Isaiah 23:1-6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 23
Tyre and Sidon
1 [a]Oracle on Tyre:
Wail, ships of Tarshish,
for your port is destroyed;
From the land of the Kittim[b]
the news reaches them.(A)
2 Silence! you who dwell on the coast,
you merchants of Sidon,
Whose messengers crossed the sea
3 over the deep waters,
Whose revenue was the grain of Shihor,[c] the harvest of the Nile,
you who were the merchant among the nations.(B)
4 Be ashamed, Sidon, fortress on the sea,
for the sea[d] has spoken,
“I have not been in labor, nor given birth,
nor raised young men,
nor reared young women.”
5 When the report reaches Egypt
they shall be in anguish at the report about Tyre.
6 Pass over to Tarshish,[e]
wail, you who dwell on the coast!
Footnotes
- 23:1–17 This oracle, a satire directed against the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon, is perhaps to be situated at the time of Sennacherib’s campaign against the Phoenican cities in 701 B.C, following his subjugation of their Babylonian allies in 703 B.C.
- 23:1 Kittim: Cyprus. The Hebrew word is derived from the term for the well-known city of Cyprus, Kition. In later centuries the term Kittim is used for the Greeks, the Romans, and other distant peoples.
- 23:3 Shihor: a synonym for the Nile.
- 23:4 The sea: here personified, it brings to distant coasts the news that Sidon must disown her children; her people are dispersed.
- 23:6–7 Tarshish: perhaps Tartessus in Spain. Distant lands: the reference is to the far-flung colonies established by the Phoenicians throughout the Mediterranean, including North Africa, Spain, and Sardinia. Oceangoing vessels were therefore called Tarshish ships.
Isaiah 23:1-6
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 A prophecy against Tyre:(A)
Wail,(B) you ships(C) of Tarshish!(D)
For Tyre is destroyed(E)
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
2 Be silent,(F) you people of the island
and you merchants(G) of Sidon,(H)
whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;(I)
the harvest of the Nile[a](J) was the revenue of Tyre,(K)
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon,(L) and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;(M)
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5 When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish(N) at the report from Tyre.(O)
6 Cross over to Tarshish;(P)
wail, you people of the island.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:3 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,
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