Isaiah
Chapter 23
1 The weight of Tyre’s troubles. Cry out, ships of Tarshish; for it is destroyed, with no homes or way to enter: from the land of Chittim, they learn of it.
2 Stay calm, people of the island; you whom the sea-traveling merchants of Sidon have filled up.
3 By large waters, the crops of the Nile, the river’s yield, bring her income; she is a marketplace for nations.
4 Feel embarrassed, O Sidon, because the sea has claimed, even its mighty waves, saying, I do not struggle in labor, nor give birth to children, and I do not raise young men or nurture young women.
5 Just like the news about Egypt hurt them, they will be very upset by the news about Tyre.
6 Go to Tarshish; cry out, you people of the island.
7 Is this your happy city, which is very old? It will walk far away to stay.
8 Who has planned this against Tyre, the city known for crowns, where the merchants are like leaders, and the traders respected throughout the world?
9 God has planned it, to tarnish all pride and to disgrace all respected people on earth.
10 Go through your land like a river, O daughter of Tarshish: you have no more power.
11 He reached out his hand over the sea and disturbed nations: God has ordered to destroy the merchant city and its strong defenses.
12 He said, “You won’t be happy anymore, you mistreated young woman of Sidon. Get up, go over to Cyprus; even there you won’t find peace.”
13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans; these people did not exist until the Assyrian built it for the desert dwellers: they built its towers, they built its palaces; and it was destroyed.
14 Cry out, you ships of Tarshish: because your power is destroyed.
15 On that day, Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the length of one king’s reign. After seventy years are over, Tyre will return to life like a prostitute.
16 Play the harp, walk around the town, forgotten woman; play lovely tunes, sing a lot of songs, so you will be remembered.
17 After seventy years, God will return to Tyre, and it will start earning money again by interacting with all the world’s kingdoms on the earth.
18 Her goods and earnings will be sacred to God; they will not be stored or hoarded. Her goods will provide enough food and lasting clothes for those living in God’s presence.