Isaiah 23:2-4

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^[a] 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.”

Isaiah 23:2-4 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 23

This chapter gives an account both of the desolation and restoration of Tyre, an ancient city of Phoenicia. Its desolation is described as so complete, that a house was not left in it, Isa 23:1 and by the fewness and stillness of the inhabitants of it, with which it had been replenished, it having been a mart of nations, Isa 23:2,3 and by the shame and pain Zidon, a neighbouring city, was put into, on account of it, Isa 23:4,5 and by the removal of its inhabitants to other places, Isa 23:6,7,12 all which is attributed to the counsel, purpose, and commandment of God, to destroy it; whose view was to stain their pride, and bring them into contempt, Isa 23:8-11 the means and instruments made use of to this purpose were the Assyrians or Chaldeans, Isa 23:13 and its desolation is further aggravated by the loss of its trade; hence the merchants of other countries are called to mourning, Isa 23:1,14 the date and duration of this desolation were seventy years, Isa 23:15 after which it should be restored, and its merchandise and commerce with all the nations of the earth be revived again, Isa 23:15-18.

Cross References

• 1. S Job 2:13
• 2. Ezekiel 27:5-24
• 3. Judges 1:31
• 4. S Genesis 41:5
• 5. S Isaiah 19:7
• 6. S Psalms 83:7; Ezekiel 27:3
• 7. S Genesis 10:15,19
• 8. Isaiah 54:1

Footnotes

• [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,"