Read Isaiah chapter 23 (Contemporary English Version) on maBible, the Bible online. In this chapter: The City of Tyre Will Be Punished, Tyre Will Be Forgotten.
The City of Tyre Will Be Punished
1 This is a message from distant islands about the city of Tyre:
Cry, you seagoing ships!
Tyre and its houses
lie in ruins.
2 Mourn in silence,
you shop owners of Sidon,
you people on the coast.
Your sailors crossed oceans,
making your city rich.
3 Your merchants sailed the seas,
making you wealthy by trading
with nation after nation.
They brought back grain
that grew along the Nile.
4 Sidon, you are a mighty fortress
built along the sea.
But you will be disgraced
like a married woman
who never had children.
6 All of you along the coast
had better cry and sail
far across the ocean.
7 Can this be the happy city
that has stood for centuries?
Its people have spread
to distant lands;
8 its merchants were kings
honored all over the world.
Who planned to destroy Tyre?
9 The Lord All-Powerful planned it
to bring shame and disgrace
to those who are honored
by everyone on earth.
10 People of Tyre,
your harbor is destroyed!
You will have to become farmers
just like the Egyptians.
Tyre Will Be Forgotten
11 The Lord's hand has reached
across the sea,
upsetting the nations.
He has given a command
to destroy fortresses
in the land of Canaan.
12 The Lord has said
to the people of Sidon,
“Your celebrating is over—
you are crushed.
Even if you escape to Cyprus,
you won't find peace.”
13 Look what the Assyrians have done to Babylonia! They have attacked, destroying every palace in the land. Now wild animals live among the ruins.
14 Not a fortress will be left standing, so tell all the seagoing ships to mourn.
15 The city of Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years, which is the lifetime of a king. Then Tyre will be like that evil woman in the song:
16 You're gone and forgotten,
you evil woman!
So strut through the town,
singing and playing
your favorite tune
to be remembered again.
17 At the end of those 70 years, the Lord will let Tyre get back into business. The city will be like a woman who sells her body to everyone of every nation on earth,
18 but none of what is earned will be kept in the city. That money will belong to the Lord, and it will be used to buy more than enough food and good clothes for those who worship the Lord.
Chapter themes
Message sur Tyr — Message sur Tyr
Lamentez-vous — Lamentez-vous
Les bateaux long-courriers — bateaux long-courriers
Une ville détruite — car elle est violemment détruite
La nouvelle de Kittim — C'est de Kittim que la nouvelle leur est parvenue
Muets de terreur — Soyez muets de terreur
Habitants de l'île — habitants de l’île
Marchands de Sidon — et vous, marchands de Sidon, qui parcourez la mer
Les eaux du Shichor — les céréales du Shichor
Les moissons du Nil — les moissons permises par le Nil
Le marché des nations — elle était le marché des nations
À cette nouvelle — Quand les Egyptiens apprendront la nouvelle
Ils trembleront pour Tyr — ils trembleront comme pour Tyr
Traversez vers Tarsis — Traversez la mer jusqu'à Tarsis
Lamentez-vous, habitants — lamentez-vous, habitants de l’île!
La ville joyeuse — Est-ce là votre ville joyeuse?
Une origine ancienne — Son origine était très ancienne
S'établir loin — ses pas l'amenaient à s'établir loin de chez elle
Qui a décidé cela — Qui a pris cette décision contre Tyr
Celle qui couronnait — elle qui distribuait les couronnes
Des marchands princes — elle dont les marchands étaient des princes
La décision de l'Éternel — C'est l'Eternel, le maître de l'univers, qui a pris cette décision
Briser l'orgueil — pour briser l'orgueil de tous ceux qu'on honore
Humilier les grands — pour humilier tous ceux qu'on juge importants sur la terre
Il n'y a plus rien — Il n'y a plus de limitation !
La force ôtée — plus de limitation
La main de l'Éternel — L'Eternel a déployé sa puissance contre la mer, il a fait trembler des royaumes
Il a donné l'ordre — il a donné l'ordre
La ville marchande — à l'intention de Canaan
Le pays de Canaan — Canaan
Notes and references
23.1-18 Ez 26.1—28.19; Jl 3.4-8; Am 1.9,10; Zec 9.1-4; Mt 11.21,22; Lk 10.13,14.
Tyre: A fortress city built on an island in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of what is now Lebanon.
seagoing ships: See the note at 2.16.
Tyre … ruins: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Sidon: A coastal city just north of Tyre.
along the Nile: The Hebrew text has “grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile,” but Shihor is probably a name for a region near the lower part of the Nile.
children: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
far across the ocean: The Hebrew text has “to Tarshish,” probably meaning a long distance.
People of Tyre: The Hebrew text has “the people of Tarshish,” which stands for the colonies of Tyre.
Egyptians: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
ruins: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 13.