Isaiah 23:4

Isaiah 23:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.
• New International Version (NIV)Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have neither been in labor nor given birth; I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying: "I have neither labored nor given birth, I have neither reared young men nor brought up young women."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Be ashamed, O Sidon; For the sea has spoken, The strength of the sea, saying, “I do not labor, nor bring forth children; Neither do I rear young men, Nor bring up virgins.”

Context of Isaiah 23:4

2Weep quietly, you people who live on the coast of the sea. Yes, weep, you traders of Sidon city. Your sailors travelled across the sea and you became rich. 3They brought grain to you from Shihor region in Egypt. You received crops that had grown beside the Nile river. Tyre became an important city where traders from many nations came. Be ashamed, you people in Sidon. You have become strong because of the sea. But the sea now speaks against you! It says, ‘I have not given birth to any children. I have not taken care of any sons or daughters as a parent should do.’ 5When the people in Egypt hear the news about Tyre, they will be very sad and upset. 6Travel to Tarshish! Weep aloud, you people who live on the coast of the sea.

Isaiah 23:4 word by word

בּ֣וֹשִׁי צִיד֔וֹן כִּֽי־אָמַ֣ר יָ֔ם מָע֥וֹז הַיָּ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר לֹֽא־חַ֣לְתִּי וְלֹֽא־יָלַ֗דְתִּי וְלֹ֥א גִדַּ֛לְתִּי בַּחוּרִ֖ים רוֹמַ֥מְתִּי בְתוּלֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Be thou ashamedבּוֹשׁbûsh · be ashamedH954
• O Zidonצִידוֹןtsîydôn tsîydôn · SidonH6721
• for the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• hath spokenאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• the strengthמָעוֹזmâ‛ôz mâ‛ûz mâ‛ôz mâ‛ûz · securityH4581
• I travailחוּלchûl chîyl · to twist: writh in painH2342
• not, nor bring forth childrenיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• neither do I nourish upגָּדַלgâdal · to magnifyH1431
• young menבָּחוּרbâchûr bâchûr · youthH970
• bring upרוּםrûm · to exaltH7311
• virginsבְּתוּלָהbethûlâh · virginH1330

Cross-references for Isaiah 23:4

• Jeremiah 47:3They will hear the sound of their enemies' horses and the loud noises of their chariots. Fathers will not turn back to save their children, because fear has made them weak.
• Ezekiel 26:3So this is what the Almighty Lord says: Listen! I have become your enemy, Tyre. I will bring many nations to attack you. They will be like the waves of the sea as they hit you.
• Hosea 9:11The great things that Israel enjoys will soon disappear. They will be like birds that fly away! The women of Israel will no longer give birth to children. They will not even become pregnant.
• Revelation 18:23No light from people's lamps will ever shine in the city again. Nobody will ever hear the happy voices of a man and a woman when they marry. Your traders were the most powerful people on the earth. You used your magic to deceive people from all nations.

Commentaries on Isaiah 23:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Be thou ashamed, O Zidon - Tyre is called Isaiah 23:12, the daughter of Sidon. "The Sidonians," says Justin, 18:3, "when their city was taken by the king of Ascalon, betook themselves to their ships, and landed, and built by Tyre." Sidon, as the mother city is supposed to be deeply affected with the calamity of her daughter. Nor bring up virgins "Nor educated virgins" - ורוממתי veromamti ; so an ancient MS. Of Dr. Kennicott's prefixing the ו vau, which…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Be thou ashamed, O Zidon - Tyre was a colony of Sidon. Sidon is here addressed as the mother of Tyre, and is called on to lament over her daughter that was destroyed. In Isaiah 23:12, Tyre is called the daughter of Sidon;‘ and such appellations were commonly given to cities (see the note at Isaiah 1:8). Sidon is here represented as ashamed, or grieved - as a mother is who is bereft of all her children. The sea hath spoken - New Tyre was on a rock at some…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Part of the great port city of Tyre was on an island. The island city was a sea fortress, but it fell in 332 BC. I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men or brought up young women: This metaphor was a judgment on Tyre’s colonial ports around the Mediterranean Sea. In the ancient world, reaching old age without children was considered a terrible fate (see Isaiah 49:21; 54:1).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Zidon--called on, as being the parent country of Tyre (Is 23:12), and here equivalent to Phoenicia in general, to feel the shame (as it was esteemed in the East) of being now as childless as if she never had any. "I (no more now) travail, nor bring forth," &c. "Strength of the sea," that is, stronghold, namely, New Tyre, on a rock (as "Tyre" means) surrounded by the sea (Eze 26:4, 14-17; so Venice was called "Bride of the sea"; Zec 9:3).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 23:4

• Sidon
• Tarshish

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Zidon
• Commerce
• Evil
• Isaiah
• Locust
• Nourish
• Trade
• Zidon, or Sidon

Commentaries on Isaiah 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings