1 The oracle {massa: prophetic pronouncement} concerning Tyre {tsor: Phoenician port}: Wail, ships of Tarshish, for it has been devastated—no house, no entrance. From the land of Kittim it has been revealed to them.
2 Be still, inhabitants {yoshvei: settled community} of the island, O merchant {socher: maritime trader} of Sidon who crosses the sea; they have filled you.
3 And by great waters, the seed of Shichor {shichor: the river marking Egypt’s border}, the harvest of the Nile {yeor: Egypt’s principal river}, was her revenue; and she became the marketplace of nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon, for the sea, the stronghold of the sea, has spoken, saying, “I have not travailed {chalti: labored with pain}, nor have I given birth, nor have I raised young men, nor have I brought up virgins {betulot: unmarried maidens}.”
5 Just as when the report{shema: alarming news} comes to Egypt{mitsrayim: Nile kingdom}, they will writhe, so it will be at the report of Tyre.
6 Pass over to Tarshish {tarshish: seafaring haven}; wail, inhabitants of the coastland {i: distant shore}.
7 Is this your joyous city {allizah: city full of celebration}, whose origin is from days of old? Her feet will carry her far away to dwell as a sojourner {lagur: live as a temporary resident}.
8 Who has given this counsel against Tyre, the crowning {maatirah: bestower of crowns} city, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honored {nichbadei: highly esteemed} of the earth?
9 The LORD of hosts {YHWH Tsevaot, Supreme Commander} has purposed it to profane the pride {geon: exaltation} of all splendor and to make insignificant all who are honored on earth.
10 Pass through your land {eretz: homeland region} as the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint {mezach: rigid barrier} any longer.
11 He stretched out His hand over the sea and shook kingdoms; the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Commander} commanded against Canaan to destroy her strongholds {ma'uzneha: fortified places}.
12 And He {YHWH, Righteous Judge} said, “You shall no longer rejoice, O oppressed virgin, daughter of Sidon; arise, cross over to Kittim {kittim: Cyprus Outpost}—even there there shall be no rest for you.”
13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans {kasdim: southern Mesopotamian people}—this people did not exist; Assyria founded it for desert creatures, they set up its watchtowers, they stripped her palaces {armenoteha: royal residences}, and made it a ruin.
14 Wail, ships {oniyot: Maritime Vessels} of Tarshish, for your fortress {ma’uzken: Place of Strength} has been devastated.
15 And it will be in that day that Tyre {Tzor: major Phoenician port} will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will be for Tyre as the song of the prostitute {zonah: commercial prostitute}.
16 Take a harp, go around the city, O forgotten harlot {zonah: abandoned partner}, play music well, sing countless songs {harbi-shir: myriad songs}, so that you may be remembered.
17 And it will come to pass at the end of seventy years, the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Restorer} will attend to Tyre, and she will return to her hire and will commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the earth on the face of the ground {adamah: Physical Land}.
18 And her merchandise and her harlot’s pay will be holiness to the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Provider}; it will not be stored up or hoarded, for her merchandise will be for those who dwell before the LORD, for food in abundance {saveah: fullness}, and for enduring clothing.