Wail, Ships of Tarshish
23 1 The oracle concerning Tyre: Wail, you ships of Tarshish, for your harbor is destroyed, left without house or haven. From the land of Cyprus the news has reached them. 2 Be silent, you who live on the coast, you merchants of Sidon, whose messengers cross the sea. 3 Across the great waters came the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile — this was her revenue; and she became the marketplace of the nations. 4 Be ashamed, Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying: "I have not labored nor given birth, I have not raised young men nor brought up young women." 5 When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in anguish at the news about Tyre. 6 Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you who live on the coast. 7 Is this your jubilant city, whose origins go back to ancient times, whose feet carried her to settle in distant lands? 8 Who has planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth? 9 The Father of heaven's armies has planned it — to defile all glorious pride, to humble all the honored of the earth. 10 Flow over your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish; there is no harbor any longer. 11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea; he has shaken the kingdoms. Our Father has given the command concerning Canaan to destroy her strongholds.
12 He said, "You will no longer rejoice, violated virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest."
13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people who are no more; Assyria gave it over to desert creatures. They raised their siege towers, they stripped its palaces bare, they made it a ruin. a a v13 The Chaldeans were the ruling people of ancient Babylon. 14 Wail, you ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is destroyed. 15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the lifetime of one king. At the end of seventy years, Tyre's fate will be like the song of the prostitute: 16 "Take a harp, go about the city, forgotten prostitute; play sweetly, sing many songs, so that you may be remembered." 17 At the end of seventy years, our Father will turn his attention to Tyre, and she will return to her earnings, prostituting herself with all the kingdoms of the world across the earth. 18 But her profit and her earnings will be set apart as holy to our Father. It will not be stored up or hoarded; her profit will go to those who live before our Father, for abundant food and fine clothing.