1A message about Tyre: Wail, you ships of Tarshish! Because Tyre is destroyed, with no houses left, no way to enter. News of its destruction comes to them from the land of Kittim.
2Be silent, you people who live by the sea, you who were made rich by the merchants of Sidon who crossed the sea.
3Over many waters, grain from the Shihor River, the harvest of the Nile, was her income. She was the marketplace for nations.
4Be ashamed, Sidon; for the sea, the fortress of the sea, has spoken, saying, "I haven't gone through labor, nor given birth, nor have I raised young men, nor brought up young women."
5When the news reaches Egypt, they will be in agony over the report about Tyre.
6Go over to Tarshish! Cry out, you people who live by the sea!
7Is this your joyful city, whose origins are from ancient times, whose people traveled far to settle?
8Who planned this against Tyre, the city that gave out crowns, whose merchants were like princes, whose traders were the most honored people on earth?
9Yahweh of Armies planned it, to shame the pride of all glory, to bring all the honored people of the earth into contempt.
10Flow through your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish. There is no longer anything to hold you back.
11He has stretched out his hand over the sea. He has shaken kingdoms. Yahweh has commanded the destruction of Canaan's strongholds.
12He said, "You will no longer celebrate, you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Get up, go over to Kittim. Even there you will find no rest."
13Look at the land of the Chaldeans. These people didn't exist until the Assyrians founded it for those who lived in the wilderness. They built their watchtowers, overthrew its palaces, and left it in ruins.
14Wail, you ships of Tarshish, because your stronghold is destroyed!
15On that day, Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, which is the lifespan of one king. After seventy years, Tyre will be like the prostitute in the song.
16"Take a harp, go around the city, you forgotten prostitute. Play sweet music. Sing many songs, so you may be remembered."
17After seventy years, Yahweh will remember Tyre, and she will go back to her old ways, playing the prostitute with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
18Her merchandise and her earnings will be holy to Yahweh. It will not be hoarded or saved; instead, her merchandise will be for those who live in the presence of Yahweh, so they may eat enough and have durable clothing.