Isaiah 23:1

Isaiah 23:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
• New International Version (NIV)A prophecy against Tyre: Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed and left without house or harbor. From the land of Cyprus word has come to them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The burden against Tyre. Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, So that there is no house, no harbor; From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them.
• New Living Translation (NLT)This message came to me concerning Tyre: Wail, you trading ships of Tarshish, for the harbor and houses of Tyre are gone! The rumors you heard in Cyprus are all true.

Context of Isaiah 23:1

The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor! From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them. 2Be still, O inhabitants of the coast; the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you. 3And on many waters your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.

Isaiah 23:1 word by word

מַשָּׂ֖א צֹ֑ר הֵילִ֣ילוּ׀ אֳנִיּ֣וֹת תַּרְשִׁ֗ישׁ כִּֽי־שֻׁדַּ֤ד מִבַּ֙יִת֙ מִבּ֔וֹא מֵאֶ֥רֶץ כִּתִּ֖ים נִגְלָה־לָֽמוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The burdenמַשָּׂאmaώώâ' · oracleH4853
• of Tyreצֹרtsôr tsôr · TyreH6865
• Howlיָלַלyâlal · to wailH3213
• ye shipsאֳנִיָּה'onîyâh · a shipH591
• of Tarshishתַּרְשִׁישׁtarshîysh · TarshishH8659
• for it is laid wasteשָׁדַדshâdad · to ruinH7703
• so that there is no houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• no entering inבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): towardsH935
• from the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Chittimכִּתִּיkittîy kittîyîy · CyprusH3794
• it is revealedגָּלָהgâlâh · to reveal: revealH1540

Cross-references for Isaiah 23:1

• Jeremiah 25:15Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
• Jeremiah 47:4because of the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that remains. For the Lord is destroying the Philistines, the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
• Ezekiel 26:1In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
• Ezekiel 27:1The word of the Lord came to me:
• Ezekiel 28:1The word of the Lord came to me:
• Joel 3:4"What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily.
• Amos 1:9Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they delivered up a whole people to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
• Zechariah 9:2and on Hamath also, which borders on it, Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
• Isaiah 15:2He has gone up to the temple, and to Dibon, to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;
• Revelation 18:17For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste." And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off
• Isaiah 2:16against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft.
• Isaiah 60:9For the coastlands shall hope for me, the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your children from afar, their silver and gold with them, for the name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has made you beautiful.
• 1 Kings 22:48Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
• 2 Chronicles 9:21For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
• Psalms 48:7By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tarshish.
• Ezekiel 27:25The ships of Tarshish traveled for you with your merchandise. So you were filled and heavily laden in the heart of the seas.

Commentaries on Isaiah 23:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1The burden of Tyre - Tyre, a city on the coast of Syria, about lat. 32 N. was built two thousand seven hundred and sixty years before Christ. There were two cities of this name; one on the continent, and the other on an island, about half a mile from the shore; the city on the island was about four miles in circumference. Old Tyre resisted Nebuchadnezzar for thirteen years; then the inhabitants carried, so to speak, the city to the forementioned island…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The burden of Tyre - (see the note at Isaiah 13:1) Howl - This is a highly poetic description of the destruction that was coming on Tyre. The ships of Tarshish traded there; and the prophet now addresses the ships, and calls upon them to lament because the commerce by which they had been enriched was to be destroyed, and they were to be thrown out of employ. Ye ships of Tarshish - (see the note at Isaiah 2:16). The Tarshish‘ here referred to, was…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The overthrow of Tyre. (Is. 23:1-14) It is established again. (Is. 23:15-18) Verses 1-14 Tyre was the mart of the nations. She was noted for mirth and diversions; and this made her loth to consider the warnings God gave by his servants. Her merchants were princes, and lived like princes. Tyre being destroyed and laid waste, the merchants should abandon her. Flee to shift for thine own safety; but those that are uneasy in one place, will be so in another…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The ships of Tarshish traveled the sea between the Phoenician coast and the port of Tarshish in Spain (see Isaiah 2:16; 23:6). Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus: Cyprus was the last stop for sailors returning from Spain before their final journey to Tyre.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-18Menander, the historian, notices a siege of Tyre by Shalmaneser, about the time of the siege of Samaria. Sidon, Acco, and Old Tyre, on the mainland, were soon reduced; but New Tyre, on an island half a mile from the shore, held out for five years. Sargon probably finished the siege. Sennacherib does not, however, mention it among the cities which the Assyrian kings conquered (thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh chapters). The expression, "Chaldeans" (Is…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 23:1

• Chittim
• Tarshish

In the dictionaries

• Tarshish
• Tyre
• Tyre, Tyrians
• Chittim
• Commerce
• Evil
• Isaiah
• Island; Isle
• Kittim
• Perseus

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