Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon; Your messengers 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.
- 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.
- 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, daughter of the Chaldeans. For you shall no longer be called the mistress of kingdoms.
- Ezek 27:3–4and tell Tyre, you who dwell at the entry of the sea, who are the merchant of the peoples to many islands, thus says the Lord Yahweh: You, Tyre, have said, 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 in the earth.”
- Hab 2:20But Yahweh is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him!”
- Ezek 28:2Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the middle of the seas; yet you are man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God —
- Isa 41:1“Keep silent before me, islands, and let the peoples renew their strength. Let them come near, then let them speak. Let’s meet together for judgment.
- Ezek 27:8–36The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers: your wise men, Tyre, were in you, they were your 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
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