Isa 13-23 | ESV | STEP | The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw .

1 The oracle concerning ^aBabylon which ^bIsaiah the son of Amoz saw.

2 On a bare hill ^craise a signal;
cry aloud to them;
wave the hand for ^dthem to enter
the gates of the nobles.
3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,
and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,
my proudly exulting ones. ^{▼▼Or those who exult in my majesty}
4 The sound ^fof a tumult is on the mountains
as of a great multitude!
The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
of nations gathering together!
^gThe Lord of hosts is mustering
a host for battle.
5 ^hThey come from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,
to destroy the whole land. ^{▼▼Or earth; also verse 9}
6 ^jWail, for ^kthe day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty ^{▼▼The Hebrew words for destruction and almighty sound alike} it will come!
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart ^mwill melt.
8 They will be dismayed:
ⁿpangs and agony will seize them;
^othey will be in anguish like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at one another;
their faces will be aflame.
9 Behold, ^pthe day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the land a desolation
and ^qto destroy its sinners from it.
10 ^rFor the stars of the heavens and their constellations
will not give their light;
^sthe sun will be dark at its rising,
and the moon will not shed its light.
11 I will punish ^tthe world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will ^uput an end to the pomp of the arrogant,
^vand lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make ^wpeople more rare than fine gold,
and mankind than the ^xgold of Ophir.
13 Therefore ^yI will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will be shaken out of its place,
at the wrath of the Lord of hosts
in the day of his fierce anger.
14 And like a hunted gazelle,
or like sheep with none to gather them,
^zeach will turn to his own people,
and each will flee to his own land.
15 Whoever is found will be thrust through,
and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.
16 ^aaTheir infants will be dashed in pieces
before their eyes;
their houses will be plundered
and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, ^abI am stirring up the Medes against them,
who have no regard for silver
and do not delight in gold.
18 ^acTheir bows will slaughter ^{▼▼Hebrew dash in pieces} the young men;
they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;
their eyes will not pity children.
19 And Babylon, ^aethe glory of kingdoms,
the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,
will be ^aflike Sodom and Gomorrah
when God overthrew them.
20 ^agIt will never be inhabited
or lived in for all generations;
no ^ahArab will pitch his tent there;
no ^aishepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But ^ajwild animals will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there ^akostriches ^{▼▼Or owls} will dwell,
and there wild goats will dance.
22 Hyenas ^{▼▼Or foxes} will cry in its towers,
and ^anjackals in ^aothe pleasant palaces;
its time is close at hand
and its days will not be prolonged.

Isaiah 14

The Restoration of Jacob

1 ^apFor the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and ^aqwill set them in their own land, and ^arsojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And ^asthe peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the Lord’s land ^atas male and female slaves. ^{▼▼Or servants} ^avThey will take captive those who were their captors, ^awand rule over those who oppressed them.

Israel’s Remnant Taunts Babylon

3 When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this ^axtaunt against the king of Babylon:

“How the oppressor has ceased,
^aythe insolent fury ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain} ceased!
5 The Lord has broken the ^bastaff of the wicked,
the ^bbscepter of rulers,
6 ^bcthat struck the peoples in wrath
with unceasing blows,
that ruled the nations in anger
with unrelenting persecution.
7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
^bdthey break forth into singing.
8 ^be, ^bfThe cypresses rejoice at you,
^bgthe cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since you were laid low,
no woodcutter comes up against us.’
9 Sheol beneath is stirred up
to meet you when you come;
it rouses the shades to greet you,
all who were leaders of the earth;
it raises from their thrones
all who were kings of the nations.
10 ^bhAll of them will answer
and say to you:
‘You too have become as weak as we!
You have become like us!’
11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
the sound of your harps;
maggots are laid as a bed beneath you,
and worms are your covers.
12 “How ^biyou are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, ^bjson of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart,
^bk‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
^blI will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north; ^{▼▼Or in the remote parts of Zaphon}
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 ^bnBut you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you
and ponder over you:
‘Is this ^bothe man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms,
17 who made the world like a desert
and overthrew its cities,
^bpwho did not let his prisoners go home?’
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
each in his own tomb; ^{▼▼Hebrew house}
19 but you are cast out, away from your grave,
like a loathed branch,
^brclothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword,
who go down to the stones of the pit,
like a dead body trampled underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial,
because you have destroyed your land,
you have slain your people.
“May ^bsthe offspring of evildoers
nevermore be named!
21 Prepare slaughter for his sons
^btbecause of the guilt of their fathers,
lest they rise and possess the earth,
and fill the face of the world with cities.”
22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and ^buremnant, ^bvdescendants and posterity,” declares the Lord. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the ^bwhedgehog, ^{▼▼Possibly porcupine, or owl} and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord of hosts.

An Oracle Concerning Assyria

24 The Lord of hosts has sworn:
^by“As I have planned,
so shall it be,
and as I have purposed,
so shall it stand,
25 that ^bzI will break the Assyrian in my land,
and on my mountains trample him underfoot;
and ^cahis yoke shall depart from them,
and ^cbhis burden from their shoulder.”
26 This is the purpose that is purposed
concerning the whole earth,
and this is ^ccthe hand that is stretched out
over all the nations.
27 ^cdFor the Lord of hosts has purposed,
and who will annul it?
^ceHis hand is stretched out,
and who will turn it back?

An Oracle Concerning Philistia

28 In the year that ^cfKing Ahaz died came this ^cgoracle:

29 Rejoice not, ^chO Philistia, all of you,
that ^cithe rod that struck you is broken,
for from the serpent’s root will come forth an adder,
and its fruit will be a ^cjflying fiery serpent.
30 And the firstborn of ^ckthe poor will graze,
and ^clthe needy lie down in safety;
but I will kill your root with famine,
and your remnant it will slay.
31 ^cmWail, O ^cngate; cry out, O city;
melt in fear, ^coO Philistia, all of you!
^cpFor smoke comes out of the north,
and there is no straggler in his ranks.
32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation?
^cq“The Lord has founded Zion,
and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.”

Isaiah 15

An Oracle Concerning Moab

1 An ^croracle concerning ^csMoab.

Because ^ctAr of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone;
because ^cuKir of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone.
2 He has gone up to the temple, ^{▼▼Hebrew the house} and to ^cwDibon,
to the high places ^{▼▼Or temple, even Dibon to the high places} to weep;
over ^cyNebo and over ^czMedeba
Moab ^dawails.
On every head is ^dbbaldness;
every beard is shorn;
3 in the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the housetops and in the squares
everyone wails and melts in tears.
4 ^dcHeshbon and ^ddElealeh cry out;
their voice is heard as far as ^deJahaz;
therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;
his soul trembles.
5 My heart cries out for Moab;
her fugitives flee to Zoar,
to ^dfEglath-shelishiyah.
For at the ^dgascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
on the road to ^dhHoronaim
they raise a cry of destruction;
6 the waters of ^diNimrim
are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
the greenery is no more.
7 ^djTherefore the abundance they have gained
and what they have laid up
they carry away
over the Brook of the Willows.
8 For a cry has gone
around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
9 For the waters of ^dkDibon ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse} are full of blood;
for I will bring upon Dibon even more,
^dma lion for those of Moab who escape,
for the remnant of the land.

Isaiah 16

1 ^dnSend the lamb to the ruler of the land,
from ^doSela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 Like fleeing birds,
like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
at ^dpthe fords of the Arnon.
3 “Give counsel;
grant justice;
^dqmake your shade like night
at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
do not reveal the fugitive;
4 let ^drthe outcasts of Moab
sojourn among you;
be a shelter to them ^{▼▼Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them}
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,
5 ^dtthen a throne will be established in steadfast love,
and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
and is swift to do righteousness.”
6 ^duWe have heard of the pride of Moab—
how proud he is!—
^dvof his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
in his idle boasting he is not right.
7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,
^dwlet everyone wail.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
for the ^dxraisin cakes of ^dyKir-hareseth.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish,
and ^dzthe vine of Sibmah;
the lords of the nations
have struck down its branches,
which reached to Jazer
and strayed to the desert;
its shoots spread abroad
and passed over the sea.
9 Therefore ^eaI weep with ^ebthe weeping of Jazer
for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over ^ecyour summer fruit and your harvest
the shout has ceased.
10 ^edAnd joy and gladness are taken away from ^eethe fruitful field,
and in the vineyards no ^efsongs are sung,
no cheers are raised;
no ^egtreader treads out wine ^ehin the presses;
I have put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore ^eimy inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,
and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.
12 And when Moab presents himself, when ^ejhe wearies himself on ^ekthe high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

13 This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab ^elin the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, ^emlike the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be ^envery few and feeble.”

Isaiah 17

An Oracle Concerning Damascus

1 An ^eooracle concerning ^epDamascus.

Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of ^eqAroer are deserted;
they will be for flocks,
which will lie down, and ^ernone will make them afraid.
3 The fortress will disappear from ^esEphraim,
and the kingdom from ^etDamascus;
and the remnant of Syria will be
like ^euthe glory of the children of Israel,

declares the Lord of hosts.
4 And in that day ^evthe glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and ^ewthe fat of his flesh will grow lean.
5 And it shall be ^exas when the reaper gathers standing grain
and his arm harvests the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
in ^eythe Valley of Rephaim.
6 ^ezGleanings will be left in it,
as when an olive tree is beaten—
two or three berries
in the top of the highest bough,
four or five
on the branches of a fruit tree,

declares the Lord God of Israel.
7 ^faIn that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 ^fbHe will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the ^fcAsherim or the altars of incense.

9 ^fdIn that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.

10 For ^feyou have forgotten the God of your salvation
and have not remembered the ^ffRock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
11 though you make them grow ^{▼▼Or though you carefully fence them} on the day that you plant them,
and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away ^{▼▼Or will be a heap}
in a day of grief and incurable pain.
12 Ah, ^fithe thunder of many peoples;
they thunder like the thundering of the sea!
Ah, the roar of nations;
they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
13 ^fjThe nations roar like the roaring of many waters,
^fkbut he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
chased ^fllike chaff on the mountains before the wind
and ^fmwhirling dust before the storm.
14 ^fnAt evening time, behold, terror!
Before morning, they are no more!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
and the lot of those who plunder us.

Isaiah 18

An Oracle Concerning Cush

1 Ah, land of ^fowhirring wings
that is beyond the rivers of ^fpCush, ^{▼▼Probably Nubia}
2 which ^frsends ambassadors by the sea,
in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation ^fstall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
a nation ^ftmighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide.
3 All you inhabitants of the world,
you who dwell on the earth,
when ^fua signal is raised on the mountains, look!
When a trumpet is blown, hear!
4 For thus the Lord said to me:
“I will quietly look ^fvfrom my dwelling
like clear heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 ^fwFor before the harvest, when the blossom is over,
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,
and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.
6 ^fxThey shall all of them be left
to the birds of prey of the mountains
and to the beasts of the earth.
And the birds of prey will summer on them,
and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.
7 ^fyAt that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts

from a people ^fztall and smooth,
from a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide,
to ^gaMount Zion, the place of the ^gbname of the Lord of hosts.

Isaiah 19

An Oracle Concerning Egypt

1 An ^gcoracle concerning ^gdEgypt.

Behold, the Lord ^geis riding on a swift cloud
and comes to Egypt;
and ^gfthe idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,
and the heart of the Egyptians will ^ggmelt within them.
2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,
^ghand they will fight, each against another
and each against his neighbor,
city against city, kingdom against kingdom;
3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,
and I will confound ^{▼▼Or I will swallow up} their ^gjcounsel;
and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,
and ^gkthe mediums and the necromancers;
4 and I will give over the Egyptians
into the hand of ^gla hard master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,
declares the Lord God of hosts.
5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up,
and the river will be dry and parched,
6 and its canals will become foul,
and the branches of Egypt’s Nile will diminish and dry up,
reeds and rushes will rot away.
7 There will be bare places by the Nile,
on the brink of the Nile,
and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched,
will be driven away, and will be no more.
8 The ^gmfishermen will mourn and lament,
all who cast a hook in the Nile;
and they will languish
who spread nets on the water.
9 The workers in ^gncombed flax will be in despair,
and the weavers of white cotton.
10 Those who are the ^gopillars of the land will be crushed,
and all who ^gpwork for pay will be grieved.
11 The princes of ^gqZoan are utterly foolish;
the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise,
a son of ancient kings”?
12 Where then are your ^grwise men?
Let them tell you
that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
13 The princes of ^gsZoan have become fools,
and the princes of ^gtMemphis are deluded;
those who are the ^gucornerstones of her tribes
have made Egypt stagger.
14 The Lord has mingled within her ^gva spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
^gwas a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15 And there will be nothing for Egypt
that ^gxhead or tail, palm branch or reed, may do.

Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed

16 In that day the Egyptians will be ^gylike women, and ^gztremble with fear before the hand that the Lord of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the Lord of hosts has purposed against them.

18 ^haIn that day there will be ^hbfive cities in the land of Egypt that ^hcspeak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction. ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun}

19 In that day there will be an ^healtar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a ^hfpillar to the Lord at its border. 20 ^hgIt will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, ^hhhe will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 ^hiAnd the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day ^hjand worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them. 22 ^hkAnd the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

23 ^hlIn that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, ^hmand the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, ^hna blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt ^homy people, and Assyria ^hpthe work of my hands, and ^hqIsrael my inheritance.”

Isaiah 20

A Sign Against Egypt and Cush

1 In the year that ^hrthe commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to ^hsAshdod and fought against it and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking ^htnaked and barefoot.

3 Then the Lord said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years ^huas a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, ^{▼▼Probably Nubia} 4 so shall the ^hwking of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. 5 ^hxThen they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. 6 And the inhabitants of ^hythis coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and ^hzto whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’”

Isaiah 21

Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon

1 The ^iaoracle concerning the wilderness of ^ibthe sea.

^icAs whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the wilderness,
from a terrible land.
2 A stern vision is told to me;
^idthe traitor betrays,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O ^ieElam;
lay siege, O ^ifMedia;
all the ^igsighing she has caused
I bring to an end.
3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
^ihpangs have seized me,
like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
4 My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
ⁱⁱthe twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.
5 ^ijThey prepare the table,
they spread the rugs, ^{▼▼Or they set the watchman}
they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
^iloil the shield!
6 For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
let him announce what he sees.
7 When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
very diligently.”
8 Then he who saw cried out: ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion}
ⁱⁿ“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
whole nights.
9 And behold, here come riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
^ioAnd he answered,
^ip“Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
^iqand all the carved images of her gods
he has shattered to the ground.”
10 O ^irmy threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.
11 The ^isoracle concerning ^itDumah.

One is calling to me from ^iuSeir,
“Watchman, what time of the night?
Watchman, what time of the night?”
12 The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also ^ivthe night.
If you will inquire, ^iwinquire;
come back again.”
13 The ^ixoracle concerning ^iyArabia.

In the thickets in ^izArabia you will lodge,
O ^jacaravans of ^jbDedanites.
14 To the thirsty bring water;
meet the fugitive with bread,
O inhabitants of the land of ^jcTema.
15 For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the press of battle.
16 For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, ^jdaccording to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of ^jeKedar will come to an end. 17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of ^jfKedar will be few, ^jgfor the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

Isaiah 22

An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem

1 The ^jhoracle concerning ^jithe valley of vision.

What do you mean that you have gone up,
all of you, to the housetops,
2 you who are full of shoutings,
tumultuous city, ^jjexultant town?
Your slain are ^jknot slain with the sword
or dead in battle.
3 ^jlAll your leaders have fled together;
without the bow they were captured.
All of you who were found were captured,
though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
^jmlet me weep bitter tears;
do not labor to comfort me
concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
5 ^jnFor the Lord God of hosts has ^joa day
of tumult and ^jptrampling and ^jqconfusion
in ^jrthe valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a shouting to the mountains.
6 And ^jsElam bore the quiver
with chariots and horsemen,
and ^jtKir uncovered the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8 He has taken away ^juthe covering of Judah.
In that day you looked to ^jvthe weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that ^jwthe breaches of the city of David were many. ^jxYou collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 ^jyYou made a reservoir between ^jzthe two walls for the water of ^kathe old pool. But ^kbyou did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.

12 In that day ^kcthe Lord God of hosts
called for weeping and mourning,
for ^kdbaldness and ^kewearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness,
killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
eating flesh and drinking wine.
^kf“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
14 The Lord of hosts ^kghas revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely ^khthis iniquity will not be atoned for you ^kiuntil you die,”
says the Lord God of hosts.
15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to ^kjShebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, ^kkthat you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you ^klwho cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17 Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. ^kmHe will seize firm hold on you 18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be ^knyour glorious chariots, you shame of your master’s house. 19 ^koI will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20 In that day I will call my servant ^kpEliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and ^kqI will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be ^kra father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place ^kson his shoulder ^ktthe key of the house of David. ^kuHe shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him ^kvlike a peg in a secure place, and he will become ^kwa throne of honor to his father’s house. 24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father’s house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, ^kxthe peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”

Isaiah 23

An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon

1 The ^kyoracle concerning ^kzTyre.

Wail, O ^laships of Tarshish,
for Tyre is laid waste, ^lbwithout house or harbor!
From ^lcthe land of Cyprus ^{▼▼Hebrew Kittim; also verse 12}
it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;
the merchants of ^leSidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.
3 And on many waters
your revenue was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were ^lfthe merchant of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O ^lgSidon, for the sea has spoken,
the stronghold of the sea, saying:
“I have neither labored nor given birth,
I have neither reared young men
nor brought up young women.”
5 When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish ^{▼▼Hebrew they will have labor pains} over the report about Tyre.
6 ^liCross over to Tarshish;
wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
7 Is this your exultant city
^ljwhose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
to settle far away?
8 Who has purposed this
against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts has purposed it,
^lkto defile the pompous pride of all glory, ^{▼▼The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike}
to dishonor all the honored of the earth.
10 Cross over your land like the Nile,
O daughter of Tarshish;
there is no restraint anymore.
11 ^lmHe has stretched out his hand over the sea;
he has shaken the kingdoms;
the Lord has given command concerning Canaan
to destroy its strongholds.
12 And he said:
“You will no more exult,
O oppressed virgin daughter of ^lnSidon;
arise, ^locross over to ^lpCyprus,
even there you will have no rest.”
13 Behold the land of ^lqthe Chaldeans! This is the people that was not; ^{▼▼Or that has become nothing} Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected ^lstheir siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.

14 ^ltWail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your stronghold is laid waste.
15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for ^luseventy years, like the days ^{▼▼Or lifetime} of one king. At the end of ^lwseventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:

16 “Take a harp;
go about the city,
O forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody;
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.”
17 At the end of ^lxseventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and ^lywill prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.