Isaiah 23
18 verses
Isaiah's prophecy against Tyre, the great Phoenician city and commercial power, announces the destruction of this wealthy trading center and its eventual humiliation before the Lord. The oracle depicts the merchants of Sidon and the ships of Tarshish being silenced, establishing that commerce and trade, the foundations of Tyre's wealth, will collapse under divine judgment. The prophecy emphasizes that Tyre will be laid waste and that its glory will fade, that the city whose merchants were princes will become a forgotten ruin. Yet the oracle concludes with a remarkable promise: after seventy years, Tyre will be remembered again, and she will return to her hire and harlotry, serving all the kingdoms of the earth. The reference to Tyre becoming a harlot suggests that the city will continue to exist but will lose her pride and dominion, surviving as a diminished power serving others. The prophecy establishes that even the greatest commercial and military powers are subject to divine judgment and that their apparent permanence and invulnerability prove illusory. The vision of Tyre's restoration after judgment indicates that annihilation is not the ultimate goal but rather humbling and transformation. The chapter demonstrates Isaiah's conviction that the foundations of human society—commerce, military power, political dominion—are all subject to divine scrutiny and judgment. The oracle against Tyre, the last of the nation-prophecies in this section, establishes the pattern that all human powers, regardless of their apparent stability and strength, are temporary and contingent on divine permission.
VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER
1
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.
0 0Open verse page →
2
Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
0 0Open verse page →
3
And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
0 0Open verse page →
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.
0 0Open verse page →
5
As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
0 0Open verse page →
6
Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.
0 1Open verse page →
7
Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
0 0Open verse page →
8
Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
0 0Open verse page →
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.
0 0Open verse page →
10
Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.
0 0Open verse page →
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.
0 1Open verse page →
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.
0 0Open verse page →
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.
0 0Open verse page →
14
Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
0 1Open verse page →
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.
0 0Open verse page →
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.
0 0Open verse page →
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.
0 0Open verse page →
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.
0 0Open verse page →
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
No notes on this chapter yet. Be the first to write one!