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Thursday, July 17th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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THE MESSAGE

Isaiah 23:2

This verse is not available in the MSG!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Commerce;   Merchant;   Sidon;   Tarshish;   Thompson Chain Reference - Quietness;   Quietness-Tumult;   Stillness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Sidonians, the;   Tyre;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Isle, Island;   Merchant;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Preaching;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Zidon;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Chittim;   Sidon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Cyprus;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Isaiah, Book of;   Island, Isle;   Tyre;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Tarshish, Tharshish;   Zidon, Sidon ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Nile;   Tyre;   Zidon;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Isle;   Zi'don,;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Island;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Canaanites, the;   Tyre;   Zidon (Sidon);  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Mourn, inhabitants of the coastland,you merchants of Sidon;your agents have crossed the sea
Hebrew Names Version
Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you whom the merchants of Tzidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
King James Version
Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
English Standard Version
Be still, O inhabitants of the coast; the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.
New American Standard Bible
Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon; Your messengers crossed the sea
New Century Version
Be silent, you who live on the island of Tyre; you merchants of Sidon, be silent. Sailors have made you rich.
Amplified Bible
Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon; Your messengers crossed the sea
World English Bible
Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Be still, yee that dwell in the yles: the marchantes of Zidon, and such as passe ouer the sea, haue replenished thee.
Legacy Standard Bible
Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,You merchants of Sidon;Your messengers crossed the sea
Berean Standard Bible
Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched.
Contemporary English Version
Mourn in silence, you shop owners of Sidon, you people on the coast. Your sailors crossed oceans, making your city rich.
Complete Jewish Bible
Silence, you who live on the coast, you who have been enriched by the merchants of Tzidon crossing the sea.
Darby Translation
Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle! The merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished thee.
Easy-to-Read Version
You people living near the sea, mourn in silence. The merchants of Sidon sent traders across the sea and filled the city with riches.
George Lamsa Translation
Be still, O inhabitants of the islands, the merchants of Zidon that passed over the sea.
Good News Translation
Wail, you merchants of Sidon! You sent agents
Lexham English Bible
Be still, inhabitants of the coast, merchant of Sidon, who travels over the sea, they filled you.
Literal Translation
Be still, ones living in the coast, trader of Sidon crossing the sea; they have filled you.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The Indwellers of the Ilondes, the marchauntes of Sidon, and they that occupied the see (of whom thou wast ful somtyme) are at a poynte.
American Standard Version
Be still, ye inhabitants of the coast, thou whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
Bible in Basic English
Send out a cry of grief, you men of the sea-land, traders of Zidon, who go over the sea, whose representatives are on great waters;
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Be still, ye inhabitants of the coast-land; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
King James Version (1611)
Be still, yee inhabitants of the yle, thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that passe ouer the sea, haue replenished.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Be styll ye that dwell in the Isle, the marchauntes of Zidon, & such as passe ouer the sea haue made thee plenteous.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
To whom are the dwellers in the island become like, the merchants of Phoenice, passing over the sea
English Revised Version
Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Be ye stille, that dwellen in the ile, the marchaundie of Sidon; men passynge the see filliden thee in many watris;
Update Bible Version
Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, O merchants of Sidon, your messengers passed over the sea.
Webster's Bible Translation
Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
New English Translation
Lament, you residents of the coast, you merchants of Sidon who travel over the sea, whose agents sail over
New King James Version
Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland,You merchants of Sidon,Whom those who cross the sea have filled. [fn]
New Living Translation
Mourn in silence, you people of the coast and you merchants of Sidon. Your traders crossed the sea,
New Life Bible
Be quiet, you people who live on the islands, you traders of Sidon. You sent men to cross the sea
New Revised Standard
Be still, O inhabitants of the coast, O merchants of Sidon, your messengers crossed over the sea
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Be dumb, ye inhabitants of the Coast, - Whom the merchants of Zidon, passing over the sea, once replenished;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Be silent, you that dwell in the island: the merchants of Sidon passing over the sea, have filled thee.
Revised Standard Version
Be still, O inhabitants of the coast, O merchants of Sidon; your messengers passed over the sea
Young's Literal Translation
Be silent, ye inhabitants of the isle, Trader of Zidon, passing the sea, they filled thee.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon; Your messengers crossed the sea

Contextual Overview

1 Wail, ships of Tarshish, your strong seaports all in ruins! When the ships returned from Cyprus, they saw the destruction. Hold your tongue, you who live on the seacoast, merchants of Sidon. Your people sailed the deep seas, buying and selling, Making money on wheat from Shihor, grown along the Nile— multinational broker in grains! Hang your head in shame, Sidon. The Sea speaks up, the powerhouse of the ocean says, "I've never had labor pains, never had a baby, never reared children to adulthood, Never gave life, never worked with life. It was all numbers, dead numbers, profit and loss." 5 When Egypt gets the report on Tyre, what wailing! what wringing of hands! 6Visit Tarshish, you who live on the seacoast. Take a good, long look and wail—yes, cry buckets of tears! Is this the city you remember as energetic and alive, bustling with activity, this historic old city, Expanding throughout the globe, buying and selling all over the world? And who is behind the collapse of Tyre, the Tyre that controlled the world markets? Tyre's merchants were the business tycoons. Tyre's traders called all the shots. God -of-the-Angel-Armies ordered the crash to show the sordid backside of pride and puncture the inflated reputations. Sail for home, O ships of Tarshish. There are no docks left in this harbor. God reached out to the sea and sea traders, threw the sea kingdoms into turmoil. God ordered the destruction of the seacoast cities, the centers of commerce. God said, "There's nothing left here to be proud of, bankrupt and bereft Sidon. Do you want to make a new start in Cyprus? Don't count on it. Nothing there will work out for you either." 13 Look at what happened to Babylon: There's nothing left of it. Assyria turned it into a desert, into a refuge for wild dogs and stray cats. They brought in their big siege engines, tore down the buildings, and left nothing behind but rubble. 14 Wail, ships of Tarshish, your strong seaports all in ruins!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

still: Heb. silent, Isaiah 41:1, Isaiah 47:5, Psalms 46:10, Habakkuk 2:20

the isle: Ezekiel 27:3, Ezekiel 27:4, Ezekiel 28:2

the merchants: Ezekiel 27:8-36

Reciprocal: Joshua 19:28 - great Isaiah 23:6 - howl Isaiah 23:12 - daughter Ezekiel 28:21 - Zidon Acts 27:3 - Sidon

Cross-References

Genesis 13:18
Abram moved his tent. He went and settled by the Oaks of Mamre in Hebron. There he built an altar to God .
Genesis 23:14
Then Ephron answered Abraham, "If you insist, master. What's four hundred silver shekels between us? Now go ahead and bury your wife."
Genesis 23:16
Abraham accepted Ephron's offer and paid out the sum that Ephron had named before the town council of Hittites—four hundred silver shekels at the current exchange rate.
Genesis 27:41
Esau seethed in anger against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him; he brooded, "The time for mourning my father's death is close. And then I'll kill my brother Jacob."
Genesis 50:10
Arriving at the Atad Threshing Floor just across the Jordan River, they stopped for a period of mourning, letting their grief out in loud and lengthy lament. For seven days, Joseph engaged in these funeral rites for his father.
Joshua 20:7
They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hills of Naphtali, Shechem in the hills of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hills of Judah.
1 Samuel 28:3
Samuel was now dead. All Israel had mourned his death and buried him in Ramah, his hometown. Saul had long since cleaned out all those who held séances with the dead.
2 Samuel 1:17
Then David sang this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan, and gave orders that everyone in Judah learn it by heart. Yes, it's even inscribed in The Book of Jashar.
2 Samuel 5:3
All the leaders of Israel met with King David at Hebron, and the king made a treaty with them in the presence of God . And so they anointed David king over Israel.
Jeremiah 22:10
Don't weep over dead King Josiah. Don't waste your tears. Weep for his exiled son: He's gone for good. He'll never see home again.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle,.... Either the isles of Chittim, or other islands that traded with Tyre, the singular being put for the plural, called upon to grieve and mourn, because the city of their merchandise was destroyed, as Kimchi; or of Tyre itself, which being situated at some distance from the shore, was an island itself, until it was joined to the continent by Alexander q; and even old Tyre might be so called, it being usual in Scripture to call places by the seashore isles; and besides, old Tyre included in it new Tyre, the island, as Pliny r suggests; who are instructed to be silent as mourners, and to cease from the hurries of business, which they would be obliged to, and not boast of their power and wealth, as they had formerly done, or attempt to defend themselves, which would be in vain:

thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished; Zidon was a very ancient city of Phoenicia, more ancient than Tyre; for Tyre was a colony of the Zidonians, and built by them, and so might be said to be replenished by them with men from the first, as it also was with mariners, Ezekiel 27:8 and likewise with merchants and wares, they being a trading and seafaring people; wherefore they are spoken of as merchants, and as passing over the sea: or this may be understood of the isles replenished with goods by the merchants of Tyre and Zidon, but now no more, and therefore called to mourning.

q Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 19. r Ibid.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Be still - This is the description of a city which is destroyed, where the din of commerce, and the sound of revelry is no longer heard. It is an address of the prophet to Tyre, indicating that it would be soon still, and destroyed.

Ye inhabitants of the isle - (of Tyre). The word ‘isle’ (אי 'iy) is sometimes used to denote a “coast or maritime region” (see the note at Isaiah 20:6), but there seems no reason to doubt that here it means the island on which New Tyre was erected. This may have been occupied even before Old Tyre was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, though the main city was on the crest.

Thou whom the merchants of Zidon - Tyre was a colony from Sidon; and the merchants of Sidon would trade to Tyre as well as to Sidon.

Have replenished - Hebrew, ‘have filled,’ that is, with merchandise, and with wealth. Thus, in Ezekiel 27:8, Tyre is represented as having derived its seamen from Sidon: ‘Theinhabitants of Sidon and of Arvad were thy mariners.’ And in Ezekiel 27:9-23, Tyre is represented as having been filled with shipbuilders, merchants, mariners, soldiers, etc., from Gebal, Persia, Lud, Phut, Tarshish, Jayvan, Tubal, Mesheck, Dedan, Syria, Damascus, Arabia, etc.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 23:2. Be still - "Be silent"] Silence is a mark of grief and consternation. See Isaiah 47:5. Jeremiah has finely expressed this image: -

"The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the

ground, they are silent:

They have cast up dust on their heads, they

have girded themselves with sackcloth.

The virgins of Jerusalem hang down their

heads to the ground."

Lamentations 2:10.


 
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