Isaiah 23:3

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
over deep water.Tyre’s revenue was the grain from Shihor—the harvest of the Nile.She was the merchant among the nations.

Hebrew Names Version
On great waters the seed of the Shichor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the market of nations.

King James Version
And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

English Standard Version
And on many waters your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.

New American Standard Bible
And were on many waters. The grain of the Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue; And she was the market of nations.

New Century Version
They traveled the sea to bring grain from Egypt; the sailors of Tyre brought grain from the Nile Valley and sold it to other nations.

Amplified Bible
And they were on great waters. The grain of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile River, was Tyre's revenue; And she was the market of nations.

World English Bible
On great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the market of nations.

Geneva Bible (1587)
The seede of Nilus growing by the abundance of waters, and the haruest of the riuer was her reuenues, and she was a marte of the nations.

Legacy Standard Bible
And were on many waters.The grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile was her revenue;And she was the nations' gain.

Berean Standard Bible
On the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre; she was the merchant of the nations.

Contemporary English Version
Your merchants sailed the seas, making you wealthy by trading with nation after nation. They brought back grain that grew along the Nile.

Complete Jewish Bible
By the great water the grain of Shichor, the harvest of the Nile, brought you profits. She was marketplace for the nations.

Darby Translation
And on great waters, the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the market of the nations.

Easy-to-Read Version
They traveled the seas looking for grain. The men from Tyre bought grain that grows near the Nile River and sold it to other nations.

George Lamsa Translation
Your commerce is on many waters, O offspring of merchants; the harvest of the river is her revenue, and she is a mart of nations.

Good News Translation
across the sea to buy and sell the grain that grew in Egypt and to do business with all the nations.

Lexham English Bible
And on the great waters is the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile is its produce, and she was the merchandise of the nations.

Literal Translation
And by great waters, the seed of Sihor and the harvest of the river Nile was her revenue; and she a mart of nations.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For by see were there frutes brought vnto the, and all maner of corne by water. Thou wast the comon marcket of al people.

American Standard Version
And on great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.

Bible in Basic English
Who get in the seed of Shihor, whose wealth is the trade of the nations.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And on great waters the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.

King James Version (1611)
And by great waters the seede of Sihor, the haruest of the riuer is her reuenew, and she is a mart of nations.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The corne that groweth by the great waters of Nilus, and the fruites of the riuer were her vittayles, so that it became a common mart of the nations.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
in great waters, a generation of merchants? as when the harvest is gathered in, so are these traders with the nations.

English Revised Version
And on great waters the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
the seed of Nylus is heruest, the flood is the corn therof, and it is maad the marchaundie of hethene men.

Update Bible Version
And on great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.

Webster's Bible Translation
And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, [is] her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

New English Translation
the deep waters! Grain from the Shihor region, crops grown near the Nile she receives; she is the trade center of the nations.

New King James Version
And on great waters the grain of Shihor,The harvest of the River, [fn] is her revenue;And she is a marketplace for the nations.

New Living Translation
sailing over deep waters. They brought you grain from Egypt and harvests from along the Nile. You were the marketplace of the world.

New Life Bible
and go on many waters. The grain of the Nile, that was gathered beside that River, made money for Tyre who was the trader of the nations.

New Revised Standard
and were on the mighty waters; your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Yea on mighty waters, was the grain of Shihor, The harvest of the Nile, was her increase, - And so she became a mart of nations.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The seed of the Nile in many waters, the harvest of the river is her revenue: and she is become the mart of the nations.

Revised Standard Version
and were on many waters; your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.

Young's Literal Translation
And in many waters [is] the seed of Sihor, The harvest of the brook [is] her increase, And she is a mart of nations.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And were on many waters. The grain of the Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue; And she was the market of nations.

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

Sihor: 1 Chronicles 13:5, Jeremiah 2:18

the harvest: Isaiah 32:20, Deuteronomy 11:10

she is: Isaiah 23:8, Ezekiel 27:33, Ezekiel 28:4, Joel 3:5, Revelation 18:11-13

Reciprocal: Isaiah 23:11 - against the merchant city Ezekiel 28:5 - and by

Cross-References

Genesis 10:15
Canaan had Sidon his firstborn, Heth, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanites spread out, going from Sidon toward Gerar, as far south as Gaza, and then east all the way over to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and on to Lasha.

Genesis 23:5
The Hittites responded, "Why, you're no mere outsider here with us, you're a prince of God! Bury your dead wife in the best of our burial sites. None of us will refuse you a place for burial."

Genesis 23:7
Then Abraham got up, bowed respectfully to the people of the land, the Hittites, and said, "If you're serious about helping me give my wife a proper burial, intercede for me with Ephron son of Zohar. Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah that he owns, the one at the end of his land. Ask him to sell it to me at its full price for a burial plot, with you as witnesses."

Genesis 27:46
Rebekah spoke to Isaac, "I'm sick to death of these Hittite women. If Jacob also marries a native Hittite woman, why live?"

1 Samuel 26:6
Taking charge, David spoke to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother: "Who will go down with me and enter Saul's camp?" Abishai whispered, "I'll go with you."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And by great waters the seed of Sihor,.... Sihor is the river Nile in Egypt; it had its name from the black colour of its waters, as in Jeremiah 2:18 hence called by the Greeks Melas, and by the Latins Melo: the "seed" of it intends what was sown and grew upon the banks of it, or was nourished by the overflow of this river throughout the land, and includes corn, flax, paper, c. with which Egypt abounded and when this is said to be "by great waters", the meaning either is, that it grew by great waters, the waters of the Nile, and through the influence of them; or that it came by great waters to Tyre; that is, by the waters of the sea, the Mediterranean Sea:

the harvest of the river [is] her revenue; this clause is the same with the former, and serves to explain it; the river is the river Nile, the harvest is the seed that was sown and grew by it, and which at the proper season, when ripe, was gathered from it, and carried in ships to Tyre, with which that city was supplied and enriched, as if it had been its own produce:

and she is a mart of nations; Tyre was a city to which all nations traded, it was a mart for them all, and where they brought their wares to sell, and always found a market for them, here they had vent. The twenty seventh chapter of Ezekiel Ezekiel 27:1 is a proper commentary on this clause.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And by great waters - That is, by the abundant-waters, or the overflowing of the Nile. Tyre was the mart to which the superabundant productions of Egypt were borne (see Ezekiel 27:0)

The seed of Sihor - There can be no doubt that by ‘Sihor’ here is meant the river Nile in Egypt (see Joshua 13:3; 1 Chronicles 13:5; Jeremiah 2:18). The word שׁחר shichor is derived from שׁחר shachar, “to be black” Job 30:30, and is given to the Nile from its color when it brings down the slime or mud by which Egypt is rendered so fertile. The Greeks gave to the river the name Μέλας Melas (“black”), and the Latins call it “Melo” - (Serv. ad Virg. “Geor.” iv. 291. It was called “Siris” by the Ethiopians; perhaps the same as Sihor. The upper branches of the Nile in Abyssinia all receive their names from the “color” of the water, and are called the White River, the Blue River, etc.

The harvest of the river - The productions caused by the overflowing of the river. Egypt was celebrated for producing grain, and Rome and Greece derived no small part of their supplies from that fertile country. It is also evident that the inhabitants of Palestine were early accustomed to go to Egypt in time of scarcity for supplies of grain (see Genesis 37:25, Genesis 37:28, and the history of Joseph, Gen. 41–43) That the “Tyrians” traded with Egypt is also well known. Herodotus (ii. 112) mentions one entire quarter of the city of Memphis that was inhabited by the Tyrians.

Is her revenue - Her resources are brought from thence.

She is a mart of nations - How true this was, see Ezekiel 27:0. No place was more favorably situated for commerce; and she had engrossed the trade nearly of all the world.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 23:3. The seed of Sihor - "The seed of the Nile"] The Nile is called here Shichor, as it is Jeremiah 2:18, and 1 Chronicles 13:5. It had this name from the blackness of its waters, charged with the mud which it brings down from Ethiopia when it overflows, Et viridem AEgyptum nigra fecundat arena; as it was called by the Greeks Melas, and by the Latins Melo, for the same reason. See Servius on the above line of Virgil, Georg. iv. 291. It was called Siris by the Ethiopians, by some supposed to be the same with Shichor. Egypt by its extraordinary fertility, caused by the overflowing of the Nile supplied the neighbouring nations with corn, by which branch of trade the Tyrians gained great wealth.