Isaiah 23:17

17 And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication 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 Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:

16 "Take a harp, go about the city, You forgotten harlot; Make sweet melody, sing many songs, That you may be remembered."

17 And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

18 Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the Lord; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for fine clothing.