Isaiah 23:16

16 Pick up [your] harp, stroll through the city, prostitute forgotten [by men]. Play skillfully, sing many a song, and you will be thought of again.

Isaiah 23:16 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 23:16

Take a harp, go about the city
As harlots used to do, that by their music, both vocal and instrumental, they might allure men into their company to commit fornication with them; so Tyre is directed to, or rather this is a prophecy that she should take very artful and ensnaring methods to restore her commerce and merchandise:

thou harlot that hast been forgotten; (See Gill on Isaiah 23:15):

make sweet melody;
or, "do well by striking" F11; that is, the harp in her hand; strike it well with art and skill, so as to make melody, and give pleasure:

sing many songs;
or, "multiply a song" F12; sing one after another, till the point is carried aimed at:

that thou mayest be remembered;
men may took at thee again, and trade with thee as formerly, who had been so long forgotten and neglected.


FOOTNOTES:

F11 (Ngn ybyjh) "benefac pulsando", Junius; "belle pulsa", Piscator.
F12 (ryv ybrh) "multiplica cantum", Piscator.

Isaiah 23:16 In-Context

14 Wail, ships of Tarshish, because your fortress is destroyed!
15 On that day Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years-the life span of one king. At the end of 70 years, what the song [says] about the prostitute will happen to Tyre:
16 Pick up [your] harp, stroll through the city, prostitute forgotten [by men]. Play skillfully, sing many a song, and you will be thought of again.
17 And at the end of the 70 years, the Lord will restore Tyre and she will go back into business, prostituting herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
18 But 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.
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