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Isaiah 23-27
King James Version
Isaiah 23-27
King James Version
23 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
4 Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.
5 As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
6 Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.
7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
8 Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
10 Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.
11 He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.
12 And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.
13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.
14 Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
24 Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.
3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.
4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
7 The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.
8 The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.
9 They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
10 The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.
11 There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
12 In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.
13 When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.
14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea.
15 Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea.
16 From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
25 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.
3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
6 And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.
9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
11 And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.
12 And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.
26 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:
5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
6 The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
7 The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10 Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
12 Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
13 O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.
16 Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
27 In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
2 In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.
3 I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.
4 Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
5 Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.
6 He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
7 Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?
8 In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
9 By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.
10 Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
11 When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
Isaiah 23-27
New International Version
Isaiah 23-27
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 A prophecy against Tyre:(A)
Wail,(B) you ships(C) of Tarshish!(D)
For Tyre is destroyed(E)
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
2 Be silent,(F) you people of the island
and you merchants(G) of Sidon,(H)
whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;(I)
the harvest of the Nile[a](J) was the revenue of Tyre,(K)
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon,(L) and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;(M)
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5 When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish(N) at the report from Tyre.(O)
6 Cross over to Tarshish;(P)
wail, you people of the island.
7 Is this your city of revelry,(Q)
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
8 Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants(R) are princes,
whose traders(S) are renowned in the earth?
9 The Lord Almighty planned(T) it,
to bring down(U) her pride in all her splendor
and to humble(V) all who are renowned(W) on the earth.
10 Till[b] your land as they do along the Nile,
Daughter Tarshish,
for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The Lord has stretched out his hand(X) over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.(Y)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
that her fortresses be destroyed.(Z)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,(AA)
Virgin Daughter(AB) Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus;(AC)
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[c](AD)
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians(AE) have made it
a place for desert creatures;(AF)
they raised up their siege towers,(AG)
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.(AH)
15 At that time Tyre(AL) will be forgotten for seventy years,(AM) the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
you forgotten prostitute;(AN)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years,(AO) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(AP) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(AQ) 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;(AR) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord,(AS) for abundant food and fine clothes.(AT)
The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth
24 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth(AU)
and devastate(AV) it;
he will ruin its face
and scatter(AW) its inhabitants—
2 it will be the same
for priest as for people,(AX)
for the master as for his servant,
for the mistress as for her servant,
for seller as for buyer,(AY)
for borrower as for lender,
for debtor as for creditor.(AZ)
3 The earth will be completely laid waste(BA)
and totally plundered.(BB)
The Lord has spoken(BC) this word.
4 The earth dries up(BD) and withers,(BE)
the world languishes and withers,
the heavens(BF) languish with the earth.(BG)
5 The earth is defiled(BH) by its people;
they have disobeyed(BI) the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.(BJ)
6 Therefore a curse(BK) consumes the earth;
its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,(BL)
and very few are left.
7 The new wine dries up(BM) and the vine withers;(BN)
all the merrymakers groan.(BO)
8 The joyful timbrels(BP) are stilled,
the noise(BQ) of the revelers(BR) has stopped,
the joyful harp(BS) is silent.(BT)
9 No longer do they drink wine(BU) with a song;
the beer is bitter(BV) to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city(BW) lies desolate;(BX)
the entrance to every house is barred.
11 In the streets they cry out(BY) for wine;(BZ)
all joy turns to gloom,(CA)
all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12 The city is left in ruins,(CB)
its gate(CC) is battered to pieces.
13 So will it be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,(CD)
or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.(CE)
14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;(CF)
from the west(CG) they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15 Therefore in the east(CH) give glory(CI) to the Lord;
exalt(CJ) the name(CK) of the Lord, the God of Israel,
in the islands(CL) of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth(CM) we hear singing:(CN)
“Glory(CO) to the Righteous One.”(CP)
But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!(CQ)
Woe(CR) to me!
The treacherous(CS) betray!
With treachery the treacherous betray!(CT)”
17 Terror(CU) and pit and snare(CV) await you,
people of the earth.(CW)
18 Whoever flees(CX) at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit;(CY)
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare.(CZ)
The floodgates of the heavens(DA) are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.(DB)
19 The earth is broken up,(DC)
the earth is split asunder,(DD)
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,(DE)
it sways like a hut(DF) in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion(DG)
that it falls(DH)—never to rise again.(DI)
21 In that day(DJ) the Lord will punish(DK)
the powers(DL) in the heavens above
and the kings(DM) on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together
like prisoners(DN) bound in a dungeon;(DO)
they will be shut up in prison
and be punished[d] after many days.(DP)
23 The moon will be dismayed,
the sun(DQ) ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign(DR)
on Mount Zion(DS) and in Jerusalem,
and before its elders—with great glory.(DT)
Praise to the Lord
25 Lord, you are my God;(DU)
I will exalt you and praise your name,(DV)
for in perfect faithfulness(DW)
you have done wonderful things,(DX)
things planned(DY) long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,(DZ)
the fortified(EA) town a ruin,(EB)
the foreigners’ stronghold(EC) a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.(ED)
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;(EE)
cities of ruthless(EF) nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge(EG) for the poor,(EH)
a refuge for the needy(EI) in their distress,
a shelter from the storm(EJ)
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless(EK)
is like a storm driving against a wall
5 and like the heat of the desert.
You silence(EL) the uproar of foreigners;(EM)
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless(EN) is stilled.
6 On this mountain(EO) the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast(EP) of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.(EQ)
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud(ER) that enfolds all peoples,(ES)
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death(ET) forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears(EU)
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace(EV)
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.(EW)
9 In that day(EX) they will say,
“Surely this is our God;(EY)
we trusted(EZ) in him, and he saved(FA) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice(FB) and be glad in his salvation.”(FC)
10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;(FD)
but Moab(FE) will be trampled in their land
as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will stretch out their hands in it,
as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down(FF) their pride(FG)
despite the cleverness[e] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls(FH)
and lay them low;(FI)
he will bring them down to the ground,
to the very dust.
A Song of Praise
26 In that day(FJ) this song will be sung(FK) in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;(FL)
God makes salvation
its walls(FM) and ramparts.(FN)
2 Open the gates(FO)
that the righteous(FP) nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
3 You will keep in perfect peace(FQ)
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust(FR) in you.
4 Trust(FS) in the Lord forever,(FT)
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock(FU) eternal.
5 He humbles those who dwell on high,
he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground(FV)
and casts it down to the dust.(FW)
6 Feet trample(FX) it down—
the feet of the oppressed,(FY)
the footsteps of the poor.(FZ)
7 The path of the righteous is level;(GA)
you, the Upright One,(GB) make the way of the righteous smooth.(GC)
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,[f](GD)
we wait(GE) for you;
your name(GF) and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;(GG)
in the morning my spirit longs(GH) for you.
When your judgments(GI) come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.(GJ)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,(GK)
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil(GL)
and do not regard(GM) the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted high,(GN)
but they do not see(GO) it.
Let them see your zeal(GP) for your people and be put to shame;(GQ)
let the fire(GR) reserved for your enemies consume them.
12 Lord, you establish peace(GS) for us;
all that we have accomplished you have done(GT) for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords(GU) besides you have ruled over us,
but your name(GV) alone do we honor.(GW)
14 They are now dead,(GX) they live no more;
their spirits(GY) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;(GZ)
you wiped out all memory of them.(HA)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
you have enlarged the nation.(HB)
You have gained glory for yourself;
you have extended all the borders(HC) of the land.
16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;(HD)
when you disciplined(HE) them,
they could barely whisper(HF) a prayer.[g]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth(HG)
writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We were with child, we writhed in labor,
but we gave birth(HH) to wind.
We have not brought salvation(HI) to the earth,
and the people of the world have not come to life.(HJ)
19 But your dead(HK) will live, Lord;
their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust(HL)
wake up and shout for joy—
your dew(HM) is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.(HN)
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doors(HO) behind you;
hide(HP) yourselves for a little while
until his wrath(HQ) has passed by.(HR)
21 See, the Lord is coming(HS) out of his dwelling(HT)
to punish(HU) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood(HV) shed on it;
the earth will conceal its slain no longer.
Deliverance of Israel
27 In that day,(HW)
the Lord will punish with his sword(HX)—
his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan(HY) the gliding serpent,(HZ)
Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster(IA) of the sea.
2 In that day(IB)—
“Sing(IC) about a fruitful vineyard:(ID)
3 I, the Lord, watch over it;
I water(IE) it continually.
I guard(IF) it day and night
so that no one may harm(IG) it.
4 I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
I would march against them in battle;
I would set them all on fire.(IH)
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;(II)
let them make peace(IJ) with me,
yes, let them make peace with me.”
6 In days to come Jacob will take root,(IK)
Israel will bud and blossom(IL)
and fill all the world with fruit.(IM)
7 Has the Lord struck her
as he struck(IN) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
as those were killed who killed her?
8 By warfare[h] and exile(IO) you contend with her—
with his fierce blast he drives her out,
as on a day the east wind(IP) blows.
9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned(IQ) for,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:(IR)
When he makes all the altar stones(IS)
to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles[i](IT) or incense altars(IU)
will be left standing.
10 The fortified city stands desolate,(IV)
an abandoned settlement, forsaken(IW) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,(IX)
there they lie down;(IY)
they strip its branches bare.
11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off(IZ)
and women come and make fires(JA) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;(JB)
so their Maker has no compassion on them,
and their Creator(JC) shows them no favor.(JD)
12 In that day the Lord will thresh(JE) from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,(JF) and you, Israel, will be gathered(JG) up one by one. 13 And in that day(JH) a great trumpet(JI) will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled(JJ) in Egypt(JK) will come and worship(JL) the Lord on the holy mountain(JM) in Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:3 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls Sidon, / who cross over the sea; / your envoys 3 are on the great waters. / The grain of the Shihor, / the harvest of the Nile,
- Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
- Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans
- Isaiah 24:22 Or released
- Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
- Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Isaiah 27:8 See Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 27:9 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
Isaiah 23-27
New King James Version
Isaiah 23-27
New King James Version
Proclamation Against Tyre
23 The (A)burden[a] against Tyre.
Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For it is laid waste,
So that there is no house, no harbor;
From the land of [b]Cyprus it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon,
[c]Whom those who cross the sea have filled.
3 And on great waters the grain of Shihor,
The harvest of [d]the River, is her revenue;
And (B)she is a marketplace for the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon;
For the sea has spoken,
The strength of the sea, saying,
“I do not labor, nor bring forth children;
Neither do I rear young men,
Nor bring up virgins.”
5 (C)When the report reaches Egypt,
They also will be in agony at the report of Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish;
Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland!
7 Is this your (D)joyous city,
Whose antiquity is from ancient days,
Whose feet carried her far off to dwell?
8 Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, (E)the crowning city,
Whose merchants are princes,
Whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts has (F)purposed it,
To [e]bring to dishonor the (G)pride of all glory,
To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
10 Overflow through your land like [f]the River,
O daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more [g]strength.
11 He stretched out His hand over the sea,
He shook the kingdoms;
The Lord has given a commandment (H)against Canaan
To destroy its strongholds.
12 And He said, “You will rejoice no more,
O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, (I)cross over to Cyprus;
There also you will have no rest.”
13 Behold, the land of the (J)Chaldeans,
This people which was not;
Assyria founded it for (K)wild beasts of the desert.
They set up its towers,
They raised up its palaces,
And brought it to ruin.
14 (L)Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For your strength is laid waste.
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 deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and (M)commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her gain and her pay (N)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 [h]fine clothing.
Impending Judgment on the Earth
24 Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste,
Distorts its surface
And scatters abroad its inhabitants.
2 And it shall be:
As with the people, so with the (O)priest;
As with the servant, so with his master;
As with the maid, so with her mistress;
(P)As with the buyer, so with the seller;
As with the lender, so with the borrower;
As with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered,
For the Lord has spoken this word.
4 The earth mourns and fades away,
The world languishes and fades away;
The (Q)haughty[i] people of the earth languish.
5 (R)The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants,
Because they have (S)transgressed the laws,
Changed the ordinance,
Broken the (T)everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore (U)the curse has devoured the earth,
And those who dwell in it are [j]desolate.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are (V)burned,
And few men are left.
7 (W)The new wine fails, the vine languishes,
All the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The mirth (X)of the tambourine ceases,
The noise of the jubilant ends,
The joy of the harp ceases.
9 They shall not drink wine with a song;
Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of confusion is broken down;
Every house is shut up, so that none may go in.
11 There is a cry for wine in the streets,
All joy is darkened,
The mirth of the land is gone.
12 In the city desolation is left,
And the gate is stricken with destruction.
13 When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people,
(Y)It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree,
Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.
14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing;
For the majesty of the Lord
They shall cry aloud from the sea.
15 Therefore (Z)glorify the Lord in the dawning light,
(AA)The name of the Lord God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs:
“Glory to the righteous!”
But I said, [k]“I am ruined, ruined!
Woe to me!
(AB)The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously,
Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.”
17 (AC)Fear and the pit and the snare
Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall be
That he who flees from the noise of the fear
Shall fall into the pit,
And he who comes up from the midst of the pit
Shall be [l]caught in the snare;
For (AD)the windows from on high are open,
And (AE)the foundations of the earth are shaken.
19 (AF)The earth is violently broken,
The earth is split open,
The earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall (AG)reel[m] to and fro like a drunkard,
And shall totter like a hut;
Its transgression shall be heavy upon it,
And it will fall, and not rise again.
21 It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones,
And on the earth (AH)the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together,
As prisoners are gathered in the [n]pit,
And will be shut up in the prison;
After many days they will be punished.
23 Then the (AI)moon will be disgraced
And the sun ashamed;
For the Lord of hosts will (AJ)reign
On (AK)Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
And before His elders, gloriously.
Praise to God
25 O Lord, You are my God.
(AL)I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
(AM)For You have done wonderful things;
(AN)Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2 For You have made (AO)a city a ruin,
A fortified city a ruin,
A palace of foreigners to be a city no more;
It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore the strong people will (AP)glorify You;
The city of the [o]terrible nations will fear You.
4 For You have been a strength to the poor,
A strength to the needy in his distress,
(AQ)A refuge from the storm,
A shade from the heat;
For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 You will reduce the noise of aliens,
As heat in a dry place;
As heat in the shadow of a cloud,
The song of the terrible ones will be [p]diminished.
6 And in (AR)this mountain
(AS)The Lord of hosts will make for (AT)all people
A feast of [q]choice pieces,
A feast of [r]wines on the lees,
Of fat things full of marrow,
Of well-refined wines on the lees.
7 And He will destroy on this mountain
The surface of the covering cast over all people,
And (AU)the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will (AV)swallow up death forever,
And the Lord God will (AW)wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
9 And it will be said in that day:
“Behold, this is our God;
(AX)We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the Lord;
We have waited for Him;
(AY)We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
10 For on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest,
And (AZ)Moab shall be trampled down under Him,
As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.
11 And He will spread out His hands in their midst
As a swimmer reaches out to swim,
And He will bring down their (BA)pride
Together with the trickery of their hands.
12 The (BB)fortress of the high fort of your walls
He will bring down, lay low,
And bring to the ground, down to the dust.
A Song of Salvation
26 In (BC)that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
(BD)God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
2 (BE)Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which [s]keeps the truth may enter in.
3 You will keep him in perfect (BF)peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
(BG)For in Yah, the Lord, is [t]everlasting strength.
5 For He brings [u]down those who dwell on high,
(BH)The lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.
6 The foot shall [v]tread it down—
The feet of the poor
And the steps of the needy.”
7 The way of the just is uprightness;
(BI)O Most Upright,
You [w]weigh the path of the just.
8 Yes, (BJ)in the way of Your judgments,
O Lord, we have (BK)waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
9 (BL)With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10 (BM)Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In (BN)the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, (BO)they will not see.
But they will see and be ashamed
For [x]their envy of people;
Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.
12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works [y]in us.
13 O Lord our God, (BP)masters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to (BQ)perish.
15 You have increased the nation, O Lord,
You have (BR)increased the nation;
You are glorified;
You have expanded all the [z]borders of the land.
16 Lord, (BS)in trouble they have visited You,
They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
17 As (BT)a woman with child
Is in pain and cries out in her [aa]pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery,
So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain;
We have, as it were, [ab]brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have (BU)the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19 (BV)Your dead shall live;
Together with [ac]my dead body they shall arise.
(BW)Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.
Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment
20 Come, my people, (BX)enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, (BY)for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the Lord (BZ)comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her [ad]blood,
And will no more cover her slain.
Israel Will Be Restored
27 In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong,
Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
(CA)Leviathan that twisted serpent;
And He will slay (CB)the reptile that is in the sea.
The Restoration of Israel
2 In that day (CC)sing to her,
(CD)“A vineyard of [ae]red wine!
3 (CE)I, the Lord, keep it,
I water it every moment;
Lest any hurt it,
I keep it night and day.
4 Fury is not in Me.
Who would set (CF)briers and thorns
Against Me in battle?
I would go through them,
I would burn them together.
5 Or let him take hold (CG)of My strength,
That he may (CH)make peace with Me;
And he shall make peace with Me.”
6 Those who come He shall cause (CI)to take root in Jacob;
Israel shall blossom and bud,
And fill the face of the world with fruit.
7 (CJ)Has He struck [af]Israel as He struck those who struck him?
Or has He been slain according to the slaughter of those who were slain by Him?
8 (CK)In measure, by sending it away,
You contended with it.
(CL)He removes it by His rough wind
In the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered;
And this is all the fruit of taking away his sin:
When he makes all the stones of the altar
Like chalkstones that are beaten to dust,
[ag]Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand.
10 Yet the fortified city will be (CM)desolate,
The habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness;
There the calf will feed, and there it will lie down
And consume its branches.
11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off;
The women come and set them on fire.
For (CN)it is a people of no understanding;
Therefore He who made them will (CO)not have mercy on them,
And (CP)He who formed them will show them no favor.
12 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord will thresh,
From the channel of [ah]the River to the Brook of Egypt;
And you will be (CQ)gathered one by one,
O you children of Israel.
13 (CR)So it shall be in that day:
(CS)The great trumpet will be blown;
They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria,
And they who are outcasts in the land of (CT)Egypt,
And shall (CU)worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 23:1 Heb. Kittim, western lands, especially Cyprus
- Isaiah 23:2 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Tg. Passing over the water; DSS Your messengers passing over the sea
- Isaiah 23:3 The Nile
- Isaiah 23:9 pollute
- Isaiah 23:10 The Nile
- Isaiah 23:10 restraint, lit. belt
- Isaiah 23:18 choice
- Isaiah 24:4 proud
- Isaiah 24:6 Or held guilty
- Isaiah 24:16 Lit. Leanness to me, leanness to me
- Isaiah 24:18 Lit. taken
- Isaiah 24:20 stagger
- Isaiah 24:22 dungeon
- Isaiah 25:3 terrifying
- Isaiah 25:5 humbled
- Isaiah 25:6 Lit. fat things
- Isaiah 25:6 wines matured on the sediment
- Isaiah 26:2 Or remains faithful
- Isaiah 26:4 Or Rock of Ages
- Isaiah 26:5 low
- Isaiah 26:6 trample
- Isaiah 26:7 Or make level
- Isaiah 26:11 Or Your zeal for the people
- Isaiah 26:12 Or for us
- Isaiah 26:15 Or ends
- Isaiah 26:17 sharp pains
- Isaiah 26:18 given birth to
- Isaiah 26:19 So with MT, Vg.; Syr., Tg. their dead bodies; LXX those in the tombs
- Isaiah 26:21 Or bloodshed
- Isaiah 27:2 So with MT (Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica), Bg., Vg.; MT (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia), some Heb. mss., LXX delight; Tg. choice vineyard
- Isaiah 27:7 Lit. him
- Isaiah 27:9 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
- Isaiah 27:12 The Euphrates
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.