Isaiah 23:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Cross over your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint anymore.

NIV: Till your land as they do along the Nile, Daughter Tarshish, for you no longer have a harbor.

NASB: Overflow your land like the Nile, you daughter of Tarshish, There is no more restraint.

CSB: Overflow your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish; there is no longer anything to restrain you.

NLT: Come, people of Tarshish, sweep over the land like the flooding Nile, for Tyre is defenseless.

KJV: Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.

NKJV: Overflow through your land like the River, O daughter of Tarshish; There is no more strength.

For various reasons, ancient Hebrew can be especially difficult to translate. At times, phrases are combined such that scholars disagree on precisely what it means. This verse is one such example. Context provides some help but doesn't give a perfect answer. Isaiah has been describing the destruction of Tyre and all it means for the world (Isaiah 23:1–7). Tarshish was one of Tyre's main trading partners. The people of Tarshish will be shocked and saddened by the loss of Tyre.

The prophet tells the people of Tarshish to cross over their land "like the Nile" because the restraint, or constraint, has ended. It's possible Isaiah is saying that Tarshish is now free to cross over their land to find other trading partners. Another possibility is that Isaiah is warning the people of Tarshish to turn to farming: moving over the land just as people farm along the Nile River in Egypt. This interpretation could be because ships will not be coming from Tyre, any longer.

The message is "about" Tarshish and Tyre, but it is being "given" to Judah. For that reason, it's not essential to know exactly what the prophecy means. What's clear about the Lord's message to the world, and especially to Judah, that no nation or city is self-existing. Endless prosperity is not guaranteed. The Lord can step into human history at any moment to bring down the proud and uplift the humble (1 Peter 5:6).

Chapter 23:1–12 describes the aftermath of the Lord's judgment against Tyre. The passage makes it clear that God is bringing this doom because the city's pride. The command which the Lord gives is absolute and cannot be avoided. Upcoming passages will compare this ruin to a then-extinct civilization, the Chaldeans. Tyre will become a trading hub once again, but with much less glory and her wealth will be used to provide for the Lord's people.

Isaiah's final oracle against the nations describes the aftermath of God's judgment on the port city of Tyre. This city was a great center of trade and shipping in the world. The sailors returning will mourn when they get the news the city and its port is wiped out. The mourning will extend to the Phoenician people, the sea itself, the Egyptian grain industry, and the people of Tarshish. The prophet is clear that the Lord has done this in judgment against Tyre's pride. After 70 years of being forgotten, Tyre will thrive again as a prostitute to the nations. The Lord's people will receive her wages.

Prior chapters included prophecies about the nations surrounding Israel. Most of these have been arranged to warn Israel not to assume those neighbors would make effective allies against God's judgment. Chapter 23 is the final of these "oracles." Tyre was a great center of shipping and trade on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel. When it is destroyed, it will be mourned all around the great sea. After this, the predictions expand to a worldwide focus, with implications for the end times.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).