Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth?
Parallel translations
- WEB Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth?
- KJV Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
- NKJV Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, Whose merchants are princes, Whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
- NASB ¶Who has planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?
- NLT Who has brought this disaster on Tyre, that great creator of kingdoms? Her traders were all princes, her merchants were nobles.
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
Who decreed such a fall for Tyre, whose merchants were princes and honored across the earth? The question prepares for the stunning answer that God Himself planned it.
Overview
Tyre crowned colonies and her traders ranked among the nobility of the world. The verse marvels that such an exalted power could be brought down. By framing it as a question, Isaiah sets up the declaration that this judgment came from the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ezek 28:2–6“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.
- Rev 18:8Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”
- Isa 36:9For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
- Deut 29:24–28So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
- Isa 10:8“Are not all my commanders kings?” he says.
- Ezek 28:12–18“Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
- Jer 50:44–45Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”
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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 23:8 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.