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| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
Isaiah 23-27
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Prophecy against Tyre (Isaiah 23)
1 The burden against Tyre.
Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For it is laid waste,
So that there is no house, no harbor;
From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon,
Whom those who cross the sea have filled.
3 And on great waters the grain of Shihor,
The harvest of the River, is her revenue;
And she is a marketplace for the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon;
For the sea has spoken,
The strength of the sea, saying,
“I do not labor, nor bring forth children;
Neither do I rear young men,
Nor bring up virgins.”
5 When the report reaches Egypt,
They also will be in agony at the report of Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish;
Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland!
7 Is this your joyous city,
Whose antiquity is from ancient days,
Whose feet carried her far off to dwell?
8 Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city,
Whose merchants are princes,
Whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
9 The LORD of hosts has purposed it,
To bring to dishonor the pride of all glory,
To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
10 Overflow through your land like the River,
O daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more strength.
11 He stretched out His hand over the sea,
He shook the kingdoms;
The LORD has given a commandment against Canaan
To destroy its strongholds.
12 And He said, “You will rejoice no more,
O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, cross over to Cyprus;
There also you will have no rest.”
13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans,
This people which was not;
Assyria founded it for wild beasts of the desert.
They set up its towers,
They raised up its palaces,
And brought it to ruin.
14 Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For your strength is laid waste.
15 ¶ Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:
16 “Take a harp, go about the city,
You forgotten harlot;
Make sweet melody, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.”
17 ¶ And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the LORD will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
18 Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the LORD; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for fine clothing.
Tyre is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea just beyond the northern border of modern-day Israel. It was a trade city, perhaps even the mother of all trade cities in their day. Sidon (aka Zidon) was a sister port city approximately 20 miles up the coast. Tyre's fall is not prophesied here, but rather the interruption of their commerce for a period of 70 years (verses 15 and 17). This interruption could have occurred from around 700 B.C. to 630 B.C. when the Assyrians dominated the land and the local people. It is possible, however, that the 70 years interruption could have coincided with the 70 years of Jewish exile about which Jeremiah prophesied. If so, this period would have been from 605 B.C. until 535 B.C. Click here to read the summary on Jeremiah's prophecy regarding this 70-year exile. We really do not have historical validation to know precisely when this prophecy was fulfilled.
The "harlot" metaphor of verses 15-18 paints the picture of Tyre as an aging harlot who, at the end of the 70 years, isn't as popular as she once was. Here she is seen singing through the streets, presumably soliciting business, since they aren't lining up at her doors as in days of old.
A long prophecy against the whole earth (Isaiah 24-26)
24:1 Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste,
Distorts its surface
And scatters abroad its inhabitants.
2 And it shall be:
As with the people, so with the priest;
As with the servant, so with his master;
As with the maid, so with her mistress;
As with the buyer, so with the seller;
As with the lender, so with the borrower;
As with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered,
For the LORD has spoken this word.
4 The earth mourns and fades away,
The world languishes and fades away;
The haughty people of the earth languish.
5 The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants,
Because they have transgressed the laws,
Changed the ordinance,
Broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore the curse has devoured the earth,
And those who dwell in it are desolate.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned,
And few men are left.
7 The new wine fails, the vine languishes,
All the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The mirth of the tambourine ceases,
The noise of the jubilant ends,
The joy of the harp ceases.
9 They shall not drink wine with a song;
Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of confusion is broken down;
Every house is shut up, so that none may go in.
11 There is a cry for wine in the streets,
All joy is darkened,
The mirth of the land is gone.
12 In the city desolation is left,
And the gate is stricken with destruction.
13 When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people,
It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree,
Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.
14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing;
For the majesty of the LORD
They shall cry aloud from the sea.
15 Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light,
The name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs:
“Glory to the righteous!”
But I said, “I am ruined, ruined!
Woe to me!
The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously,
Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.”
17 Fear and the pit and the snare
Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall be
That he who flees from the noise of the fear
Shall fall into the pit,
And he who comes up from the midst of the pit
Shall be caught in the snare;
For the windows from on high are open,
And the foundations of the earth are shaken.
19 The earth is violently broken,
The earth is split open,
The earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard,
And shall totter like a hut;
Its transgression shall be heavy upon it,
And it will fall, and not rise again.
21 It shall come to pass in that day
That the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones,
And on the earth the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together,
As prisoners are gathered in the pit,
And will be shut up in the prison;
After many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be disgraced
And the sun ashamed;
For the LORD of hosts will reign
On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
And before His elders, gloriously.
25:1 O LORD, You are my God.
I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things;
Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2 For You have made a city a ruin,
A fortified city a ruin,
A palace of foreigners to be a city no more;
It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore the strong people will glorify You;
The city of the terrible nations will fear You.
4 For You have been a strength to the poor,
A strength to the needy in his distress,
A refuge from the storm,
A shade from the heat;
For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 You will reduce the noise of aliens,
As heat in a dry place;
As heat in the shadow of a cloud,
The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.
6 And in this mountain
The LORD of hosts will make for all people
A feast of choice pieces,
A feast of wines on the lees,
Of fat things full of marrow,
Of well-refined wines on the lees.
7 And He will destroy on this mountain
The surface of the covering cast over all people,
And the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever,
And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the LORD has spoken.
9 And it will be said in that day:
“Behold, this is our God;
We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the LORD;
We have waited for Him;
We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
10 For on this mountain the hand of the LORD will rest,
And Moab shall be trampled down under Him,
As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.
11 And He will spread out His hands in their midst
As a swimmer reaches out to swim,
And He will bring down their pride
Together with the trickery of their hands.
12 The fortress of the high fort of your walls
He will bring down, lay low,
And bring to the ground, down to the dust.
26:1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
2 Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.
3 You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
4 Trust in the LORD forever,
For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.
5 For He brings down those who dwell on high,
The lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.
6 The foot shall tread it down—
The feet of the poor
And the steps of the needy.”
7 The way of the just is uprightness;
O Most Upright,
You weigh the path of the just.
8 Yes, in the way of Your judgments,
O LORD, we have waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
9 With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10 Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
11 LORD, when Your hand is lifted up, they will not see.
But they will see and be ashamed
For their envy of people;
Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.
12 LORD, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works in us.
13 O LORD our God, masters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to perish.
15 You have increased the nation, O LORD,
You have increased the nation;
You are glorified;
You have expanded all the borders of the land.
16 LORD, in trouble they have visited You,
They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
17 As a woman with child
Is in pain and cries out in her pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery,
So have we been in Your sight, O LORD.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain;
We have, as it were, brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19 Your dead shall live;
Together with my dead body they shall arise.
Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.
20 Come, my people, enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the LORD comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her blood,
And will no more cover her slain.
These three chapters deal with the whole earth. All references to "earth" and "land" are translated from the exact same Hebrew word, "eretz." Sometimes the word is translated "earth" and sometimes "land" in the Old Testament. It is important to recognize that, when it is translated "land" in this passage, it is still a reference to the whole earth. Another Hebrew word ("tay-bale´") is used four times in chapters 24-27 (24:4, 26:9, 26:18, 27:6). This word is used only 36 times in the Old Testament, but is defined as "the global mass called earth, including the atmosphere or heavens." There can be no question that Isaiah's prophecy in chapters 24-26 speaks of a world-wide phenomenon of God's judgment. Only one historical/prophetic period of time fills the specifications here - the period yet future to us we refer to as the Tribulation period and leading into the Millennium. Moreover, Paul's usage of Isaiah 25:8 in I Corinthians 15:54 (see notes) to describe this period, seals the deal on which period is being specified.
Note the universal effect of the events of this prophecy:
All three chapters (24-26) are yet future to, not only Isaiah, but to us as well. The judgment of chapter 24 over the whole earth is a prophecy concerning the judgment of God on the earth. Compatibility with John's Revelation would place this judgment during the tribulation, most likely the last Battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19:11-21 (see notes). This is the last great battle and judgment on the earth just prior to the beginning of the millennium. In Revelation 19:11-21 all of the wicked people of the earth will be destroyed, and only saved people will enter into the millennium. There will be the presence of unsaved people during the millennium, but they will be people who are born during that period of 1,000 years, not the people who originally pass from tribulation-period earth into millennium-period earth.
Death won't actually be eradicated until the end of the 1,000-year millennium. Revelation 20:14-15 (see notes) tells us that "Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire." The new Heaven and new earth are created in Revelation 21:1 (see notes) which is where the New Jerusalem comes in. At that point in time, death will have been eradicated.
Isaiah 26:1 tells us that a song will be sung at that time, "In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah." The song of chapter 26 portrays conditions on the earth leading up to and including the yet-future millennium.
The redemption of Israel (Isaiah 27)
1 In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong,
Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
Leviathan that twisted serpent;
And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.
2 In that day sing to her,
“A vineyard of red wine!
3 I, the LORD, keep it,
I water it every moment;
Lest any hurt it,
I keep it night and day.
4 Fury is not in Me.
Who would set briers and thorns
Against Me in battle?
I would go through them,
I would burn them together.
5 Or let him take hold of My strength,
That he may make peace with Me;
And he shall make peace with Me.”
6 Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob;
Israel shall blossom and bud,
And fill the face of the world with fruit.
7 Has He struck Israel as He struck those who struck him?
Or has He been slain according to the slaughter of those who were slain by Him?
8 In measure, by sending it away,
You contended with it.
He removes it by His rough wind
In the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered;
And this is all the fruit of taking away his sin:
When he makes all the stones of the altar
Like chalkstones that are beaten to dust,
Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand.
10 Yet the fortified city will be desolate,
The habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness;
There the calf will feed, and there it will lie down
And consume its branches.
11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off;
The women come and set them on fire.
For it is a people of no understanding;
Therefore He who made them will not have mercy on them,
And He who formed them will show them no favor.
12 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the LORD will thresh,
From the channel of the River to the Brook of Egypt;
And you will be gathered one by one,
O you children of Israel.
13 So it shall be in that day:
The great trumpet will be blown;
They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria,
And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt,
And shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
One day Israel will be completely redeemed and vindicated from her enemies. Here Isaiah draws from a well-known mythological figure to make his point when he refers to leviathan. This multi-headed monster is used as a reference to the enemies of Israel motivated by the powers of evil - Satan himself. Chapter 27 speaks of Israel's redemption from this enemy. This total defeat of the enemy does not take place until the last battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19:11-21 (see notes) just prior to the millennium. We see in verse 13 that Jerusalem will become a central place of worship for all.
It is worth noting that John portrays Satan as a dragon in his vision found in Revelation 12 (see notes). It is this very same dragon (Satan) who empowers the beast (aka antichrist) of Revelation 13:1-10 (see notes). And then in Revelation 20:2-3 (see notes) we see, "He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while." Finally, in Revelation 20:10 (see notes), Satan is cast into the lake of fire...permanently. It occurs to me that it very well may be that Isaiah is seeing these very prophetic events outlined in John's revelation; the time frame fits.
And how does it all end? Verse 13, "So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, And shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem." The whole world will worship the LORD who shall reign from Jerusalem.