Isaiah 23:1-18
Tyre's Seventy Years
1This 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.
2Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whose traders have crossed the sea.
3On 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.
4Be 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.”
5When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre.
6Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coastland!
7Is this your jubilant city, whose origin is from antiquity, whose feet have taken her to settle far away?
8Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth?
9The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth.
10Cultivate your land like the Nile, O Daughter of Tarshish; there is no longer a harbor.
11The 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.
12He 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.”
13Look 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.
14Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your harbor has been destroyed!
15At 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.”
17And 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.
18Yet 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.
Berean Standard Bible
The ships of Tarshish hear that Tyre has been destroyed. The merchants of Sidon are stunned, and the sea itself seems to speak of the city's shame. Tyre had been a wealthy port, a marketplace for the nations, and a source of pride for those who traded through it.
Now the LORD has planned its ruin. The city that distributed riches across the world will become a place whose own merchants have to seek new work. Egypt will be ashamed, and the traders of the nations will wonder whether this could be the famous city crowned by the sea.
Tyre's seventy years are compared with the days of a king. At the end of that period, the city will return to her commerce and prostitution-like trade with the kingdoms of the earth. The language is deliberately uncomfortable: wealth has made the city available to every buyer.
Yet the final word is not permanent rejection. Tyre's profits will eventually be set apart for the LORD and used to provide food and clothing for those who serve before Him. God can judge commerce that feeds pride and redirect its resources toward worship and the good of His people.
Questions
1 What was Tyre known for?
AnswerTyre was a wealthy port and marketplace that traded with many nations.
2 Who planned Tyre's ruin?
AnswerThe LORD planned it as judgment on the city's pride and commerce.
3 How long would Tyre be forgotten?
AnswerTyre would be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king.
4 What would happen to Tyre's profits at the end?
AnswerThey would be set apart for the LORD and provide food and clothing for His servants.
What This Means for Us
Isaiah does not treat economic success as proof of moral health. A prosperous system can still become proud, exploitative, and spiritually empty.
Ask what your household's money is training you to love. Let earning and spending serve people and honor God rather than becoming a private altar to status.
Prayer
Lord, purify our relationship with money and success. Keep commerce from ruling our hearts, and teach us to use resources for worship, generosity, and the care of people in need. Amen.