Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Isaiah 23:17
ESV At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
NIV At the end of seventy years, the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.
NASB It will come about at the end of seventy years that the Lord will visit Tyre. Then she will go back to her prostitute’s wages and commit prostitution with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.
CSB And at the end of the seventy years, the Lord will restore Tyre and she will go back into business, prostituting herself with all the kingdoms of the world throughout the earth.
NLT Yes, after seventy years the Lord will revive Tyre. But she will be no different than she was before. She will again be a prostitute to all kingdoms around the world.
KJV 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.
NKJV And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

What does Isaiah 23:17 mean?

The prophet Isaiah has predicted the utter leveling of the port city of Tyre. This will be the Lord's judgment for her pride and self-glorification (Isaiah 23:1–12). Here, he describes her return to status as one of the world's premier shipping and trading cities after seventy years of being forgotten and ignored (Isaiah 23:15–16). However, Isaiah is not using the marketing language one might expect for Tyre's grand re-opening. He has described the city's return to her "wages" as a form of prostitution. He is presenting the city as one hiring themselves out to all the kingdoms of the world for their trading and shipping needs in the region of Phoenicia.

This message isn't meant, at all, to imply that all successful business endeavors are like prostitution. Carrying out one's business with integrity, wisdom, and generosity is praised in the Bible. Something about Tyre's specific business practices, and her attitude of being willing to do anything for money, is what caused the people of this city to be compared to a prostitute.

Isaiah's prophecy about the city's return takes a surprisingly positive turn in the following verse (Isaiah 23:18).
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app:
BibleRef.com is part of Got Questions Ministries

For answers to your Bible questions, please visit