Isaiah 23:3

3 On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor; the harvest of the Nile[a] was the revenue of Tyre, and she became the marketplace of the nations.

Isaiah 23:3 in Other Translations

KJV
3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
ESV
3 And on many waters your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.
NLT
3 sailing over deep waters. They brought you grain from Egypt and harvests from along the Nile. You were the marketplace of the world.
MSG
3 Making money on wheat from Shihor, grown along the Nile - multinational broker in grains!
CSB
3 on many waters. Tyre's revenue was the grain from Shihor- the harvest of the Nile. She was the merchant among the nations.

Isaiah 23:3 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 23:3

And by great waters the seed of Sihor
Sihor is the river Nile in Egypt; it had its name from the black colour of its waters, as in ( Jeremiah 2:18 ) hence called by the Greeks Melas, and by the Latins Melo: the "seed" of it intends what was sown and grew upon the banks of it, or was nourished by the overflow of this river throughout the land, and includes corn, flax, paper with which Egypt abounded; and when this is said to be "by great waters", the meaning either is, that it grew by great waters, the waters of the Nile, and through the influence of them; or that it came by great waters to Tyre; that is, by the waters of the sea, the Mediterranean Sea:

the harvest of the river [is] her revenue;
this clause is the same with the former, and serves to explain it; the river is the river Nile, the harvest is the seed that was sown and grew by it, and which at the proper season, when ripe, was gathered from it, and carried in ships to Tyre, with which that city was supplied and enriched, as if it had been its own produce:

and she is a mart of nations;
Tyre was a city to which all nations traded, it was a mart for them all, and where they brought their wares to sell, and always found a market for them, here they had vent. The twenty seventh chapter of Ezekiel ( Ezekiel 27:1-13 ) is a proper commentary on this clause.

Isaiah 23:3 In-Context

1 A prophecy against Tyre: Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed and left without house or harbor. From the land of Cyprus word has come to them.
2 Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre, and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have neither been in labor nor given birth; I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5 When word comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre.

Cross References 3

  • 1. S Genesis 41:5
  • 2. S Isaiah 19:7
  • 3. S Psalms 83:7; Ezekiel 27:3

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls "Sidon," / "who cross over the sea;" / "your envoys " 3"are on the great waters." / "The grain of the Shihor," / "the harvest of the Nile,"
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