Isaiah 23:1

Bible in Basic English (1941)

The word about Tyre. Let a cry of sorrow go up, O ships of Tarshish, because your strong place is made waste; on the way back from the land of Kittim the news is given to them.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

מַשָּׂ֖א צֹ֑ר הֵילִ֣ילוּ ׀ אֳנִיּ֣וֹת תַּרְשִׁ֗ישׁ כִּֽי־שֻׁדַּ֤ד מִבַּ֙יִת֙ מִבּ֔וֹא מֵאֶ֥רֶץ כִּתִּ֖ים נִגְלָה־לָֽמוֹ׃

Transliteration

Maśśā Ṣōr hêlîlû ʾŏnîyôt Taršîš kî-šuddad mibbayit mibbôʾ from-ʾereṣ Kittîm niglāh-to-them

Grammar Details

• *Maśśā*: construct, masculine singular - burden/oracle against
• *Ṣōr*: proper noun - Tyre
• *hêlîlû*: imperative, masculine plural - wail/howl
• *ʾŏnîyôt*: noun, feminine plural - ships
• *Taršîš*: proper noun - Tarshish
• *kî*: conjunction - for/because
• *šuddad*: pual perfect, 3rd masculine singular - it is devastated/destroyed
• *mibbayit*: preposition + noun - from house/home
• *mibbôʾ*: preposition + infinitive construct - from entering/coming
• *ʾereṣ*: noun, feminine singular construct - land of
• *Kittîm*: proper noun - Kittim/Cyprus/Mediterranean islands
• *niglāh*-*lāmô*: niphal perfect, 3rd masculine singular + preposition with 3rd masculine plural suffix - it is revealed to them

Word Meanings

• *Maśśā*: burden/oracle/pronouncement/prophecy
• *šuddad*: destroyed/devastated/laid waste
• *mibbayit*: from house/without a house/from port
• *mibbôʾ*: from entering/from harbor/from haven
• *Kittîm*: Cyprus/Mediterranean coast/Greek islands
• *niglāh*-*lāmô*: it is revealed/disclosed/made known to them

Referenced Verses

• Joel 3:4-8 : 4 The sun will be made dark and the moon turned to blood, before the great day of the Lord comes, a day to be feared. 5 And it will be that whoever makes his prayer to the name of the Lord will be kept safe: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem some will be kept safe, as the Lord has said, and will be among the small band marked out by the Lord. 6 For in those days and in that time, when I let the fate of Judah and Jerusalem be changed, 7 I will get together all the nations, and make them come down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and there I will take up with them the cause of my people and of my heritage Israel, whom they have sent wandering among the nations, and of my land which has been parted by them. 8 And they have put the fate of my people to the decision of chance: giving a boy for the price of a loose woman and a girl for a drink of wine.
• Amos 1:9-9 : 9 These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Tyre, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they gave up all the people prisoners to Edom, without giving a thought to the brothers' agreement between them. 10 And I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, burning up its great houses.
• Gen 10:4 : 4 And the sons of Javan: Elishah and Tarshish, the Kittim and the Dodanim.
• Isa 2:16 : 16 And on all the ships of Tarshish, and on all the fair boats.
• Jer 25:22 : 22 And all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the lands across the sea;
• Jer 47:4 : 4 Because of the day which is coming with destruction on all the Philistines, cutting off from Tyre and Zidon the last of their helpers: for the Lord will send destruction on the Philistines, the rest of the sea-land of Caphtor.
• Isa 23:12 : 12 And he said, There is no more joy for you, O crushed virgin daughter of Zidon: up! go over to Kittim; even there you will have no rest.
• 1 Kgs 10:22 : 22 For the king had Tarshish-ships at sea with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the Tarshish-ships came with gold and silver and ivory and monkeys and peacocks.
• 1 Kgs 22:48 : 48 And the representative of King Jehoshaphat made a Tarshish-ship to go to Ophir for gold, but it did not go, because it was broken at Ezion-geber.
• Zech 9:2-4 : 2 As well as Hamath, which is by its limit, and Tyre and Zidon, because they are very wise. 3 And Tyre made for herself a strong place, and got together silver like dust and the best gold like the earth of the streets. 4 See, the Lord will take away her heritage, overturning her power in the sea; and she will be burned up with fire.
• Jer 2:10 : 10 For go over to the sea-lands of Kittim and see; send to Kedar and give deep thought to it; and see if there has ever been such a thing.
• Jer 25:10-11 : 10 And more than this, I will take from them the sound of laughing voices, the voice of joy, the voice of the newly-married man, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the stones crushing the grain, and the shining of lights. 11 All this land will be a waste and a cause of wonder; and these nations will be the servants of the king of Babylon for seventy years.
• Jer 25:15 : 15 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said to me: Take the cup of the wine of this wrath from my hand, and make all the nations to whom I send you take of it.
• Rev 18:17-19 : 17 For in one hour such great wealth has come to nothing. And every shipmaster, and all who are sailing on the sea, and sailors and all who get their living by the sea, were watching from far away, 18 And crying out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What town is like the great town? 19 And they put dust on their heads, and were sad, weeping and crying, and saying, Sorrow, sorrow for the great town, in which was increased the wealth of all who had their ships on the sea because of her great stores! for in one hour she is made waste.
• Rev 18:22-23 : 22 And the voice of players and makers of music will never again be sounding in you: and no worker, expert in art, will ever again be living in you; and there will be no sound of the crushing of grain any more at all in you; 23 And never again will the shining of lights be seen in you; and the voice of the newly-married man and the bride will never again be sounding in you: for your traders were the lords of the earth, and by your evil powers were all the nations turned out of the right way.
• 2 Chr 9:21 : 21 For the king had Tarshish-ships sailing with the servants of Huram: once every three years the Tarshish-ships came back with gold and silver, ivory and monkeys and peacocks.
• Ps 48:7 : 7 By you the ships of Tarshish are broken as by an east wind.
• Num 24:24 : 24 But ships will come from the direction of Kittim, troubling Asshur and troubling Eber, and like the others their fate will be destruction.
• Josh 19:29 : 29 And the limit goes round to Ramah and the walled town of Tyre and Hosah, ending at the sea by Heleb and Achzib;
• 1 Kgs 5:1 : 1 Now Hiram, king of Tyre, hearing that Solomon had been made king in place of his father, sent his servants to him; for Hiram had ever been a friend to David.
• Isa 24:10 : 10 The town is waste and broken down: every house is shut up, so that no man may come in.
• Isa 60:9 : 9 Vessels of the sea-lands are waiting for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, so that your sons may come from far, and their silver and gold with them, to the place of the name of the Lord your God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he has made you beautiful.
• Isa 15:1-2 : 1 The word about Moab. For in a night Ar of Moab has become waste, and is seen no longer; for in a night Kir of Moab has become waste, and is seen no longer. 2 The daughter of Dibon has gone up to the high places, weeping: Moab is sounding her cry of sorrow over Nebo, and over Medeba: everywhere the hair of the head and of the face is cut off.
• Isa 15:8 : 8 For the cry has gone round the limits of Moab; as far as to Eglaim and Beer-elim.
• Ezek 26:1-28:24 : 1 Now in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, Aha, she who was the doorway of the peoples is broken; she is turned over to them; she who was full is made waste; 3 For this cause the Lord has said, See, I am against you, O Tyre, and will send up a number of nations against you as the sea sends up its waves. 4 And they will give the walls of Tyre to destruction and have its towers broken: and I will take even her dust away from her, and make her an uncovered rock 5 She will be a place for the stretching out of nets in the middle of the sea; for I have said it, says the Lord: and her goods will be given over to the nations. 6 And her daughters in the open country will be put to the sword: and they will be certain that I am the Lord. 7 For this is what the Lord has said: See, I will send up from the north Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre, with horses and war-carriages and with an army and great numbers of people. 8 He will put to the sword your daughters in the open country: he will make strong walls against you and put up an earthwork against you, arming himself for war against you. 9 He will put up his engines of war against your walls, and your towers will be broken down by his axes. 10 Because of the number of his horses you will be covered with their dust: your walls will be shaking at the noise of the horsemen and of the wheels and of the war-carriages, when he comes through your doorways, as into a town which has been broken open. 11 Your streets will be stamped down by the feet of his horses: he will put your people to the sword, and will send down the pillars of your strength to the earth. 12 They will take by force all your wealth and go off with the goods with which you do trade: they will have your walls broken down and all the houses of your desire given up to destruction: they will put your stones and your wood and your dust deep in the water. 13 I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your instruments of music will be gone for ever. 14 I will make you an uncovered rock: you will be a place for the stretching out of nets; there will be no building you up again: for I the Lord have said it, says the Lord. 15 This is what the Lord has said to Tyre: Will not the sea-lands be shaking at the sound of your fall, when the wounded give cries of pain, when men are put to the sword in you? 16 Then all the rulers of the sea will come down from their high seats, and put away their robes and take off their clothing of needlework: they will put on the clothing of grief, they will take their seats on the earth, shaking with fear every minute and overcome with wonder at you. 17 And they will send up a song of grief for you, and say to you, What destruction has come on you, how are you cut off from the sea, the noted town, which was strong in the sea, she and her people, causing the fear of them to come on all the dry land! 18 Now the sea-lands will be shaking in the day of your fall; and all the ships on the sea will be overcome with fear at your going. 19 For this is what the Lord has said: I will make you a waste town, like the towns which are unpeopled; when I make the deep come upon you, covering you with great waters. 20 Then I will make you go down with those who go down into the underworld, to the people of the past, causing your living-place to be in the deepest parts of the earth, in places long unpeopled, with those who go down into the deep, so that there will be no one living in you; and you will have no glory in the land of the living. 21 I will make you a thing of fear, and you will come to an end: even if you are looked for, you will not be seen again for ever, says the Lord. 1 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 And you, son of man, make a song of grief for Tyre; 3 And say to Tyre, O you who are seated at the doorway of the sea, trading for the peoples with the great sea-lands, these are the words of the Lord: You, O Tyre, have said, I am a ship completely beautiful. 4 Your builders have made your outlines in the heart of the seas, they have made you completely beautiful. 5 They have made all your boards of fir-trees from Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make the supports for your sails. 6 Of oak-trees from Bashan they have made your driving blades; they have made your floors of ivory and boxwood from the sea-lands of Kittim. 7 The best linen with needlework from Egypt was your sail, stretched out to be a flag for you; blue and purple from the sea-lands of Elishah gave you shade. 8 The people of Zidon and Arvad were your boatmen; the wise men of Zemer were in you; they were guiding your ships; 9 The responsible men of Gebal and its wise men were in you, making your boards watertight: all the ships of the sea with their seamen were in you trading in your goods. 10 Cush and Lud and Put were in your army, your men of war, hanging up their body-covers and head-dresses of war in you: they gave you your glory. 11 The men of Arvad in your army were on your walls, and were watchmen in your towers, hanging up their arms on your walls round about; they made you completely beautiful. 12 Tarshish did business with you because of the great amount of your wealth; they gave silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods. 13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders; they gave living men and brass vessels for your goods. 14 The people of Togarmah gave horses and war-horses and transport beasts for your goods. 15 The men of Rodan were your traders: a great number of sea-lands did business with you: they gave you horns of ivory and ebony as an offering. 16 Edom did business with you because of the great number of things which you made; they gave emeralds, purple, and needlework, and the best linen and coral and rubies for your goods. 17 Judah and the land of Israel were your traders; they gave grain of Minnith and sweet cakes and honey and oil and perfume for your goods. 18 Damascus did business with you because of the great amount of your wealth, with wine of Helbon and white wool. 19 ... for your goods: they gave polished iron and spices for your goods. 20 Dedan did trade with you in cloths for the backs of horses. 21 Arabia and all the rulers of Kedar did business with you; in lambs and sheep and goats, in these they did business with you. 22 The traders of Sheba and Raamah did trade with you; they gave the best of all sorts of spices and all sorts of stones of great price and gold for your goods. 23 Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traders of Asshur and all the Medes: 24 These were your traders in beautiful robes, in rolls of blue and needlework, and in chests of coloured cloth, corded with cords and made of cedar-wood, in them they did trade with you. 25 Tarshish ships did business for you in your goods: and you were made full, and great was your glory in the heart of the seas. 26 Your boatmen have taken you into great waters: you have been broken by the east wind in the heart of the seas. 27 Your wealth and your goods, the things in which you do trade, your seamen and those guiding your ships, those who make your boards watertight, and those who do business with your goods, and all your men of war who are in you, with all who have come together in you, will go down into the heart of the seas in the day of your downfall. 28 At the sound of the cry of your ships' guides, the boards of the ship will be shaking. 29 And all the boatmen, the seamen and those who are expert at guiding a ship through the sea, will come down from their ships and take their places on the land; 30 And their voices will be sounding over you, and crying bitterly they will put dust on their heads, rolling themselves in the dust: 31 And they will have the hair of their heads cut off because of you, and will put haircloth on their bodies, weeping for you with bitter grief in their souls, even with bitter sorrow. 32 And in their weeping they will make a song of grief for you, sorrowing over you and saying, Who is like Tyre, who has come to an end in the deep sea? 33 When your goods went out over the seas, you made numbers of peoples full; the wealth of the kings of the earth was increased with your great wealth and all your goods. 34 Now that you are broken by the seas in the deep waters, your goods and all your people will go down with you. 35 All the people of the sea-lands are overcome with wonder at you, and their kings are full of fear, their faces are troubled. 36 Those who do business among the peoples make sounds of surprise at you; you have become a thing of fear, you have come to an end for ever. 1 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, This is what the Lord has said: Because your heart has been lifted up, and you have said, I am a god, I am seated on the seat of God in the heart of the seas; but you are man and not God, though you have made your heart as the heart of God: 3 See, you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret which is deeper than your knowledge: 4 By your wisdom and deep knowledge you have got power for yourself, and put silver and gold in your store-houses: 5 By your great wisdom and by your trade your power is increased, and your heart is lifted up because of your power: 6 For this cause the Lord has said: Because you have made your heart as the heart of God, 7 See, I am sending against you strange men, feared among the nations: they will let loose their swords against your bright wisdom, they will make your glory a common thing. 8 They will send you down to the underworld, and your death will be the death of those who are put to the sword in the heart of the seas. 9 Will you say, in the face of those who are taking your life, I am God? but you are man and not God in the hands of those who are wounding you. 10 Your death will be the death of those who are without circumcision, by the hands of men from strange lands: for I have said it, says the Lord. 11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 Son of man, make a song of grief for the king of Tyre, and say to him, This is what the Lord has said: You are all-wise and completely beautiful; 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every stone of great price was your clothing, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the emerald and the carbuncle: your store-houses were full of gold, and things of great price were in you; in the day when you were made they were got ready. 14 I gave you your place with the winged one; I put you on the mountain of God; you went up and down among the stones of fire. 15 There has been no evil in your ways from the day when you were made, till sin was seen in you. 16 Through all your trading you have become full of violent ways, and have done evil: so I sent you out shamed from the mountain of God; the winged one put an end to you from among the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was lifted up because you were beautiful, you made your wisdom evil through your sin: I have sent you down, even to the earth; I have made you low before kings, so that they may see you. 18 By all your sin, even by your evil trading, you have made your holy places unclean; so I will make a fire come out from you, it will make a meal of you, and I will make you as dust on the earth before the eyes of all who see you. 19 All who have knowledge of you among the peoples will be overcome with wonder at you: you have become a thing of fear, and you will never be seen again. 20 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 Son of man, let your face be turned to Zidon, and be a prophet against it, and say, 22 These are the words of the Lord: See, I am against you, O Zidon; and I will get glory for myself in you: and they will be certain that I am the Lord, when I send my punishments on her, and I will be seen to be holy in her. 23 And I will send on her disease and blood in her streets; and the wounded will be falling in the middle of her, and the sword will be against her on every side; and they will be certain that I am the Lord. 24 And there will no longer be a plant with sharp points wounding the children of Israel, or a thorn troubling them among any who are round about them, who put shame on them; and they will be certain that I am the Lord.
• Dan 11:30 : 30 For those who go out from the west will come against him, and he will be in fear and will go back, full of wrath against the holy agreement; and he will do his pleasure: and he will go back and be united with those who have given up the holy agreement.