2tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for it is destroyed, from a house, from entering.” The translation assumes that the mem (מ) on בַּיִת (bayit) was originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. This assumption allows one to take בַּיִת as the subject of the preceding verb. It is used in a metaphorical sense for the port city of Tyre. The preposition min (מִן) prefixed to בּוֹא (bo’) indicates negative consequence: “so that no one can enter.” See BDB 583 s.v. מִן 7.b.

3tn Heb “the Kittim,” a designation for the people of Cyprus. See HALOT 504-05 s.v. כִּתִּיִּים.

4tn Or “keep quiet”; NAB “Silence!”

5map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

6tc The Hebrew text (23:2b-3a) reads literally, “merchant of Sidon, the one who crosses the sea, they filled you, and on the deep waters.” Instead of מִלְאוּךְ (mil’ukh, “they filled you”) the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads מלאכיך (“your messengers”). The translation assumes an emendation of מִלְאוּךְ to מַלְאָכָו (mal’akhav, “his messengers”), taking the vav (ו) on וּבְמַיִם (uv˙mayim) as improperly placed; instead it should be the final letter of the preceding word.

7tn Heb “seed of Shihor.” “Shihor” probably refers to the east branch of the Nile. See Jer 2:18 and BDB 1009 s.v. שִׁיחוֹר.

8tn Heb “the harvest of the Nile.”

9tn Heb “[is] her revenue.”

10tn Heb “merchandise”; KJV, ASV “a mart of nations”; NLT “the merchandise mart of the world.”

11tn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:430-31) sees here a reference to Yam, the Canaanite god of the sea. He interprets the phrase מָעוֹז הַיָּם (ma’oz hayyam, “fortress of the sea”) as a title of Yam, translating “Mighty One of the Sea.” A more traditional view is that the phrase refers to Sidon.

12tn Or “virgins” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).

sn The sea is personified here as a lamenting childless woman. The foreboding language anticipates the following announcement of Tyre’s demise, viewed here as a child of the sea, as it were.

13tn Heb “they will be in pain at the report of Tyre.”

14tn Heb “Is this to you, boisterous one?” The pronoun “you” is masculine plural, like the imperatives in v. 6, so it is likely addressed to the Egyptians and residents of the coast. “Boisterous one” is a feminine singular form, probably referring to the personified city of Tyre.

15tn Heb “in the days of antiquity [is] her beginning.”

16tn The precise meaning of הַמַּעֲטִירָה (hamma’atirah) is uncertain. The form is a Hiphil participle from עָטַר (’atar), a denominative verb derived from עֲטָרָה (’atarah, “crown, wreath”). The participle may mean “one who wears a crown” or “one who distributes crowns.” In either case, Tyre’s prominence in the international political arena is in view.

17tn Heb “the honored” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “renowned.”

18tn Heb “the pride of all the beauty.”

19tc This meaning of this verse is unclear. The Hebrew text reads literally, “Cross over your land, like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish, there is no more waistband.” The translation assumes an emendation of מֵזַח (mezakh, “waistband”) to מָחֹז (makhoz, “harbor, marketplace”; see Ps 107:30). The term עָבַר (’avar, “cross over”) is probably used here of traveling over the water (as in v. 6). The command is addressed to personified Tarshish, who here represents her merchants. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has עבדי (“work, cultivate”) instead of עִבְרִי (’ivri, “cross over”). In this case one might translate “Cultivate your land, like they do the Nile region” (cf. NIV, CEV). The point would be that the people of Tarshish should turn to agriculture because they will no longer be able to get what they need through the marketplace in Tyre.

20tn Heb “his hand he stretched out over the sea.”

21tn Heb “the Lord.” For stylistic reasons the pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation here.

22tn Heb “concerning Canaan, to destroy her fortresses.” NIV, NLT translate “Canaan” as “Phoenicia” here.

23tn Or “violated, raped,” the point being that Daughter Sidon has lost her virginity in the most brutal manner possible.

24tn Heb “[to the] Kittim, get up, cross over; even there there will be no rest for you.” On “Kittim” see the note on “Cyprus” at v. 1.

25tn Heb “this people [that] is not.”

26tn For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 118 s.v. *בַּחוּן.

27tn Or “laid bare.” For the meaning of this word, see HALOT 889 s.v. ערר.

28sn This verse probably refers to the Assyrian destruction of Babylon.

29tn Heb “ships of Tarshish.” See the note at v. 1.

30tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

31sn The number seventy is probably used in a stereotypical, nonliteral sense here to indicate a long period of time that satisfies completely the demands of God’s judgment.

32tn Heb “like the days of a king.”

33tn Heb “At the end of seventy years it will be for Tyre like the song of the prostitute.”

34tn Heb “so you will be remembered.”

35tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

36tn Heb “visit [with favor]” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “will deal with.”

37tn Heb “and she will return to her [prostitute’s] wages and engage in prostitution with all the kingdoms of the earth on the face of the earth.”

38tn Heb “for eating to fullness and for beautiful covering[s].”

sn The point of this verse, which in its blatant nationalism comes precariously close to comparing the Lord to one who controls or manages a prostitute, is that Tyre will become a subject of Israel and her God. Tyre’s commercial profits will be used to enrich the Lord’s people.