New King James Version
Isaiah 23:2
2Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon, Whom those who cross the sea have filled.
Isaiah 23:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
- New International Version (NIV)Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Be still, O inhabitants of the coast; the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Mourn in silence, you people of the coast and you merchants of Sidon. Your traders crossed the sea,
Context of Isaiah 23:2
1The 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. Be 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. 4Be 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.”
Read all of Isaiah 23Isaiah 23:2 word by word
דֹּ֖מּוּ יֹ֣שְׁבֵי אִ֑י סֹחֵ֥ר צִיד֛וֹן עֹבֵ֥ר יָ֖ם מִלְאֽוּךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Be stillדָּמַםdâmam · to wailH1826
- ye inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- of the isleאִי'îy · coastlandH339
- thou whom the merchantsסָחַרsâchar · to tradeH5503
- of Zidonצִידוֹןtsîydôn tsîydôn · SidonH6721
- that pass overעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
- the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
- have replenishedמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
Cross-references for Isaiah 23:2
- Isaiah 41:1“Keep silence before Me, O coastlands, And let the people renew their strength! Let them come near, then let them speak; Let us come near together for judgment.
- Isaiah 47:5“Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; For you shall no longer be called The Lady of Kingdoms.
- Psalms 46:10Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
- Habakkuk 2:20“But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
- Ezekiel 27:3and say to Tyre, ‘You who are situated at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord God: “O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
- Ezekiel 28:2“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,’ Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a god
- Ezekiel 27:8“Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you; They became your pilots.
Commentaries on Isaiah 23:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Be still "Be silent" - Silence is a mark of grief and consternation. See Isaiah 47:5. Jeremiah has finely expressed this image: - "The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, they are silent: They have cast up dust on their heads, they have girded themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground." Lamentations 2:10.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Be still - This is the description of a city which is destroyed, where the din of commerce, and the sound of revelry is no longer heard. It is an address of the prophet to Tyre, indicating that it would be soon still, and destroyed. Ye inhabitants of the isle - (of Tyre). The word isle‘ (אי 'iy ) is sometimes used to denote a “coast or maritime region” (see the note at Isaiah 20:6), but there seems no reason to doubt that here it means the island on which…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Sidon was a Phoenician port located to the north of Tyre. Tyre’s commercial network of traders was extensive.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Be still--"struck dumb with awe." Addressed to those already in the country, eye-witnesses of its ruin (La 2:10); or, in contrast to the busy din of commerce once heard in Tyre; now all is hushed and still. isle--strictly applicable to New Tyre: in the sense coast, to the mainland city, Old Tyre (compare Is 23:6; Is 20:6). Zidon--of which Tyre was a colony, planted when Zidon was conquered by the Philistines of Ascalon. Zidon means a "fishing station"…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 23:2
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries