Isaiah 23 – NIV & NIRV

New International Version

Isaiah 23:1-18

A Prophecy Against Tyre

1A prophecy against Tyre:

Wail, you ships of Tarshish!

For Tyre is destroyed

and left without house or harbor.

From the land of Cyprus

word has come to them.

2Be silent, you people of the island

and you merchants of Sidon,

whom the seafarers have enriched.

3On the great waters

came the grain of the Shihor;

the harvest of the Nile23:2,3 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, was the revenue of Tyre,

and she became the marketplace of the nations.

4Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea,

for the sea has spoken:

“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;

I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”

5When word comes to Egypt,

they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre.

6Cross over to Tarshish;

wail, you people of the island.

7Is this your city of revelry,

the old, old city,

whose feet have taken her

to settle in far-off lands?

8Who planned this against Tyre,

the bestower of crowns,

whose merchants are princes,

whose traders are renowned in the earth?

9The Lord Almighty planned it,

to bring down her pride in all her splendor

and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.

10Till23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through your land as they do along the Nile,

Daughter Tarshish,

for you no longer have a harbor.

11The Lord has stretched out his hand over the sea

and made its kingdoms tremble.

He has given an order concerning Phoenicia

that her fortresses be destroyed.

12He said, “No more of your reveling,

Virgin Daughter Sidon, now crushed!

“Up, cross over to Cyprus;

even there you will find no rest.”

13Look at the land of the Babylonians,23:13 Or Chaldeans

this people that is now of no account!

The Assyrians have made it

a place for desert creatures;

they raised up their siege towers,

they stripped its fortresses bare

and turned it into a ruin.

14Wail, you ships of Tarshish;

your fortress is destroyed!

15At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, 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;

play the harp well, sing many a song,

so that you will be remembered.”

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

New International Reader’s Version

Isaiah 23:1-18

A Prophecy Against Tyre

1Here is a prophecy against Tyre that the Lord gave me.

Men in the ships of Tarshish, cry out!

The city of Tyre is destroyed.

Its houses and harbor are gone.

That’s the message you have received

from the island of Cyprus.

2People on the island of Tyre, be silent.

Traders from the city of Sidon, be quiet.

Those who sail on the Mediterranean Sea have made you rich.

3Grain from Egypt

came across the mighty waters.

The harvest of the Nile River brought wealth to Tyre.

It became the market place of the nations.

4Sidon, be ashamed. Mighty Tyre out in the sea, be ashamed.

The sea has spoken. It has said,

“It’s as if I had never felt labor pains or had children.

It’s as if I had never brought up sons or daughters.

It’s as if the city of Tyre had never existed.”

5The Egyptians will hear about what has happened to Tyre.

They’ll be very sad and troubled.

6People of the island of Tyre, cry out!

Go across the sea to Tarshish.

7Just look at Tyre.

It’s no longer the old, old city that was known for its wild parties.

It no longer sends its people out

to make their homes in lands far away.

8Tyre was a city that produced kings.

Its traders were princes.

They were honored all over the earth.

So who planned to destroy such a city?

9The Lord who rules over all planned to do it.

He wanted to bring down all its pride and glory.

He wanted to shame those who were honored all over the earth.

10People of Tarshish, farm your land

as they do along the Nile River.

That’s because you don’t have a harbor anymore.

11The Lord has reached his powerful hand out over the sea.

He has made its kingdoms tremble with fear.

He has given a command concerning Phoenicia.

He has ordered that its forts be destroyed.

12He said, “No more wild parties for you!

People of Sidon, you are now destroyed!

“Leave your city. Go across the sea to Cyprus.

Even there you will not find any rest.”

13Look at the land of the Babylonians.

No one lives there anymore.

The Assyrians have turned it

into a place for desert creatures.

They built their towers in order to attack it.

They took everything out of its forts.

They knocked down all its buildings.

14Men in the ships of Tarshish, cry out!

Mighty Tyre is destroyed!

15A time is coming when people will forget about Tyre for 70 years. That’s the length of a king’s life. But at the end of those 70 years, Tyre will be like the prostitute that people sing about. They say,

16“Forgotten prostitute, pick up a harp.

Walk through the city.

Play the harp well. Sing many songs.

Then you will be remembered.”

17At the end of the 70 years, the Lord will punish Tyre. He will let it return to its way of life as a prostitute. It will earn its living with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18But the money it earns will be set apart for the Lord. The money won’t be stored up or kept for Tyre. Instead, it will go to those who live the way the Lord wants them to. It will pay for plenty of food and fine clothes for them.