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Isaiah 23-25
Easy-to-Read Version
Isaiah 23-25
Easy-to-Read Version
God’s Message About Tyre
23 This is a message[a] about Tyre:
Ships traveling from Cyprus heard this message:
“Cry, you ships from Tarshish[b]!
Your harbor has been destroyed.”
2 You people living near the sea, mourn in silence.
The merchants of Sidon sent traders across the sea
and filled the city with riches.
3 They traveled the seas looking for grain.
The men from Tyre bought grain that grows near the Nile River
and sold it to other nations.
4 Sidon, you should be very sad,
because now the Sea and the Fort of the Sea[c] say,
“I have no children.
I have never felt the pain of birth;
I have never given birth to children.
I have never raised young men and women.”
5 When Egypt hears the news about Tyre,
it will feel the pain of sorrow.
6 You ships, try to escape to Tarshish!
Cry out, you people living near the sea!
7 Can this be that happy city that was founded so long ago?
Is it that same city whose people traveled so far to settle other lands?[d]
8 This city produced so many leaders.
Its merchants were like princes.
Its traders had the whole world’s respect.
So who made these plans against Tyre?
9 It was the Lord All-Powerful.
He decided to destroy the great things they were so proud of.
He wanted to disgrace those who were so highly respected.
10 Ships from Tarshish, go back home.
Cross the sea as if it were a river.
No one will stop you now.
11 The Lord raised his arm over the sea
to make the kingdoms angry enough to fight against Tyre.
He commanded Canaan
to destroy her place of safety.[e]
12 He said, “Daughter Sidon,[f] you have been hurt badly,
so you will no longer rejoice like a bride.
Go ahead, go to Cyprus[g] for help,
but you will not find a place to rest there either.”
13 As for Babylon, look at the land of the Chaldeans!
It is not even a country now.
Assyria built war towers to attack it.
The soldiers took everything from the beautiful houses.
Assyria destroyed Babylon.
They turned it into a pile of ruins
and made it a place for wild animals.
14 So be sad, you ships from Tarshish.
Your place of safety has been destroyed.
15 People will forget about Tyre for 70 years—that is, about the length of a king’s rule. After 70 years, Tyre will be like the prostitute in this song:
16 “Oh, woman who men forgot,
take your harp and walk through the city.
Play your song well and sing it often.
Maybe someone will remember you.”
17 After 70 years, the Lord will review Tyre’s case, and he will give her a decision. Tyre will again have trade. She will be like a prostitute for all the nations on earth. 18 But Tyre will not keep the money she earns. The profit from her trade will be saved for the Lord. Tyre will give that money to the people who serve the Lord to buy good food and nice clothes.
God Will Punish Israel
24 Look, the Lord is destroying this land.[h] He will clean out the land completely and force all the people to go far away. 2 At that time whatever happens to the common people will also happen to the priests. Slaves and masters will be the same. Women slaves and their women masters will be the same. Buyers and sellers will be the same. Those who borrow and those who lend will be the same. Bankers and those who owe the bank will be the same. 3 Everyone will be forced out of the land. All the wealth will be taken. This will happen because the Lord commanded it. 4 The country will be empty and sad. The world will be empty and weak. The great leaders of the people in this land will become weak.
5 The people have ruined the land. They did what God said was wrong. They did not obey God’s laws. They made an agreement with God a long time ago, but they broke their agreement with God. 6 The people living in this land are guilty of doing wrong, so God promised to destroy the land. The people will be punished, and only a few of them will survive.
7 The grapevines are dying. The new wine is bad. People who were happy are now sad. 8 They have stopped showing their joy. The happy music from the drums and harps has ended. 9 They no longer sing as they drink their wine. The beer now tastes bitter to those who drink it.
10 “Total Confusion” is a good name for this city. The city has been destroyed. People cannot enter the houses. The doors are blocked. 11 People still ask for wine in the marketplaces, but all the joy is gone. It was carried off with everything else. 12 All that is left is destruction. Even the gates are crushed.
13 At harvest time, people knock olives from the trees.
But a few olives are left in the trees.
It will be like that in this land and among the nations.
14 Those who are left will begin shouting louder than the ocean.
They will rejoice about the Lord’s greatness.
15 They will say, “People in the east, praise the Lord!
People in faraway lands,
praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.”
16 We hear songs of praise for God from every place on earth.
They praise the God who does what is right.
But I say, “Enough!
I have had enough.
What I see is terrible.
Traitors are turning against people and hurting them.”
17 I see troubles for you people living in this land.
I see fear, pits, and problems all around.
18 People will hear about the danger,
and they will be afraid.
Some of them will run away,
but they will fall into holes and be trapped.
Some of them will climb out of the holes,
but they will be caught in another trap.
The floodgates in the sky above will open,
and the floods will begin.
The foundations of the earth will shake.
19 There will be earthquakes,
and the earth will split open.
20 The sins of the world are very heavy,
so the earth will fall under the weight.
It will shake like an old house.
It will fall like a drunk.
It will not be able to stand.
21 At that time the Lord will judge
the heavenly armies in heaven
and the earthly kings on earth.
22 Many people will be gathered together.
They have been locked in the Pit.
They have been in prison.[i]
But finally, after a long time, they will be judged.
23 The Lord will rule as king on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
His Glory will be shown to the city leaders with such brightness that
the moon will be embarrassed
and the sun will be ashamed.
A Song of Praise to God
25 Lord, you are my God.
I honor you and praise your name,
because you did amazing things.
The words you said long ago are completely true;
everything happened exactly as you said it would.
2 And you destroyed the city that was protected by strong walls.
Now it is only a pile of rocks.
The foreign palace has been destroyed.
It will never be rebuilt.
3 That is why powerful nations will honor you.
Powerful people from strong cities will fear you.
4 You have been a safe place for poor people in trouble.
You are like a shelter from floods and shade from the heat
when powerful men attack.
They are like rain streaming down the walls
that protect us from the storm.
5 Like the heat of summer in a dry land,
the angry shouts of those foreigners brought us to our knees.
But like a thick cloud that blocks the summer heat,
you answered their challenge.
God’s Banquet for His Servants
6 The Lord All-Powerful will give a feast for all the people on this mountain. At the feast, there will be the best foods and wines. The meat will be good and tender, the wine pure and clear.
7 But now there is a veil covering all nations and people. This veil is called “death.” 8 But death will be destroyed forever.[j] And the Lord God will wipe away every tear from every face. In the past, all of his people were sad, but God will take away that sadness from the earth. All of this will happen because the Lord said it would.
9 At that time people will say,
“Here is our God!
He is the one we have been waiting for.
He has come to save us.
We have been waiting for our Lord.
So we will rejoice and be happy when he saves us.”
10 The Lord’s power is on this mountain,
and Moab[k] will be defeated.
The Lord will trample the enemy
like someone walking on straw in a pile of waste.
11 They will reach out their arms to escape
like someone trying to swim.
But their pride will sink
with each stroke they take.
12 He will destroy their high walls and safe places.
He will throw them down into the dust on the ground.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:1 message Or “burden.”
- Isaiah 23:1 ships from Tarshish This is probably a special type of cargo ship. Also in verse 14.
- Isaiah 23:4 Fort of the Sea Another name for the city of Tyre.
- Isaiah 23:7 traveled … other lands? Or “came from so far to live here?”
- Isaiah 23:11 Or “He raised his arm over the sea and shook nations. He gave a command about Canaan to destroy its fortresses.”
- Isaiah 23:12 Daughter Sidon Another name for the city of Sidon.
- Isaiah 23:12 Cyprus Literally, “Kittim.” This could also mean “Crete.”
- Isaiah 24:1 land Or “earth.”
- Isaiah 24:22 Pit … prison This is probably “Sheol,” the grave.
- Isaiah 25:8 But death … forever Some Greek versions have “But death will be swallowed in victory.”
- Isaiah 25:10 Moab Or “the enemy.” This name is like a Hebrew word meaning “enemy.”
Isaiah 23-25
New International Version
Isaiah 23-25
New International Version
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.
2 Be silent,(F) you people of the island
and you merchants(G) of Sidon,(H)
whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 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.
4 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.”
5 When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish(N) at the report from Tyre.(O)
6 Cross over to Tarshish;(P)
wail, you people of the island.
7 Is this your city of revelry,(Q)
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
8 Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants(R) are princes,
whose traders(S) are renowned in the earth?
9 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)
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—
2 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)
3 The earth will be completely laid waste(BA)
and totally plundered.(BB)
The Lord has spoken(BC) this word.
4 The earth dries up(BD) and withers,(BE)
the world languishes and withers,
the heavens(BF) languish with the earth.(BG)
5 The earth is defiled(BH) by its people;
they have disobeyed(BI) the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.(BJ)
6 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.
7 The new wine dries up(BM) and the vine withers;(BN)
all the merrymakers groan.(BO)
8 The joyful timbrels(BP) are stilled,
the noise(BQ) of the revelers(BR) has stopped,
the joyful harp(BS) is silent.(BT)
9 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.
2 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)
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;(EE)
cities of ruthless(EF) nations will revere you.
4 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
5 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.
6 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)
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud(ER) that enfolds all peoples,(ES)
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 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)
9 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
- Isaiah 23:3 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls Sidon, / who cross over the sea; / your envoys 3 are on the great waters. / The grain of the Shihor, / the harvest of the Nile,
- Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
- Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans
- Isaiah 24:22 Or released
- Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Isaiah 23-25
King James Version
Isaiah 23-25
King James Version
23 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
4 Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.
5 As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
6 Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.
7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
8 Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
10 Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.
11 He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.
12 And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.
13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.
14 Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
24 Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.
3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.
4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
7 The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.
8 The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.
9 They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
10 The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.
11 There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
12 In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.
13 When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.
14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea.
15 Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea.
16 From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
25 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.
3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
6 And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.
9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
11 And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.
12 And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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