# Isaiah 23 đź“–: Oracle Against Tyre
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đź§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## 📜 Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### The Lord Will Judge Tyre
[[#Verse 01.]] This is an oracle about Tyre:
Wail, you large ships,
for the port is too devastated to enter!
From the land of Cyprus this news is announced to them.
[[#Verse 02.]] Lament, you residents of the coast,
you merchants of Sidon who travel over the sea,
whose agents sail overÂ
[[#Verse 03.]]Â the deep waters.
Grain from the Shihor region,
crops grown near the Nile she receives;
she is the trade center of the nations.
[[#Verse 04.]]Â Be ashamed, O Sidon,
for the sea says this, O fortress of the sea:
“I have not gone into labor
or given birth;
I have not raised young men
or brought up young women.”
[[#Verse 05.]]Â When the news reaches Egypt,
they will be shaken by what has happened to Tyre.
[[#Verse 06.]] Travel to Tarshish! Wail, you residents of the coast!
[[#Verse 06]]Â Travel to Tarshish!
Wail, you residents of the coast!
[[#Verse 07.]]Â Is this really your boisterous city
whose origins are in the distant past,
and whose feet led her to a distant land to reside?
[[#Verse 08.]]Â Who planned this for royal Tyre,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are the dignitaries of the earth?
[[#Verse 09.]] The Lord of Heaven’s Armies planned it—
to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty,
to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.
[[#Verse 10.]]Â Daughter Tarshish, travel back to your land, as one crosses the Nile;
there is no longer any marketplace in Tyre.
[[#Verse 11.]] The Lord stretched out his hand over the sea,
he shook kingdoms;
he gave the order
to destroy Canaan’s fortresses.
[[#Verse 12.]]Â He said,
“You will no longer celebrate,
oppressed virgin daughter Sidon!
Get up, travel to Cyprus,
but you will find no relief there.”
[[#Verse 13.]]Â Look at the land of the Chaldeans,
tese people who have lost their identity!
The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.
They erected their siege towers,
demolished its fortresses,
and turned it into a heap of ruins.
[[#Verse 14.]]Â Wail, you large ships,
for your fortress is destroyed!
[[#Verse 15.]] At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the typical life span of a king. At the end of seventy years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song:
[[#Verse 16.]] “Take the harp,
go through the city,
forgotten prostitute!
Play it well,
play lots of songs,
so you’ll be noticed.”
[[#Verse 17.]] At the end of seventy years the Lord will revive Tyre. She will start making money again by selling her services to all the earth’s kingdoms.Â
[[#Verse 18.]] Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord’s presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Tyre and Sidon were the great Phoenician seaports on the coast of modern Lebanon.
2. Tyre's merchants were described as princes (23:8). Phoenicia dominated Mediterranean trade for centuries.
3. The Phoenicians founded colonies across the Mediterranean, including Carthage in North Africa.
4. Kittim (23:1) refers to Cyprus, a key stop on Phoenician trade routes.
5. Shihor (23:3) refers to the Nile, showing that Tyre traded Egyptian grain.
6. Tyre was famous for its purple dye, made from murex sea snails and worn by royalty.
7. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for thirteen years in the sixth century BC (Ezekiel 29:18).
8. Alexander the Great captured island Tyre in 332 BC by building a causeway from the mainland.
9. Hiram, king of Tyre, had supplied cedar and craftsmen for Solomon's temple (1 Kings 5:1-10).
10. The seventy years of 23:15 follows the pattern of a lifetime or a king's span of rule.
## đź§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One to whom the wealth of nations will one day be dedicated (23:18). Jesus ministered in the region of Tyre and Sidon and welcomed a Gentile woman's faith (Mark 7:24-30), a sign that even Tyre's people would be gathered to Him.
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. God humbled Tyre to bring down its pride in all its glory (23:9). Why does God oppose pride so strongly?
2. Tyre was famous for its trade and wealth (23:3, 8). What are the spiritual dangers of commercial success?
3. In the end, Tyre's earnings will be set apart for the Lord (23:18). What does it look like to dedicate our work and income to God?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 8: Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns?
- đź“– verse 9: The Lord planned it to bring down all proud glory.
- đź“– verse 18: Tyre's profits will be set apart for the Lord.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[Mark 07#Verse 24.|Mark 7:24-30]] - Jesus honors a Gentile woman's faith near Tyre.
- đź”— [[Ezekiel 27#Verse 03.|Ezekiel 27:3-4]] - The lament over Tyre's beauty and trade.
- đź”— [[Revelation 18#Verse 11.|Revelation 18:11-19]] - Merchants weep over fallen Babylon.
- đź”— [[Matthew 11#Verse 21.|Matthew 11:21-22]] - It will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon.
- đź”— [[1 Kings 05#Verse 01.|1 Kings 5:1-6]] - Hiram of Tyre helps build the temple.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
📝 SOAP: [[Isaiah 23 - SOAP|The Lord Will Do What’s Necessary]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes