Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your harbor has been destroyed!
Parallel translations
- WEB Howl, you ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste!
- KJV Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
- NKJV Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For your strength is laid waste.
- NASB Wail, you ships of Tarshish, For your stronghold is destroyed.
- NLT Wail, you ships of Tarshish, for your harbor is destroyed!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The trading ships of Tarshish are again called to wail because their stronghold lies in ruins. The refrain frames the whole oracle in lament.
Overview
Echoing verse 1, the renewed cry to howl marks the close of the judgment proper. The fortress that secured their trade is destroyed. Repetition drives home the certainty and finality of Tyre's downfall.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Isa 23:1This 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.
- Rev 18:11–19And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo—
- Isa 2:16against every ship of Tarshish, and against every stately vessel.
- Ezek 27:25–30The ships of Tarshish carried your merchandise. And you were filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea.
- Isa 23:6Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coastland!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 23:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.