Isaiah 23 3

Isaiah 23:3 kjv

And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

Isaiah 23:3 nkjv

And on great waters the grain of Shihor, The harvest of the River, is her revenue; And she is a marketplace for the nations.

Isaiah 23:3 niv

On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre, and she became the marketplace of the nations.

Isaiah 23:3 esv

And on many waters your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.

Isaiah 23:3 nlt

sailing over deep waters.
They brought you grain from Egypt
and harvests from along the Nile.
You were the marketplace of the world.

Isaiah 23 verses

Isaiah 23 3 Meaning

This verse speaks of the immense destruction of Tyre, a powerful Phoenician city renowned for its trade and wealth. The abundance of ships and the ensuing lament signify a catastrophic loss, pointing to God's judgment upon its arrogance and exploitation. It highlights the divine power that can bring down even the most formidable earthly powers.

Isaiah 23 3 Context

This chapter, Isaiah 23, deals with a prophecy against Tyre. Tyre was a major commercial hub in the ancient world, situated on an island off the Phoenician coast, known for its maritime trade and immense wealth. The chapter describes Tyre's future downfall and the lamentations that will follow. This particular verse, Isaiah 23:3, follows the initial declaration of doom against Tyre, emphasizing the source of its destruction and the widespread impact of this event. The context is one of divine judgment against nations that display excessive pride and oppressor roles. Tyre's economic power was tied to its extensive network of ships and trade routes, and its downfall would be marked by the loss of this very infrastructure and its subsequent mourning.

Isaiah 23 3 Word Analysis

• "And upon": Conjunction and preposition linking the destruction to the entity of Tyre.
• "great": Hebrew: gadol (גָּדוֹל). Signifies magnitude, importance, or severity. In this context, it emphasizes the substantial nature of the destruction.
• "waters": Hebrew: mayim (מַיִם). Refers to the sea, reflecting Tyre's maritime dominance.
• "spake": Hebrew: amar (אָמַר). Indicates divine utterance or pronouncement.
• "the merchant": Hebrew: soche·re·yim (סֹחֲרִים). Denotes traders, specifically those involved in extensive commerce, a primary characteristic of Tyre.
• "of Sidon,": Refers to the Phoenician city of Sidon, a closely related city often mentioned with Tyre, or more broadly signifies the people from that region.
• "that passeth over": Hebrew: avar (עָבַר). Implies traversal, passage, or migration, suggesting the widespread reach of Tyre's merchants.
• "the sea,": Again, the expanse of water, underscoring the maritime nature of Tyre's commerce.
• "hath divers sorts": Hebrew: rib·bah (רִבָּה) – multiplied, increased. Hebrew: mik·meh (מִקְנֶה) – possession, cattle, merchandise. Together, they indicate vast quantities and diverse types of goods.
• "of thy merchandise.": Refers to the goods and wares that were the source of Tyre's prosperity and the object of its pride.

Word-Group Analysis

• "great waters": This phrase is consistently linked to maritime power and God's dominion over the sea in biblical passages (e.g., Psalm 107:23). For Tyre, the "great waters" were the source of their wealth and their sphere of influence.
• "the merchant...hath divers sorts of thy merchandise": This highlights Tyre's role as a major trading center. The "merchant" here might refer to Tyre itself as a collective entity, or its most prominent traders. The "divers sorts" speaks to the variety and abundance of goods, from raw materials to finished products, that fueled its economy. This extensive trade was also tied to its eventual judgment, as its prosperity was not always rooted in righteous dealings.

Isaiah 23 3 Bonus Section

The mention of "Sidon" alongside Tyre is significant. Historically, Sidon was a prominent Phoenician city, sometimes rivaling, sometimes allied with, and often considered older than Tyre. Including Sidon here amplifies the scope of the judgment, indicating a widespread condemnation of the Phoenician commercial enterprise when it deviated from God's principles. This judgment aligns with a broader prophetic pattern where coastal cities known for trade and naval power, like the Philistines or even Egypt (which had strong ties to Phoenician seafaring), faced divine retribution for their roles in worldly power structures and potential exploitation of weaker nations. The economic collapse of Tyre had ripple effects throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, demonstrating how deeply interconnected these societies were through trade, making the lament particularly widespread.

Isaiah 23 3 Commentary

This verse establishes that the source of Tyre's prosperity, the sea and its commerce, will become the very medium of its downfall. God declares through Isaiah that the influential merchants of Tyre, who traversed the seas with a vast array of goods, will witness its devastation. The word "divers sorts" points to the extensive trade that made Tyre wealthy and influential, but also possibly a source of pride and dependence that God would dismantle. The utterance directed at "the merchant of Sidon" might specifically include Sidon in the prophecy, or more likely, use it as representative of the wider Phoenician mercantile class of which Tyre was the pinnacle. This destruction was not random but a divine decree because Tyre's wealth and power led to arrogance and exploitation, a theme often addressed in prophetic judgment. The lamentation foretold is for the loss of this economic engine, affecting not just Tyre but potentially those who profited from or relied on its trade.