Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
Parallel translations
- WEB Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
- BSB Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whose traders have crossed the sea.
- 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 47:5Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
- Ezek 27:3–4And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.
- Ps 46:10Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
- Hab 2:20But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
- Ezek 28:2Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
- Isa 41:1Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
- Ezek 27:8–36The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.
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
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.