Isaiah 23

1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish! for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, none entering in. From the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

The word about Tyre. Let a cry of sorrow go up, O ships of Tarshish, because your strong place is made waste; on the way back from the land of Kittim the news is given to them.

2 Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle! The merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished thee.

Send out a cry of grief, you men of the sea-land, traders of Zidon, who go over the sea, whose representatives are on great waters;

3 And on great waters, the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the market of the nations.

Who get in the seed of Shihor, whose wealth is the trade of the nations.

4 Be thou ashamed, Sidon, for the sea hath spoken, the strength of the sea, saying, I have not travailed nor brought forth, neither have I nourished young men [nor] brought up virgins.

Be shamed, O Zidon: for the sea, the strong place of the sea has said, I have not been with child, or given birth; I have not taken care of young men, or kept watch over the growth of virgins.

5 — When the report came into Egypt, they were sorely pained at the news of Tyre.

When the news comes to Egypt they will be bitterly pained at the fate of Tyre.

6 Pass over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the coast!

Go over to Tarshish; give cries of sorrow, O men of the sea-land.

7 Is this your joyous [city], whose antiquity is of ancient days? Her feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.

Is this the town which was full of joy, whose start goes back to times long past, whose wanderings took her into far-off countries?

8 Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the distributor of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose dealers were the honourable of the earth?

By whom was this purposed against Tyre, the crowning town, whose traders are chiefs, whose business men are honoured in the land?

9 Jehovah of hosts hath purposed it, to profane the pride of all glory, to bring to nought all the honourable of the earth.

It was the purpose of the Lord of armies to put pride to shame, to make sport of the glory of those who are honoured in the earth.

10 Overflow thy land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish: there is no more restraint.

Let your land be worked with the plough, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no longer any harbour.

11 He hath stretched out his hand over the sea, he shaketh the kingdoms. Jehovah hath given a commandment concerning Canaan, to destroy the strongholds thereof,

His hand is stretched out over the sea, the kingdoms are shaking: the Lord has given orders about Canaan, to make waste its strong places.

12 and hath said, Thou shalt no more exult, [thou] oppressed virgin, daughter of Sidon: get thee up, pass over to Chittim; even there shalt thou have no rest.

And he said, There is no more joy for you, O crushed virgin daughter of Zidon: up! go over to Kittim; even there you will have no rest.

13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans: this people did not exist; the Assyrian founded it for the dwellers in the desert: they set up their towers, they destroyed the palaces thereof; he brought it to ruin.

14 Howl, ships of Tarshish! for your fortress is laid waste.

Let a cry of sorrow go up, O ships of Tarshish: because your strong place is made waste.

15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it shall be for Tyre as the harlot's song.

And it will be in that day that Tyre will go out of mind for seventy years, that is, the days of one king: after the end of seventy years it will be for Tyre as in the song of the loose woman.

16 Take a harp, go about the city, thou forgotten harlot! Make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

Take an instrument of music, go about the town, O loose woman who has gone out from the memory of man; make sweet melody with songs, so that you may come back to men's minds.

17 And it shall come to pass at the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre; and she will return to her hire, and will commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the earth upon the face of the ground.

And it will be after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will have mercy on Tyre, and she will go back to her trade, acting as a loose woman with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holy to Jehovah: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah, to eat and be sufficed, and for excellent clothing.

And her goods and her trade will be holy to the Lord: they will not be kept back or stored up; for her produce will be for those living in the Lord's land, to give them food for their needs, and fair clothing.