Through My Bible Yr 01 – December 23

Through My Bible – December 23

Isaiah 22:15 – 23:18 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Go to this administrator Shebna, who is in charge of the palace, and ask him, ¹⁶ “What are you doing here? Who gave you permission to carve a tomb here?”

(Shebna was carving out a tomb for himself on a height, chiseling a resting place for himself in the cliff!)

¹⁷ Watch out! The Lord is going to hurl you away violently, you ordinary man. ^[1] He is going to grab you tightly, ¹⁸ whirl you around and around, ^[2] and throw you like a ball into the open countryside. There you will die, and your glorious chariots will be there, to the shame of your master’s house. ¹⁹ I will expel you from your office. You will be thrown out from your position.

²⁰ On that day I will call for my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. ²¹ I will clothe him with your robe and tie your sash around him. I will put your authority into his hand, and he will be a father for those who live in Jerusalem and for the house of Judah. ²² I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder. Whatever he opens, no one will shut. Whatever he shuts, no one will open. ²³ I will drive him like a nail into a solid place. He will be an honored throne for the house of his father. ²⁴ They will hang all the splendor of his father’s house on him: the branches and leaves, ^[3] and all the small containers, from the large bowls all the way down to the smallest juglets. ^[4]

²⁵ In that day, says the Lord of Armies, the nail that was driven into a solid place will give way. It will be sheared off and fall down. The load hanging on it will be cut off, because the Lord has spoken.

Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
Because Tyre has been destroyed—
no more house or harbor! ^[5]
This is the news they heard from Cyprus. ^[6]
2 Be silent, you who live along the coast,
you merchants of Sidon,
whose agents have crossed the sea ^{[7] 3} on the great waters.
The grain of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, provided her income.
She was the marketplace of nations.
⁴ Be ashamed, Sidon, fortress by the sea,
because the sea has spoken, saying,
“No longer do I feel the pain of childbirth.
No longer do I have children.
I have no young men to raise,
no virgin girls to bring up.” ^[8]
5 When the news comes to Egypt,
they will agonize over the report from Tyre.
⁶ Sail across to Tarshish!
Wail, you island people!
⁷ Is this your joyful city, older than old,
whose feet carried her to settle so far away?
⁸ Who has planned this against Tyre,
the city that crowned kings,
whose merchants were like royal officials,
whose traders were honored around the world?
⁹ The Lord of Armies has planned this,
to strip their pride of all its glory,
to humiliate those who were honored around the world.
¹⁰ Overflow your land, ^[9] daughter of Tarshish,
    like the Nile overflowing its banks.
You no longer have a harbor as a marketplace. ^[10]
11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea.
He has shaken the kingdoms.
It is the Lord who has ordered the destruction
    of Canaan’s ^[11] fortresses.
¹² He said, “Rejoice no more, virgin daughter of Sidon,
you who have been violated.
Get up, sail across to Cyprus. ^[12]
But even there you will have no rest.”

¹⁴ Wail, you ships of Tarshish,
because your stronghold is destroyed!

¹⁶ Pick up a lyre.
Go through the city,
you forgotten prostitute.
Play skillfully.
Sing many songs,
so that you might be remembered once again.

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 22:17 The Hebrew word is geber, man or mister, not gibbor, the word for a mighty military man.
2. Isaiah 22:18 Or wrap you up tightly. This verse is difficult.
3. Isaiah 22:24 Or the offspring and the offshoots or the produce and hidden treasure. The meaning of this term is uncertain, but it seems to mean from A to Z.
4. Isaiah 22:24 Juglet is the archaeological term for the smallest jars in Israel’s pottery repertoire. The smallest, probably serving as containers for perfumed oil, were only a couple of inches tall.
5. Isaiah 23:1 The meaning of this line is uncertain.
6. Isaiah 23:1 Hebrew Kittim, a term which may include other areas of the Mediterranean besides Cyprus
7. Isaiah 23:2 The translation follows a reading from the Hebrew Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah. The literal reading in the Masoretic text is the one passing over the sea they have replenished you.
8. Isaiah 23:4 The meaning of this figurative statement spoken by the sea is unclear. The sea seems to be lamenting the loss of Tyre, a daughter of the sea.
9. Isaiah 23:10 Or, following a variant, work your land. The text and meaning of this line are uncertain.
10. Isaiah 23:10 Or there is no longer any restraint (or boundary). The Hebrew text and its meaning are uncertain.
11. Isaiah 23:11 Or Phoenicia’s. Phoenicia is the Greek name for Canaan.
12. Isaiah 23:12 Hebrew Kittim