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With this oracle against Tyre, Isaiah concludes his section on the judgment of the nations, which began with Babylon in the east (vv.13-14) and now concludes with the Phoenician seaports in the west.
As the prophecy indicates, Tyre’s influence was extensive, reaching all around the lip of the Mediterranean Sea and beyond. But this marketplace of the nations is about to fall. Its chief trading partner, Egypt, will be the first to learn of her demise (vv.1-5). The word will go as far west as Tarshish, which is near the coast of Spain (vv.6-7). Lest there be any doubt, Isaiah makes it known that it is God who planned this (vv.8-9). He concludes the first portion of the oracle as he began it (v.14). The phrase “ships of Tarshish” had come to stand for the large Phoenician fleet of mercantile ships. They now have no place to call home. The prose section (vv.15-18) speaks of the restoration of the fortunes of Tyre and of her new-found allegiance to the Lord.