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.
• 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 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 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. 2Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon, Whom those who cross the sea have filled. 3And on great waters the grain of Shihor, The harvest of the River, is her revenue; And she is a marketplace for 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 25:15For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: “Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.
• Jeremiah 47:4Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines, To cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; For the Lord shall plunder the Philistines, The remnant of the country of Caphtor.
• Ezekiel 26:1And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
• Ezekiel 27:1The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,
• Ezekiel 28:1The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,
• Joel 3:4“Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliate against Me, Swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head;
• Amos 1:9Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
• Zechariah 9:2Also against Hamath, which borders on it, And against Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
• Isaiah 15:2He has gone up to the temple and Dibon, To the high places to weep. Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba; On all their heads will be baldness, And every beard cut off.
• Revelation 18:17For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance
• Isaiah 2:16Upon all the ships of Tarshish, And upon all the beautiful sloops.
• Isaiah 60:9Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, To the name of the Lord your God, And to the Holy One of Israel, Because He has glorified you.
• 1 Kings 22:48Jehoshaphat made merchant ships to go to Ophir for gold; but they never sailed, 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 merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.
• Psalms 48:7As when You break the ships of Tarshish With an east wind.
• Ezekiel 27:25“The ships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise. You were filled and very glorious in the midst 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
• Chittim
• Commerce
• Evil
• Isaiah
• Island; Isle
• Kittim
• Perseus
• Ships and Boats

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