Isaiah 23:17

17 When the seventy years are over, the Lord will let Tyre go back to her old trade, and she will hire herself out to all the kingdoms of the world.

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 A time is coming when Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the lifetime of a king. When those years are over, Tyre will be like the prostitute in the song:
16 Take your harp, go round the town, you poor forgotten whore! Play and sing your songs again to bring men back once more.
17 When the seventy years are over, the Lord will let Tyre go back to her old trade, and she will hire herself out to all the kingdoms of the world.
18 The money she earns by commerce will be dedicated to the Lord. She will not store it away, but those who worship the Lord will use her money to buy the food and the clothing they need.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.