Isaiah 23:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Is this your exultant city whose origin is from days of old, whose feet carried her to settle far away?

NIV: Is this your city of revelry, the old, old city, whose feet have taken her to settle in far-off lands?

NASB: Is this your jubilant city, Whose origin is from antiquity, Whose feet used to bring her to colonize distant places?

CSB: Is this your jubilant city, whose origin was in ancient times, whose feet have taken her to reside far away?

NLT: Is this silent ruin all that is left of your once joyous city? What a long history was yours! Think of all the colonists you sent to distant places.

KJV: Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.

NKJV: Is this your joyous city, Whose antiquity is from ancient days, Whose feet carried her far off to dwell?

There can be no mistaking the shock and bafflement of Tarshish—and others—after hearing the great port city of Tyre could truly be destroyed (Isaiah 23:6). Like most in the world, Tarshish saw Tyre as a city full of life and excitement. Like many other port cities, Tyre would have bustled with activity as diverse travelers from far and wide made their way through the streets. The idea of such a place being gone would be hard to grasp. Tyre was an ancient city that had seemingly always been there. A human perspective makes it hard to imagine the disappearance of things that have been always around in our world .

To add to the prophecy's point, the people of Tyre weren't just traders. They became known around the world because they kept spreading out. It is likely they planted colonies at places across the sea to establish a foothold for more trade opportunities in more places. Tyre's influence reached across the world. It was hard to fathom they were just gone. It would be as shocking as if one of the great cities of the world today was suddenly wiped from the earth, never to be heard from again in our lifetimes.

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).