Isaiah 23:1-9 ▼

1 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.

2 Mourn in silence, you people of the coast and you merchants of Sidon. Your traders crossed the sea,

3 sailing over deep waters. They brought you grain from Egypt and harvests from along the Nile. You were the marketplace of the world.

4 But now you are put to shame, city of Sidon, for Tyre, the fortress of the sea, says, “Now I am childless; I have no sons or daughters.”

5 When Egypt hears the news about Tyre, there will be great sorrow.

6 Send word now to Tarshish! Wail, you people who live in distant lands!

7 Is this silent ruin all that is left of your once joyous city? What a long history was yours! Think of all the colonists you sent to distant places.

8 Who has brought this disaster on Tyre, that great creator of kingdoms? Her traders were all princes, her merchants were nobles.

9 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has done it to destroy your pride and bring low all earth’s nobility.