Isaiah

Chapter 23

The Burden against Tyre

Isaiah 23 delivers a burden against Tyre, the wealthy maritime power whose trade, prestige, and far-reaching influence seemed as stable as the sea itself. Yet the chapter announces that the LORD of Hosts has planned to humble her splendor, reduce her commerce to mourning, and leave her forgotten for a season before even her restored gain is redirected to serve His purposes.

This chapter matters because it shows that commercial greatness, international reach, and old renown do not place a city beyond God's governance. Tyre's fall and eventual restoration press the reader to see that wealth and influence are not ultimate possessions but tools that the LORD can abase, withhold, and finally consecrate according to His own design.

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Isaiah 23

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vv. 1-18

The Burden against Tyre

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T¹his is the burden against Tyre: ²Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland, ³On the great waters ⁴Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, ⁵When the report reaches Egypt, ⁶Cross over to Tarshish; ⁷Is this your jubilant city,

⁸Who planned this against Tyre, ⁹The LORD of Hosts planned it, ¹⁰Cultivate your land like the Nile, O Daughter of Tarshish; ¹¹The LORD has stretched out His hand over the sea; ¹²He said, “You shall rejoice no more, ¹³Look at the land of the Chaldeans — ¹⁴Wail, O ships of Tarshish,

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, 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.

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01vv. 1-18The Burden against TyreThe oracle begins with ships, coastlands, and trading partners wailing over Tyre's collapse, then traces that ruin back to the LORD's decision to profane proud glory and humble all honored status on earth. After describing Tyre's seventy-year eclipse, the chapter closes by showing that even when the city returns to commerce, her gain will no longer culminate in self-exalting wealth but will be set apart for those who live before the LORD.