trembles like a heavy drinker
And sways like a hut,
For its ^(BL)wrongdoing is heavy upon it,
And it will fall, ^(BM)never to rise again.
²¹So it will happen on that day,
That the Lord will ^(BN)punish the rebellious ^[t]^(BO)angels of ^[u]heaven on high,
And the ^(BP)kings of the earth on earth.
²²They will be gathered together
Like ^(BQ)prisoners in the ^[v]dungeon,
And will be confined in prison;
And after many days they will ^(BR)be punished.
²³Then the ^(BS)moon will be ashamed and the sun be put to shame,
For the ^(BT)Lord of armies will reign on ^(BU)Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And His glory will be before His elders.

Song of Praise for God’s Favor

25 Lord, You are ^(BV)my God;
I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;
For You have ^(BW)worked wonders,
^(BX)Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
²For You have turned a city into a ^(BY)heap,
A ^(BZ)fortified city into a ruin;
A ^(CA)palace of strangers is no longer a city,
It will never be rebuilt.
³Therefore a strong people will ^(CB)glorify You;
^(CC)Cities of ruthless nations will revere You.
⁴For You have been a ^(CD)stronghold for the helpless,
A stronghold for the poor in his distress,
A ^(CE)refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;
For the breath of the ^(CF)ruthless
Is like a rain storm against a wall.
⁵Like heat in a dry land, You subdue the ^(CG)uproar of foreigners;
Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is ^[w]silenced.

⁶^(CH)Now the Lord of armies will prepare a ^[x]lavish banquet for ^(CI)all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of ^[y]aged wine, ^[z]choice pieces with marrow,
And ^[aa]refined, aged wine.
⁷And on this mountain He will destroy the ^[ab]^(CJ)covering which is over all peoples,
The veil which is ^[ac]stretched over all nations.
⁸He will ^[ad]^(CK)swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord ^[ae]God will ^(CL)wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the ^(CM)disgrace of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
⁹And it will be said on that day,
“Behold, ^(CN)this is our God for whom we have ^(CO)waited ^[af]that ^(CP)He might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
^(CQ)Let’s rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
¹⁰For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,
And ^(CR)Moab will be trampled down in his place
As straw is trampled down in the water of a manure pile.
¹¹And he will ^(CS)spread out his hands in the middle of it
As a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim,
But the Lord will ^(CT)lay low his pride together with the trickery of his hands.
¹²The ^(CU)unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down,
Lay low, and throw to the ground, to the dust.

Song of Trust in God’s Protection

26 ^(CV)On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a ^(CW)strong city;
He sets up walls and ramparts for ^[ag]^(CX)security.
²Open the ^(CY)gates, that the ^(CZ)righteous nation may enter,
The one that ^[ah]remains faithful.
³The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect ^(DA)peace,
Because he trusts in You.
⁴^(DB)Trust in the Lord forever,
For in ^[ai]God the Lord, we have an everlasting ^(DC)Rock.
⁵For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the ^(DD)unassailable city;
^(DE)He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.
⁶^(DF)The foot will trample it,
The feet of the ^(DG)poor, the steps of the helpless.”

⁷The ^(DH)way of the righteous is smooth;
O Upright One, ^(DI)make the path of the righteous level.
⁸Indeed, while following the way of ^(DJ)Your judgments, Lord,
We have waited for You eagerly;
^(DK)Your name, and ^(DL)remembering You, is the desire of our souls.
⁹^(DM)At night ^[aj]my soul longs for You,
Indeed, ^[ak]my spirit within me ^(DN)seeks You diligently;
For when the earth ^[al]experiences Your judgments,
The inhabitants of the world ^(DO)learn righteousness.
¹⁰Though the wicked person is shown compassion,
He does not ^(DP)learn righteousness;
He ^(DQ)deals unjustly in the land of uprightness,
And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.

¹¹Lord, Your hand is lifted up, yet they ^(DR)do not see it.
^[am]They see ^(DS)Your zeal for the people and are put to shame;
Indeed, ^[an]^(DT)fire will devour Your enemies.
¹²Lord, You will establish ^(DU)peace for us,
Since You have also performed for us all our works.
¹³Lord, our God, ^(DV)other masters besides You have ruled us;
But through You alone we ^[ao]^(DW)confess Your name.
¹⁴^(DX)The dead will not live, the ^[ap]departed spirits will not rise;
Therefore You have ^(DY)punished and destroyed them,
And You have eliminated all remembrance of them.
¹⁵^(DZ)You have increased the nation, Lord,
You have increased the nation, You are glorified;
You have ^(EA)extended all the borders of the land.
¹⁶Lord, they sought You ^(EB)in distress;
They ^[aq]could only whisper a prayer,
Your discipline was upon them.
¹⁷^(EC)As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains;
This is how we were before You, Lord.
¹⁸We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We ^(ED)gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were ^(EE)inhabitants of the world ^[ar]born.
¹⁹Your ^(EF)dead will live;
^[as]Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, ^(EG)awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the ^[at]dawn,
And the earth will ^[au]give birth to the ^[av]departed spirits.

²⁰Come, my people, ^(EH)enter your rooms
And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little ^[aw]^(EI)while
Until ^(EJ)indignation ^[ax]runs its course.
²¹For behold, the Lord is about to ^(EK)come out from His place
To ^(EL)punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wrongdoing;
And the earth will ^(EM)reveal her bloodshed
And will no longer cover her slain.

God’s Blessings for Israel

27 On that day ^(EN)the Lord will punish ^[ay]^(EO)Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
With His fierce and great and mighty sword,
Even ^[az]Leviathan the twisted serpent;
And ^(EP)He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.

²On that day,
“A ^[ba]^(EQ)vineyard of beauty, sing of it!
³I, the Lord, am its keeper;
^(ER)I water it every moment.
So that no one will ^[bb]damage it,
I ^(ES)guard it night and day.
⁴I have no wrath.
Should ^[bc]someone give Me ^(ET)briars and thorns in battle,
Then I would step on them, ^(EU)I would burn them ^[bd]completely.
⁵Or let him ^[be]^(EV)rely on My protection,
Let him make peace with Me,
Let him ^(EW)make peace with Me.”
⁶^[bf]In the days to come Jacob ^(EX)will take root,
Israel will ^(EY)blossom and sprout,
And they will fill the ^[bg]whole world with ^(EZ)fruit.

⁷Like the striking of Him who has struck them, has ^(FA)He struck them?
Or like the slaughter of His slain, ^[bh]have they been slain?
⁸You contended with them ^[bi]by banishing them, by ^(FB)driving them away.
With His fierce wind He has expelled them on the day of the ^(FC)east wind.
⁹Therefore through this Jacob’s wrongdoing will be ^(FD)forgiven;
And this will be ^[bj]the full price of the ^[bk]^(FE)pardoning of his sin:
When he makes all the ^(FF)altar stones like pulverized chalk stones;
When ^[bl]Asherim and incense altars will not stand.
¹⁰For the fortified city is ^(FG)isolated,
A ^[bm]homestead deserted and abandoned like the desert;
^(FH)There the calf will graze,
And there it will lie down and ^[bn]feed on its branches.
¹¹When its ^(FI)limbs are dry, they are broken off;
Women come and make a fire with them,
For they are not a people of ^(FJ)discernment,
Therefore ^(FK)their Maker ^(FL)will not have compassion on them.
And their Creator will not be gracious to them.

¹²On that day the Lord ^(FM)will thresh from the flowing stream of the ^(FN)Euphrates River to the brook of Egypt, and you will be ^(FO)gathered up one by one, you sons of Israel. ¹³It will come about also on that day that a great ^(FP)trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of ^(FQ)Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and ^(FR)worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.