Isaiah 23
1 An oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, ships of Tarshish, for Tyre has been destroyed, left without a house or harbor to enter; this was revealed to them from the land of Kittim.
2 Be silent, you inhabitants of the coast, whom the merchants of Sidon, crossing the sea, have filled with wealth.
3 Across the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the Nile’s harvest was her revenue, and she was the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea has said: “I have not been in labor or given birth; I have raised no young men or brought up young women.”
5 When the news reaches Egypt, they will writhe at the report about Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish! Wail, you inhabitants of the coast!
7 Is this your joyful city, whose history goes back to ancient days, whose feet carried her far away to settle?
8 Who planned this against Tyre, the city that bestowed crowns, whose merchants were princes and whose traders were the most honored in the land?
9 The LORD of Hosts planned it, to profane all pride in beauty, to humble all the most honored in the land.
10 Cross your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish; there is no more restraint.
11 He stretched out his hand over the sea and made kingdoms tremble; the LORD commanded concerning Canaan, to destroy her fortresses.
12 He said: “You will no longer rejoice, oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Rise, cross over to Kittim; even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans: this is the people that once was not. Assyria destined it for desert creatures. They raised siege towers, demolished its palaces, and reduced it to ruins.
14 Wail, ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold has been destroyed.
15 On that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the lifetime of one king. At the end of seventy years, this will happen to Tyre, as in the song about the prostitute:
16 “Take up the harp, go around the city, forgotten prostitute. Play skillfully, sing many songs, so that you may be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years, the LORD will attend to Tyre, and she will return to her earnings as a prostitute: she will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world across the face of the earth.
18 But her profits and earnings will be consecrated to the LORD; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live in the LORD’s presence, so they may eat their fill and have fine clothing.
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