Isaiah 23:1
in Isaiah 23This is the burden against Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 Kittim it is revealed to them.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 23
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The burden of Tyre - (see the note at Isa 13:1) Howl - This is a highly poetic description of the destruction that was coming on Tyre. The ships of Tarshish traded there; and the prophet now addresses the ships, and calls upon them to lament because the commerce by which they had been enriched was to be destroyed, and they were to be thrown out of employ. Ye ships of Tarshish - (see the note at Isa 2:16).
This site's exposition
the burden against Tyre
on Isaiah 23:1-5
The last burden falls on Tyre, and the "ships of Tarshish" wail, for Tyre is "without house or harbor". Barnes and Delitzsch map the trade: "the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre". The sea itself speaks as a bereaved mother: "I have not been in labor".
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Chapter 23, Verse 1) The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of the sea; for the house is laid waste, from whence they come: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. Be silent, ye inhabitants of the island; thou merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished thee. And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, was her revenue; and she became the mart of nations. Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will scrape her dust from her and make her like the top of a rock. (Ezek. 26:2-4) As for the many nations that will overflow Tyre like the overflowing sea, in the following verses it is specifically stated: Behold, I will bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from the north, with horses, chariots, horsemen, and a great army and people. He will kill your daughters who are in the field with a sword; and he will surround you with fortifications; and he will gather a rampart around you and raise a shield against you; and he will temper vineyards and battering rams against your walls; and he will destroy your towers with his weapons; and other things that follow to the end of the vision. For in another prophecy, which is seen against the Egyptians, the same Scripture conceals: Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon made his army serve with great servitude against Tyre: every head was shaved, and every shoulder was shaved, and there was no payment given to him, nor to his army from Tyre (Ezek. XXIX). Through which it signifies that a mound was built up over a long time by the army of Babylon, so that what Alexander later did, uniting an island to the mainland, he attempted to do first. (Quint. Curt. lib. IV). […]
(Chapter 23, Verse 1) The Word of Tyre. As for our view on the burden or word and assumption of Tyre according to the Hebrews, we have already explained it in the book of ten Historical Visions. Now we will briefly go through every prophecy against Tyre according to the interpretation and version of the LXX. Tyre is called 'angustia' in the Hebrew language, and it is translated into our language as 'narrowness'. Therefore, every soul occupied by vices and evil thoughts can be called 'angustia'.
The Medieval Church1 voice
The burden of Tyre. In this part he threatens against the Tyrians, who were joined to the people of God by association in trade. And this is divided into two parts: first, he threatens the destruction which was carried out by Nabuchodonosor; in the second …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Tyre was, according to this prophecy, destroyed; first by Nebuchadnezzar, and afterwards by Alexander the great. And tho' this prophecy seemed directly to respect the former destruction, yet it seems to have some reference to the latter also; only it is intimated, that after seventy years, Tyre should recover some former power and glory, before her second and final destruction.
The burden of Tyre,.... Or a prophecy concerning the destruction of it.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Tyre--Hebrew, Tsur, that is, "Rock." ships of Tarshish--ships of Tyre returning from their voyage to Tarshish, or Tartessus in Spain, with which the Phœnicians had much commerce (Eze 27:12-25). "Ships of Tarshish" is a phrase also used of large and distant-voyaging merchant vessels (Isa 2:16;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+unbalanced-curly-quotes
The burden of Tyre - Tyre, a city on the coast of Syria, about lat. 32° N. was built two thousand seven hundred and sixty years before Christ. There were two cities of this name; one on the continent, and the other on an island, about half a mile from the shore; the city on the island was about four miles in circumference. Old Tyre resisted Nebuchadnezzar for thirteen years; then the inhabitants carried, so to speak, the city to the forementioned island, Isa 23:4. This new city held out against Alexander the Great for seven months; who, in order to take it, was obliged to fill up the channel which separated it from the main land. In a.d. 1289 it was totally destroyed by the sultan of Egypt; and now contains only a few huts, in which about fifty or sixty wretched families exist. This desolation was foretold by this prophet and by Ezekiel, one thousand nine hundred years before it took place! Howl, ye ships of Tarshish - This prophecy denounces the destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar. It opens with an address to the Tyrian negotiators and sailors at Tarshish, (Tartessus, in Spain), a place which, in the course of their trade, they greatly frequented. The news of the destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar is said to be brought to them from Chittim, the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean; “for the Tyrians,” says Jerome on Isa 23:6, “when they saw they had no other means of escaping, fled in their ships, and took refuge in Carthage and in the islands of the Ionian and Aegean sea.” From whence the news would spread and reach Tarshish; so also Jarchi on the same place. This seems to be the most probable interpretation of this verse.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Wail, ye ships of Tarshish who became wealthy through the merchants of Tyre, for the ships of Tarshish would bring merchandise to Tyre. Tarshish is the name of the sea.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The Burden Of The Cup Of Cursing, To Give Tyre To Drink. Howl, O ye that are embarking! in ships of the sea, because their havens are spoiled, so that none can enter in. From the land of Chittim it is coming upon them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַשָּׂ֖א | masa' | [the] oracle of | H4853 → | 66 times |
| צֹ֑ר | tzor | Tyre | H6865 → | 42 times |
| הֵילִ֣ילוּ׀ | heililu | wail | H3213 → | 30 times |
| אֳנִיּ֣וֹת | ʾoniyot | O ships of | H591 → | 31 times |
| תַּרְשִׁ֗ישׁ | tarshish | Tarshish | H8659 → | 28 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שֻׁדַּ֤ד | shudad | it has been devastated | H7703 → | 57 times |
| מִבַּ֙יִת֙ | mibayit | from house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| מִבּ֔וֹא | mibo' | from coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מֵאֶ֥רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כִּתִּ֖ים | kitim | Cyprus | H3794 → | |
| נִגְלָה־ | niglah- | it has been revealed | H1540 → | 186 times |
| לָֽמוֹ׃ | lamo | to them |
מַשָּׂ֖א[the] oracle of
masa'H4853 →66 times
צֹ֑רTyre
tzorH6865 →42 times
הֵילִ֣ילוּ׀wail
heililuH3213 →30 times
אֳנִיּ֣וֹתO ships of
ʾoniyotH591 →31 times
תַּרְשִׁ֗ישׁTarshish
tarshishH8659 →28 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
שֻׁדַּ֤דit has been devastated
shudadH7703 →57 times
מִבַּ֙יִת֙from house
mibayitH1004 →2046 times
מִבּ֔וֹאfrom coming
mibo'H935 →2568 times
מֵאֶ֥רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
כִּתִּ֖יםCyprus
kitimH3794 →
נִגְלָה־it has been revealed
niglah-H1540 →186 times
לָֽמוֹ׃to them
lamo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 25:22all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea;
it leads to
- Jeremiah 47:4
For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every remaining ally. Indeed, the LORD is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts…
- Ezekiel 32:30
All the leaders of the north and all the Sidonians are there; they went down in disgrace with the slain, despite the terror of their might. They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the…
- Jeremiah 47:4
Through
Isaiah 2:16against every ship of Tarshish, and against every stately vessel.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 10:22
For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
- Numbers 33:52
you must drive out before you all the inhabitants of the land, destroy all their carved images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places.
- Revelation 18:11
And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo—
- 1 Kings 10:22
Through
Genesis 10:4And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.
it leads to
- Numbers 24:24
Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will perish forever.”
- Daniel 11:30
Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to…
- Isaiah 23:12
He said, “You shall rejoice no more, O oppressed Virgin Daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus—even there you will find no rest.”
- Numbers 24:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Isaiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.