Isaiah 23

6–9 Isaiah urges the people of the island (Tyre) to leave and go to Tarshish (verse 6). He calls Tyre a bestower of crowns (verse 8), because of the kings it had crowned in its many colonies. Then Isaiah reminds the people of Tyre (and Sidon) that it was the Lord who planned this judgment against them because of their great pride. The Lord’s opposition to the proud is a repeated theme throughout the book of Isaiah (see Isaiah 2:10–18).

10–14 With Tyre and Sidon destroyed, their colonies would become agricultural communities (verse 10). Even in Cyprus, which relied on merchant shipping, there would be no rest, no prosperity (verse 12). Phoenicia itself would look like the land of the Babylonians, which soon was to be destroyed by Assyria¹¹⁰ (verse 13).

15–18 In these final verses, Isaiah predicts that after God’s initial judgment, which will last seventy years, Tyre will experience a temporary period of prosperity. But the profits of that prosperity will not be used to enrich Tyre but rather will be set apart for the LORD and for His people in Judah¹¹¹ (verse 18).