ao:eng_webu
Isaiah 23
1The burden of Tyre. Howl, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in. From the land of Kittim it is revealed to them.
2Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you whom the merchants of Sidon that pass over the sea have replenished.
3On great waters, the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue. She was the market of nations.
4Be ashamed, Sidon; for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, “I have not travailed, nor given birth, neither have I nourished young men, nor brought up virgins.”
5When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report of Tyre.
6Pass over to Tarshish! Wail, you inhabitants of the coast!
7Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days, whose feet carried her far away to travel?
8Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
9The LORD of Armies has planned it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
10Pass through your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish. There is no restraint any more.
11He has stretched out his hand over the sea. He has shaken the kingdoms. The LORD has ordered the destruction of Canaan’s strongholds.
12He said, “You shall rejoice no more, you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, pass over to Kittim. Even there you will have no rest.”
13Behold, the land of the Chaldeans. This people didn’t exist. The Assyrians founded it for those who dwell in . They set up their towers. They overthrew its palaces. They made it a ruin.
14Howl, you ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste!
15It will come to pass in that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one . After the end of seventy years it will be to Tyre like in the song of the prostitute.
16Take a harp; go about the city, you prostitute that has been forgotten. Make sweet melody. Sing many songs, that you may be remembered.
17It will happen after the end of seventy years that the LORD will visit Tyre. She will return to her wages, and will play the prostitute with all the kingdoms of the world on the surface of the earth.
18Her merchandise and her wages will be to the LORD. It will not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise will be for those who dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
Slow reading
Read Isaiah 23 three times
Guided passes through short verse groups: read it whole, watch the words, then pray it back. Phrases to stop on along the way, with deeper explanation held back until you have read the verses yourself.
Ask about this chapter
Have a question about Isaiah 23?
Ask anything about this chapter. Every answer names the verses it rests on and links straight to them, highlighted in the reader.
Study together
Questions on Isaiah 23
Every comment is tied to a place in the text: a verse, a span of verses, or one section of the study. Ask what you do not understand, and answer others from Scripture.
Sign in to ask a question or answer one. Reading always stays open to everyone.
Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Can the Bible be trusted?
Scripture claims to be true and invites examination rather than avoiding it. It says God's word is truth and that it stands when everything else fades, and the New Testament writers appeal to eyewitnesses, named places and public events rather than to private experience. Trust in Scripture is finally trust in the God who speaks in it, and the clearest reason a Christian gives for that trust is that Jesus treated these writings as God's own word.
What is sin?
Scripture defines sin as lawlessness, as falling short of God's glory, and as failing to do the good we know we should do. It is not only a list of bad actions but a condition of the heart that produces them, and it is first against God rather than only against people. Scripture also says all have sinned, that its wage is death, and that God is faithful to forgive those who confess.
What does the Bible say about fear?
Scripture never tells a frightened person that fear is imaginary. It says do not be afraid hundreds of times, and almost always attaches a reason rather than a technique: I am with you, I have redeemed you, you are of more value than sparrows. It also distinguishes the fear that must go from the fear of the Lord, which is commanded and which shrinks every smaller fear.