Isaiah 23

1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of the sea, for the house is destroyed, from whence they were wont to come: from the land of Cethim it is revealed to them.

THE WORD CONCERNING TYRE. Howl, you ships of Carthage; for she has perished, and [men] no longer arrive from the land of the Citians: she is led captive.

2 Be silent, you that dwell in the island: the merchants of Sidon passing over the sea, have filled thee.

To whom are the dwellers in the island become like, the merchants of Phoenice, passing over the sea

3 The seed of the Nile in many waters, the harvest of the river is her revenue: and she is become the mart of the nations.

in great waters, a generation of merchants? as when the harvest is gathered in, [so are] these traders with the nations.

4 Be thou ashamed, O Sidon: for the sea speaketh, even the strength of the sea, saying: I have not been in labour, nor have I brought forth, nor have I nourished up young men, nor brought up virgins.

Be ashamed, O Sidon: the sea has said, yes, the strength of the sea has said, I have not travailed, nor brought forth, nor have I brought up young men, nor reared virgins.

5 When it shall be heard in Egypt, they will be sorry when they shall hear of Tyre:

Moreover when it shall be heard in Egypt, sorrow shall seize them for Tyre.

6 Pass over the seas, howl, ye inhabitants of the island.

Depart you to Carthage; howl, you that dwell in this island.

7 Is not this your city, which gloried from of old in her antiquity? her feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.

Was not this your pride from the beginning, before she was given up?

8 Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, that was formerly crowned, whose merchants were princes, and her traders the nobles of the earth?

Who has devised this counsel against Tyre? Is she inferior? or has she no strength? her merchants were the glorious princes of the earth.

9 The Lord of hosts hath designed it, to pull down the pride of all glory, and bring to disgrace all the glorious ones of the earth.

The Lord of hosts has purposed to bring down all the pride of the glorious ones, and to disgrace every glorious thing on the earth.

10 Pass thy land as a river, O daughter of the sea, thou hast a girdle no more.

Till your land; for ships no more come out of Carthage.

11 He stretched out his hand over the sea, he troubled kingdoms: the Lord hath given a charge against Chanaan, to destroy the strong ones thereof.

And your hand prevails no more by sea, which troubled kings: the Lord of hosts has given a command concerning Chanaan, to destroy the strength thereof.

12 And he said: Thou shalt glory no more, O virgin daughter of Sidon, who art oppressed: arise and sail over to Cethim, there also thou shalt have no, rest.

And [men] shall say, You shall no longer at all continue to insult and injure the daughter of Sidon: and if you depart to the Citians, neither there shall you have rest.

13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans, there was not such a people, the Assyrian founded it: they have led away the strong ones thereof into captivity, they have destroyed the houses thereof, they have brought it to ruin.

And [if you depart] to the land of the Chaldeans, this also is laid waste by the Assyrians, for her wall is fallen.

14 Howl, O ye ships of the sea, for your strength is laid waste.

Howl, you ships of Carthage: for your strong hold is destroyed.

15 And it shall come to pass in that day that thou, O Tyre, shalt be forgotten, seventy years, according to the days of one king: but after seventy years, there shall be unto Tyre as the song of a harlot.

And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] Tyre shall be left seventy years, as the time of a king, as the time of a man: and it shall come to pass after seventy years, [that] Tyre shall be as the song of a harlot.

16 Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten: sing well, sing many a song, that thou mayst be remembered.

Take a harp, go about, O city, you harlot that have been forgotten; play well on the harp, sing many [songs], that you may be remembered.

17 And it shall come to pass after seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and will bring her back again to her traffic: and she shall commit fornication again with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

And it shall come to pass after the seventy years, [that] God will visit Tyre, and she shall be again restored to her primitive state, and she shall be a mart for all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be sanctified to the Lord: they shall not be kept in store, nor laid up: for her merchandise shall be for them that shall dwell before the Lord, that they may eat unto fulness, and be clothed for a continuance.

And her trade and her gain shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be gathered for them, but for those that dwell before the Lord, [even] all her trade, to eat and drink and be filled, and for a covenant [and] a memorial before the Lord.