Isaiah 23:17

17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her trade, and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

Isaiah 23:17 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 23:17

And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years,
&c.] When the seventy years before mentioned are ended: that the Lord will visit Tyre;
not in judgment, as before, but in mercy: and she shall return to her hire;
trade and merchandise; that shall revive, and be as in times past: and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world,
upon the face of the earth;
be a mart of nations again, as in ( Isaiah 23:3 ) that is, trade and traffic with all nations of the earth, in the most ample and public manner; this is called committing fornication, in agreement with the simile of a harlot before used, whereunto Tyre is compared; as well as to observe the illicit ways and methods used in her commerce. The Targum is,

``and her merchandise shall be sufficient to all the kingdoms of the people, which are upon the face of the earth;''

and so the Septuagint,

``and shall be a mart to all the kingdoms of the world, upon the face of the earth.''

The phrase is used of mystical Tyre or Babylon, and of her merchants, in ( Revelation 18:3 ) .

Isaiah 23:17 In-Context

15 From that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the lifetime of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song about the prostitute:

16 Take a harp, go about the city, you forgotten prostitute! Make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.

17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her trade, and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

18 Her merchandise and her wages will be dedicated to the Lord; her profits will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who live in the presence of the Lord.