Isaiah 23

The Fall of Tyre

1 This is the message about Tyre: Cry out, you ships of Tarshish, your home is destroyed! You heard about it when you got to Cyprus.

2 Be silent, you people of the coast and merchants of Sidon. Your traders crossed the sea, bringing wealth from far away.

3 The grain of Shihor, the harvest from the Nile, was her profit, Tyre was the marketplace of nations.

4 Be ashamed, Sidon, stronghold of the sea, because the sea has spoken, saying, “I have never been in labor, never given birth, never raised sons or daughters.”

5 When Egypt hears what happened to Tyre, they will be in shock.

6 Run away to Tarshish! Cry out, you people living by the coast.

7 Is this your joyous city, the one that has been around since ancient days, whose feet once carried her far off to settle other lands,

God’s Plan Against Pride

8 Who decided this against Tyre, the one who handed out crowns, whose merchants were princes and traders famous in the world,

9 The Lord of Armies planned it, to humble the pride of all glory, to bring down everything that was lifted high on earth.

10 Go ahead, daughter of Tarshish, cross your land like the Nile. You do not have any strength left.

11 The Lord stretched His hand over the sea and made kingdoms tremble. He commanded that the strongholds of Canaan be destroyed.

12 He said, “You will not rejoice anymore, you crushed one, daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus, but even there, you will find no rest.”

The Fall and Restoration of Tyre

13 Look at the land of the Babylonians, a people that is no more. The Assyrians turned it into a ruin. They set up siege towers, tore down its palaces, and made it dust.

14 Cry out, you ships of Tarshish, your fortress is gone.

15 In that day, Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the lifespan of a king. After seventy years, she will come back singing like a prostitute.

16 Take a harp, walk through the city, forgotten woman. Play your tunes, sing your songs again so people remember you.

17 After seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre. She will go back to her trade, selling her goods to every kingdom on earth.

18 But her profits and wages will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or hoarded. Her earnings will go to those who live in the presence of the Lord, for food that satisfies and clothes that last.