A Pronouncement against Tyre

1A pronouncementa concerning Tyre:b

Wail, ships of Tarshish,c

for your haven has been destroyed.

Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.a d

2Mourn, inhabitants of the coastland,

you merchants of Sidon;a

your agents have crossed the seaA

3over deep water.

Tyre’s revenue was the grain from Shihor —

the harvest of the Nile.

She was the merchant among the nations.a

4Be ashamed, Sidon, the stronghold of the sea,

for the sea has spoken:

“I have not been in labor or given birth.

I have not raised young men

or brought up young women.”

5When the news reaches Egypt,

they will be in anguish over the news about Tyre.a

6Cross over to Tarshish;

wail, inhabitants of the coastland!

7Is this your jubilant city,

whose origin was in ancient times,

whose feet have taken her

to reside far away?

8Who planned this against Tyre,

the bestower of crowns,

whose traders are princes,

whose merchants are the honored ones of the earth?

9The Lord of Armies planned it,

to desecrate all its glorious beauty,

to disgrace all the honored ones of the earth.

10OverflowA your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish;

there is no longer anything to restrain you.B

11He stretched out his hand over the sea;a

he made kingdoms tremble.

The Lord has commanded

that the Canaanite fortresses be destroyed.

12He said,

“You will not celebrate anymore,

ravished young woman, daughter of Sidon.

Get up and cross over to Cyprusa —

even there you will have no rest! ”

13Look at the land of the Chaldeans —

a people who no longer exist.

Assyria destined it for desert creatures.

They set up their siege towers

and stripped its palaces.

They made it a ruin.

14Wail, ships of Tarshish,

because your fortress is destroyed!

15On that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years — the life span of one king. At the end of seventy years, what the song says about the prostitute will happen to Tyre:

16Pick up your lyre,

stroll through the city,

you forgotten prostitute.

Play skillfully,

sing many a song

so that you will be remembered.

17And at the end of the seventy years,a the Lord will restore Tyreb and she will go back into business, prostituting herself with all the kingdoms of the world throughout the earth. 18But her profits and wages will be dedicated to the Lord. They will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live in the Lord’s presence, to provide them with ample food and sacred clothing.