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Isaiah 23
Amplified Bible
Isaiah 23
Amplified Bible
The Fall of Tyre
23 The [mournful, inspired] oracle ([a]a burden to be carried) concerning [b]Tyre:
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
For Tyre is destroyed, without house, without harbor;
It is reported to them from the land of Cyprus (Kittim).
2
Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You [c]merchants of Sidon;
[d]Your messengers crossed the sea
3
And they were on great waters.
The grain of the [e]Shihor, the harvest of the Nile River, was Tyre’s revenue;
And she was the market of nations.
4
Be ashamed, O Sidon [mother-city of Tyre, now like a widow bereaved of her children];
For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying,
“I have neither labored nor given birth [to children];
I have neither brought up young men nor reared virgins.”
5
When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in agony at the report about Tyre.
6
Cross over to Tarshish [to seek safety as exiles];
Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland [of Tyre].
7
Is this your jubilant city,
Whose origin dates back to antiquity,
Whose feet used to carry her [far away] to colonize distant places?
8
Who has planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9
The Lord of hosts has planned it, to defile the pride of all beauty,
To bring into contempt and humiliation all the honored of the earth.
10
Overflow your land like [the overflow of] the Nile, O Daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more restraint [on you to make you pay tribute to Tyre].
11
He has stretched out His hand over the sea,
He has shaken the kingdoms;
The Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to destroy her strongholds and her fortresses [like Tyre and Sidon].
12
He has said, “You shall never again exult [in triumph], O crushed Virgin Daughter of Sidon.
Arise, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”
13 Now look at the land of the Chaldeans (Babylonia)—this is the people which was not; the Assyrians allocated Tyre for desert creatures—they set up their [f]siege towers, they stripped its palaces, they made it a ruin.
14
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
For your stronghold [of Tyre] is destroyed.
15 Now in that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the prostitute’s song:
16
Take a harp, walk around the city,
O forgotten prostitute;
Play the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.
17 It will come to pass at the end of seventy years that the Lord will remember Tyre. Then she will return to her prostitute’s wages and will play the [role of a] prostitute [by trading] with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18 But her commercial gain and her prostitute’s wages will be [g]dedicated to the Lord; it will not be treasured or stored up, but her commercial gain will become sufficient food and stately clothing for those who dwell (minister) in the presence of the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:1 I.e. an urgent message the prophet is under compulsion to proclaim.
- Isaiah 23:1 Ancient Tyre was a Phoenician trading center with two separate urban areas; the major trading center was located on a fortified island and the suburban center was located on the adjacent coast. They were connected by a causeway built by Alexander the Great during his siege of Tyre.
- Isaiah 23:2 So some versions; MT reads merchant.
- Isaiah 23:2 The DSS so read. MT reads Who crossed the sea, they replenished you.
- Isaiah 23:3 An Egyptian name meaning “the pond of Horus”; it is probably a branch of the Nile or an unspecified lake.
- Isaiah 23:13 Besieging a heavily fortified (walled) city was an ancient military tactic. The attackers would surround the city and cut off all supplies and communication to or from the inhabitants, then they would use siege towers to tear down the walls. The tower was a massive support structure for a heavy beam or log that was sharpened on one end and hung horizontally. It would be pushed against a wall and worked in such a way as to dislodge the stones that had been stacked to form the wall.
- Isaiah 23:18 Tyre was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 572 b.c. and lay desolate for seventy years. The new city built on the island was taken by Alexander the Great in 332 b.c. Eventually Christianity prevailed at Tyre. Jesus visited there (Matt 15:21) and so did Paul (Acts 21:3-6). In his commentary on Isaiah Eusebius says that when the church of God was founded in Tyre, much of its wealth was consecrated to God and presented for the support of ministers. This is also the testimony of Jerome, the Latin church father writing in the fourth century.
Isaiah 23
New International Version
Isaiah 23
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.
7 Is this your city of revelry,(Q)
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
8 Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants(R) are princes,
whose traders(S) are renowned in the earth?
9 The Lord Almighty planned(T) it,
to bring down(U) her pride in all her splendor
and to humble(V) all who are renowned(W) on the earth.
10 Till[b] your land as they do along the Nile,
Daughter Tarshish,
for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The Lord has stretched out his hand(X) over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.(Y)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
that her fortresses be destroyed.(Z)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,(AA)
Virgin Daughter(AB) Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus;(AC)
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[c](AD)
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians(AE) have made it
a place for desert creatures;(AF)
they raised up their siege towers,(AG)
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.(AH)
15 At that time Tyre(AL) will be forgotten for seventy years,(AM) the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
you forgotten prostitute;(AN)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years,(AO) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(AP) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(AQ) 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;(AR) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord,(AS) for abundant food and fine clothes.(AT)
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,
- Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
- Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans
Ezekiel 26:1-18
Amplified Bible
Ezekiel 26:1-18
Amplified Bible
Judgment on Tyre
26 Now in the eleventh year, on the first [day] of the month [after the capture of King Jehoiachin], the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, because [a]Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gateway of the people is broken; she is open to me. I will be filled, now that she is a desolate waste,’ 3 therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea makes its waves crest. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her dust and debris from her and make her as bare as [the top of] a rock. 5 Her island in the midst of the sea will become a dry place to spread nets, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God, ‘and she will become a prey and a spoil for the nations. 6 Also Tyre’s daughters (towns, villages) [b]on the mainland will be killed by the sword, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.’”
7 For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north [c]Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots and with horsemen and a great army. 8 He will kill your daughters on the mainland with the sword, and he shall make siege walls against you and build a siege ramp against you and raise [a roof of] large shields [as a defense] against you. 9 He will direct the [shocking] blow of his battering rams against your walls, and he will tear down your towers with his crowbars. 10 Because of the great number of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls [O Tyre] will shake from the noise of the horsemen and the wagons and the chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached. 11 With the hoofs of his horses Nebuchadnezzar will trample all your streets; with the sword he will kill your people, and your strong pillars (obelisks) will fall to the ground. 12 Also they will take your riches as spoil and plunder your merchandise, and tear down your walls and your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timber and the debris [from your city] out in the water. 13 So I will silence your songs, and the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard. 14 I will make you [Tyre] a [d]bare rock; you will be a dry place on which to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,” says the Lord God.
15 Thus says the Lord God to Tyre, “Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter occurs in your midst? 16 Then all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones and remove their robes and take off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble again and again, and be appalled at you. 17 They will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for you and say to you,
‘How you have perished and vanished, O renowned city,
From the seas, O renowned city,
Which was mighty on the sea,
She and her inhabitants,
Who imposed her terror
On all who lived there!
18
‘Now the coastlands will tremble
On the day of your fall;
Yes, the coastlands which are by the sea
Will be terrified at your departure.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 26:2 Tyre, the Phoenician capital, was a major trading port established on the Mediterranean coast (Lebanon). An adjoining city was built on an island about a half mile off shore. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre, without success, for fifteen years (586-571 b.c.). To prevent Nebuchadnezzar from getting their valuables, the people of Tyre moved to the island city. The conqueror destroyed the city on the mainland and left. More than two centuries later, Alexander the Great, in 332 b.c., used the ruins of the old city, even scraping up the dust, to make a causeway to the island (then home to about 30,000 people) during a seven-month siege. In the following decades sand, silt and debris collected over the causeway and the island was joined to the mainland. Its most famous export was the purple dye derived from the murex, a marine snail, found along its shores.
- Ezekiel 26:6 Lit in the field.
- Ezekiel 26:7 See note Jer 21:2.
- Ezekiel 26:14 According to Herodotus, Tyre’s recorded history began in 2750 b.c. It was a fortified city in Joshua’s time (Josh 19:29), and later became a great maritime commercial center (Is 23:8). Yet Jeremiah (Jer 27:2-7; 47:4) and Ezekiel (Ezek 26:3-21; 28:6-10) both foretold the destruction of ancient Tyre. Tyre was attacked repeatedly by various ancient powers including the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, and the Romans.
Ezekiel 26:1-18
New International Version
Ezekiel 26:1-18
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Tyre
26 In the eleventh month of the twelfth[a] year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:(A) 2 “Son of man, because Tyre(B) has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha!(C) The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ 3 therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea(D) casting up its waves. 4 They will destroy(E) the walls of Tyre(F) and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. 5 Out in the sea(G) she will become a place to spread fishnets,(H) for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder(I) for the nations,(J) 6 and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar[b](K) king of Babylon, king of kings,(L) with horses and chariots,(M) with horsemen and a great army. 8 He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works(N) against you, build a ramp(O) up to your walls and raise his shields against you. 9 He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons.(P) 10 His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the warhorses, wagons and chariots(Q) when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through. 11 The hooves(R) of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars(S) will fall to the ground.(T) 12 They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea.(U) 13 I will put an end(V) to your noisy songs,(W) and the music of your harps(X) will be heard no more.(Y) 14 I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt,(Z) for I the Lord have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.
15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands(AA) tremble(AB) at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan(AC) and the slaughter takes place in you? 16 Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered(AD) garments. Clothed(AE) with terror, they will sit on the ground,(AF) trembling(AG) every moment, appalled(AH) at you. 17 Then they will take up a lament(AI) concerning you and say to you:
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 26:1 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text does not have month of the twelfth.
- Ezekiel 26:7 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Ezekiel and Jeremiah
Amos 1:6-10
Amplified Bible
Amos 1:6-10
Amplified Bible
6
Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Gaza [in Philistia] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because [as slave traders] they took captive the entire [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared]
And deported them to Edom [for the slave trade].(A)
7
“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Gaza
And it shall consume her citadels.
8
“And I will cut off and destroy the inhabitants from Ashdod,
And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon;
And I will unleash My power and turn My hand [in judgment] against Ekron,
And the rest of the Philistines [in Gath and the towns dependent on these four Philistine cities] shall die,”
Says the Lord God.(B)
9
Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Tyre and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because they [as middlemen] deported an entire [Jewish] population to Edom
And did not [seriously] remember their covenant of brotherhood.(C)
10
“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Tyre,
And it shall consume her citadels.”
Amos 1:6-10
New International Version
Amos 1:6-10
New International Version
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Gaza,(A)
even for four, I will not relent.(B)
Because she took captive whole communities
and sold them to Edom,(C)
7 I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
that will consume her fortresses.
8 I will destroy the king[a] of Ashdod(D)
and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand(E) against Ekron,
till the last of the Philistines(F) are dead,”(G)
says the Sovereign Lord.(H)
9 This is what the Lord says:
Footnotes
- Amos 1:8 Or inhabitants
Zephaniah 2:4-7
Amplified Bible
Zephaniah 2:4-7
Amplified Bible
4
For [this is the fate of the Philistines:] Gaza will be abandoned
And Ashkelon a desolation;
[The people of] Ashdod will be driven out at noon [in broad daylight]
And Ekron will be uprooted and destroyed.
5
Woe (judgment is coming) to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites [in Philistia]!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
I will destroy you
So that no inhabitant will be left.
6
So the [depopulated] seacoast shall be pastures,
With [deserted] meadows for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7
The [a]seacoast will belong
To the remnant of the house of Judah;
They will pasture [their flocks] on it.
In the [deserted] houses of Ashkelon [in Philistia] they [of Judah] will lie down and rest in the evening,
For the Lord their God will care for them;
And restore their fortune [permitting them to occupy the land].(A)
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:7 This is one of the more than twenty-five details of Bible prophecy about the promised land that has been literally fulfilled. See note Ezek 26:14 for information about a similar fulfillment of Bible prophecy with regard to Tyre.
Zephaniah 2:4-7
New International Version
Zephaniah 2:4-7
New International Version
Philistia
4 Gaza(A) will be abandoned
and Ashkelon(B) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5 Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethite(C) people;
the word of the Lord is against you,(D)
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
and none will be left.”(E)
6 The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.(F)
7 That land will belong
to the remnant(G) of the people of Judah;
there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will care for them;
he will restore their fortunes.[a](H)
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives
Zechariah 9:2-7
Amplified Bible
Zechariah 9:2-7
Amplified Bible
2
And Hamath also, which borders on it (Damascus),
Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
3
For Tyre built herself an [impregnable] stronghold [on an island offshore],
And she has heaped up silver like dust
And gold like the mire of the streets.
4
Behold, the Lord will [a]dispossess her
And throw her wealth into the sea;
And Tyre will be devoured by fire.
5
[b]Ashkelon will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in pain,
And Ekron, for her hope and expectation, has been ruined.
The king will perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
6
And a mongrel race will live in Ashdod,
And I will put an end to the pride and arrogance of the Philistines.
7
I will take the blood from their mouths
And their detestable things from between their teeth [those repulsive, idolatrous sacrifices eaten with the blood].
Then they too will be a remnant for our God,
And be like a clan in Judah,
And Ekron will be like one of the [c]Jebusites.
Footnotes
- Zechariah 9:4 In 332 b.c. after a siege lasting seven months, Tyre was conquered by Alexander the Great. At that time Tyre consisted of two urban sites, one on the mainland and the other on the island a half mile from the shore. In order to conquer Tyre Alexander built a causeway from the mainland to the island. History records that he killed everyone except those who fled to the temples, then he ordered the houses to be set afire. The modern city of Sur, Lebanon, is near the site of ancient Tyre.
- Zechariah 9:5 Ashkelon, one of the five major Philistine cities (Josh 13:3) was the birthplace of Herod the Great, and the home of his sister, Salome. Gath and Ashdod are the major Philistine cities not named in this verse. Zechariah’s prophecy about Ashkelon’s total destruction was fulfilled during the time of the Crusades, (about a.d. 1260-1270), when Sultan Baibars, who was fighting against the Crusaders, reduced the site of ancient Ashkelon to ruins and filled the harbor with stones.
- Zechariah 9:7 An ancient tribal people who lived in the area around Jerusalem before it was captured by King David. They were absorbed by other tribes and lost their identity in Israel.
Zechariah 9:2-7
New International Version
Zechariah 9:2-7
New International Version
2 and on Hamath(A) too, which borders on it,
and on Tyre(B) and Sidon,(C) though they are very skillful.
3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.(D)
4 But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy(E) her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.(F)
5 Ashkelon(G) will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
and Ashkelon will be deserted.
6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
and I will put an end(H) to the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take the blood from their mouths,
the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God(I)
and become a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.(J)
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