New International Version
Isaiah 23:1
1A 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.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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
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. 2Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched. 3On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre, and she became the marketplace of the nations.
Read all of Isaiah 23Isaiah 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 25:15This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
- Jeremiah 47:4For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines and to remove all survivors who could help Tyre and Sidon. The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.
- Ezekiel 26:1In the eleventh month of the twelfth 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“Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.
- Amos 1:9This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Tyre, even for four, I will not relent. Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom, disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,
- Zechariah 9:2and on Hamath too, which borders on it, and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful.
- Isaiah 15:2Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved and every beard cut off.
- Revelation 18:17In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ “Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.
- Isaiah 2:16for every trading ship and every stately vessel.
- Isaiah 60:9Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.
- 1 Kings 22:48Now Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail—they were wrecked at Ezion Geber.
- 2 Chronicles 9:21The king had a fleet of trading ships manned by Hiram’s servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
- Psalms 48:7You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind.
- Ezekiel 27:25“ ‘The ships of Tarshish serve as carriers for your wares. You are filled with heavy cargo as you sail the sea.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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