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11 The Lord stretched out his hand over the sea,[a]
he shook kingdoms;
he[b] gave the order
to destroy Canaan’s fortresses.[c]
12 He said,
“You will no longer celebrate,
oppressed[d] virgin daughter Sidon!
Get up, travel to Cyprus,
but you will find no relief there.”[e]
13 Look at the land of the Chaldeans,
these people who have lost their identity![f]
The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals.
They erected their siege towers,[g]
demolished[h] its fortresses,
and turned it into a heap of ruins.[i]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 23:11 tn Heb “his hand he stretched out over the sea.”
  2. Isaiah 23:11 tn Heb “the Lord.” For stylistic reasons the pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation here.
  3. Isaiah 23:11 tn Heb “concerning Canaan, to destroy her fortresses.” NIV, NLT translate “Canaan” as “Phoenicia” here.
  4. Isaiah 23:12 tn Or “violated, raped,” the point being that Daughter Sidon has lost her virginity in the most brutal manner possible.
  5. Isaiah 23:12 tn Heb “[to the] Kittim, get up, cross over; even there there will be no rest for you.” On “Kittim” see the note on “Cyprus” at v. 1.
  6. Isaiah 23:13 tn Heb “this people [that] is not.”
  7. Isaiah 23:13 tn For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 118 s.v. *בַּחוּן.
  8. Isaiah 23:13 tn Or “laid bare.” For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 889 s.v. ערר.
  9. Isaiah 23:13 sn This verse probably refers to the Assyrian destruction of Babylon.