Isaiah 23

9. Whoever be the instruments in overthrowing haughty sinners, God, who has all hosts at His command, is the First Cause ( Isaiah 10:5-7 ).
stain--rather, "to profane"; as in Exodus 31:14 , the Sabbath, and other objects of religious reverence; so here, "the pride of all glory" may refer to the Tyrian temple of Hercules, the oldest in the world, according to ARRIAN ( Isaiah 2:16 ); the prophet of the true God would naturally single out for notice the idol of Tyre [G. V. SMITH]. It may, however, be a general proposition; the destruction of Tyre will exhibit to all how God mars the luster of whatever is haughty ( Isaiah 2:11 ).

10. a river--Hebrew, "the river," namely, Nile.
daughter of Tarshish--Tyre and its inhabitants ( Isaiah 1:8 ), about henceforth, owing to the ruin of Tyre, to become inhabitants of its colony, Tartessus: they would pour forth from Tyre, as waters flow on when the barriers are removed [LOWTH]. Rather, Tarshish, or Tartessus and its inhabitants, as the phrase usually means: they had been kept in hard bondage, working in silver and lead mines near Tarshish, by the parent city ( Ezekiel 26:17 ): but now "the bond of restraint" (for so "strength," Margin, "girdle," that is, bond, Psalms 2:3 , ought to be translated) is removed, since Tyre is no more.

11. He--Jehovah.
kingdoms--the Phoenician cities and colonies.
the merchant city--rather, Canaan, meaning the north of it, namely, Phoenicia. On their coins, they call their country Canaan.

12. he--God.
rejoice--riotously ( Isaiah 23:7 ).
oppressed--"deflowered"; laying aside the figure "taken by storm"; the Arabs compare a city never taken to an undefiled virgin (compare Nahum 3:5 , &c.).
daughter of Zidon--Tyre: or else, sons of Zidon, that is, the whole [MAURER].
Chittim--Citium in Cyprus ( Isaiah 23:1 ).
there also . . . no rest--Thy colonies, having been harshly treated VITRINGA refers it to the calamities which befell the Tyrians in their settlements subsequently, namely, Sicily, Corcyra, Carthage, and Spain, all flowing from the original curse of Noah against the posterity of Canaan ( Genesis 9:25-27 ).

13. Behold--Calling attention to the fact, so humiliating to Tyre, that a people of yesterday, like the Chaldees, should destroy the most ancient of cities, Tyre.
was not--had no existence as a recognized nation; the Chaldees were previously but a rude, predatory people ( Job 1:17 ).
Assyrian founded it--The Chaldees ("them that dwell in the wilderness") lived a nomadic life in the mountains of Armenia originally (Arphaxad, in Genesis 10:22 , refers to such a region of Assyria near Armenia), north and east of Assyria proper. Some may have settled in Mesopotamia and Babylonia very early and given origin to the astrologers called Chaldees in later times. But most of the people had been transferred only a little before the time of this prophecy from their original seats in the north to Mesopotamia, and soon afterwards to South Babylonia. "Founded it," means "assigned it (the land) to them who had (heretofore) dwelt in the wilderness" as a permanent settlement (so in Psalms 104:8 ) [MAURER]. It was the Assyrian policy to infuse into their own population of the plain the fresh blood of hardy mountaineers, for the sake of recruiting their armies. Ultimately the Chaldees, by their powerful priest-caste, gained the supremacy and established the later or Chaldean empire. HORSLEY refers it to Tyre, founded by an Assyrian race.
towers thereof--namely, of Babylon, whose towers, HERODOTUS says, were "set up" by the Assyrians [BARNES]. Rather, "The Chaldees set up their siege-towers" against Tyre, made for the attack of high walls, from which the besiegers hurled missiles, as depicted in the Assyrian sculptures [G. V. SMITH].
raised up--rather, "They lay bare," namely, the foundations of "her (Tyre's) palaces," that is, utterly overthrew them ( Psalms 137:7 ).

14. strength--stronghold (compare Ezekiel 26:15-18 ).

15. forgotten--Having lost its former renown, Tyre shall be in obscurity.
seventy years--(so Jeremiah 25:11 Jeremiah 25:12 , 29:10 ).
days of one king--that is, a dynasty. The Babylonian monarchy lasted properly but seventy years. From the first year of Nebuchadnezzar to the taking of Babylon, by Cyrus, was seventy years; then the subjected nations would be restored to liberty. Tyre was taken in the middle of that period, but it is classed in common with the rest, some conquered sooner and others later, all, however, alike to be delivered at the end of the period. So "king" is used for dynasty ( Daniel 7:17 , 8:20 ): Nebuchadnezzar, his son Evil-merodach, and his grandson, Belshazzar, formed the whole dynasty ( Jeremiah 25:11 Jeremiah 25:12 , 27:7 , 29:10 ).
shall Tyre sing as . . . harlot--It shall be to Tyre as the song of the harlot, namely, a harlot that has been forgotten, but who attracts notice again by her song. Large marts of commerce are often compared to harlots seeking many lovers, that is, they court merchants of all nations, and admit any one for the sake of gain ( Nahum 3:4 , Revelation 18:3 ). Covetousness is closely akin to idolatry and licentiousness, as the connection ( Ephesians 5:5 , Colossians 3:5 ) proves (compare Isaiah 2:6-8 Isaiah 2:16 ).

16. Same figure ( Isaiah 23:15 ) to express that Tyre would again prosper and attract commercial intercourse of nations to her, and be the same joyous, self-indulging city as before.

17. visit--not in wrath, but mercy.
hire--image from a harlot: her gains by commerce. After the Babylonian dynasty was ended, Tyre was rebuilt; also, again, after the destruction under Alexander.

18. merchandise . . . holiness--Her traffic and gains shall at last (long after the restoration mentioned in Isaiah 23:17 ) be consecrated to Jehovah. Jesus Christ visited the neighborhood of Tyre ( Matthew 15:21 ); Paul found disciples there ( Acts 21:3-6 ); it early became a Christian bishopric, but the full evangelization of that whole race, as of the Ethiopians ( Isaiah 18:1-7 ), of the Egyptians and Assyrians ( Isaiah 19:1-25 ), is yet to come ( Isaiah 60:5 ).
not treasured--but freely expended in His service.
them that dwell before the Lord--the ministers of religion. But HORSLEY translates, "them that sit before Jehovah" as disciples.
durable clothing--Changes of raiment constituted much of the wealth of former days.