Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whose traders have crossed the sea.
Parallel translations
- WEB Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
- KJV Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
- NKJV Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon, Whom those who cross the sea have filled.
- NASB Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon; Your messengers crossed the sea
- NLT Mourn in silence, you people of the coast and you merchants of Sidon. Your traders crossed the sea,
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 coastlands and Sidon's merchants are summoned to stunned silence at Tyre's fall. The bustling trade that enriched them has been struck.
Overview
Tyre and Sidon, the great Phoenician ports, had grown wealthy by sea trade across the Mediterranean. Now their merchants are called to silent mourning. The verse exposes how quickly God can still the noise of a prosperous commercial world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 47:5“Sit in silence and go into darkness, O Daughter of Chaldea. For you will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms.
- Ezek 27:3–4Tell Tyre, who dwells at the gateway to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coasts, that this is what the Lord GOD says: You have said, O Tyre, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
- Ps 46:10“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.”
- Hab 2:20But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.
- Ezek 28:2“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.
- Isa 41:1“Be silent before Me, O islands, and let the peoples renew their strength. Let them come forward and testify; let us together draw near for judgment.
- Ezek 27:8–36The men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen. Your men of skill, O Tyre, were there as your captains.
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 23:2 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
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