Isaiah23

Isaiah 23 pronounces a "burden" against Tyre, a powerful maritime city, foretelling its utter destruction and the lament of its trading partners like the ships of Tarshish. The Lord of hosts is declared as the one who purposed this downfall to humble the city's pride and its princely merchants. After a period of seventy years of desolation, Tyre is prophesied to be restored to its commercial activity, likened to a harlot returning to her trade. Intriguingly, its future merchandise is ultimately dedicated as holiness to the Lord, for the benefit of those who dwell before Him.
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The Oracle Against Tyre

1
This is the burden against Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus. ​
2
Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whose traders have crossed the sea.
3
On the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre; she was the merchant of the nations. ​
4
Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men or brought up young women.” ​
5
When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre.
6
Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coastland!
7
Is this your jubilant city, whose origin is from antiquity, whose feet have taken her to settle far away?

The Lord's Purpose for Judgment

8
Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth? ​
9
The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth. ​
10
Cultivate your land like the Nile, O Daughter of Tarshish; there is no longer a harbor.
11
The LORD has stretched out His hand over the sea; He has made kingdoms tremble. He has given a command that the strongholds of Canaan be destroyed.
12
He said, “You shall rejoice no more, O oppressed Virgin Daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus— even there you will find no rest.”
13
Look at the land of the Chaldeans— a people now of no account. The Assyrians destined it for the desert creatures; they set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They brought it to ruin. ​
14
Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your harbor has been destroyed!

Restoration After Seventy Years

15
At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years—the span of a king’s life. But at the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot: ​
16
“Take up your harp, stroll through the city, O forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody, sing many a song, so you will be remembered.” ​
17
And at the end of seventy years, the LORD will restore Tyre. Then she will return to hire as a prostitute and sell herself to all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. ​
18
Yet her profits and wages will be set apart to the LORD; they will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live before the LORD, for abundant food and fine clothing. ​

Study Notes for Isaiah 23

Verse 1

The 'burden' (Hebrew: *massa*) is an oracle of judgment against Tyre, the dominant maritime power of the Phoenician coast. Tarshish, likely a major trading colony in the far west (Spain), is called to mourn the collapse of its economic hub.

Verse 3

Sihor is often identified with the Nile River. This verse highlights that Tyre’s great wealth was derived not just from shipping, but also from brokering Egyptian grain and goods to the international market.

Verse 4

Zidon, the older 'mother city' of Phoenicia, is addressed here. The 'strength of the sea' (Tyre) is personified as a woman who has lost her economic vitality, no longer producing wealth or ships ('children').

Verse 8

Tyre is called the 'crowning city' because it established colonies and was the center of a maritime empire. The question asks rhetorically who could challenge such power, leading to the answer in the next verse.

Verse 9

This is the theological core of the oracle: God judges Tyre’s immense wealth and power not out of malice, but specifically to humble human pride and demonstrate the vanity of relying on earthly glory.

Verse 13

This verse is complex, possibly pointing to the destruction brought by the Chaldeans (Babylonians), who, despite their eventual rise to power, are also subject to ruin by God, confirming divine sovereignty over all nations.

Verse 15

The seventy-year period mirrors the length of Judah’s Babylonian exile (Jer. 25:11), suggesting a temporary suspension of Tyre’s influence, after which it will return to commercial activity.

Verse 16

The metaphor of the harlot illustrates Tyre’s desperate effort to regain its place in international commerce after being forgotten, aggressively soliciting trade partners like a prostitute seeking clients.

Verse 17

Committing 'fornication' refers to returning to intense, often morally dubious, international trade practices necessary to rebuild its empire and regain its 'hire' (revenue).

Verse 18

The prophecy concludes with the surprising dedication of Tyre's vast commercial wealth ('hire') to the LORD. This signifies a future time when Gentile economic resources will be consecrated to support God’s people and work (cf. Isa. 60:5–7).

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