Isaiah 23:1-14

The Oracle concerning Tyre

23¹ The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Kittim it is revealed to them. ² Be still, ye inhabitants of the coast, thou whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. ³ And on great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations. ⁴ Be thou ashamed, O Sidon; for the sea hath spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not travailed, nor brought forth, neither have I nourished young men, nor brought up virgins. ⁵ When the report cometh to Egypt, they shall be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. ⁶ Pass ye over to Tarshish; wail, ye inhabitants of the coast. ⁷ Is this your joyous [city], whose antiquity is of ancient days, whose feet carried her afar off to sojourn? ⁸ Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth? ⁹ Jehovah of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. ¹⁰ Pass through thy land as the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint any more. ¹¹ He hath stretched out his hand over the sea, he hath shaken the kingdoms: Jehovah hath given commandment concerning Canaan, to destroy the strongholds thereof. ¹² And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon: arise, pass over to Kittim; even there shalt thou have no rest. ¹³ Behold, the land of the Chaldeans: this people was not; the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness; they set up their towers; they overthrew the palaces thereof; they made it a ruin. ¹⁴ Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for your stronghold is laid waste.