Isaiah 23:16

"It will come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. After the end of seventy years it will be to Tyre like in the song of the prostitute."

Key Reflection

In Isaiah 23:16, God pronounces a judgment on Tyre, declaring that it will be forgotten for seventy years—equivalent to the reign of one king. This period of obscurity is meant to bring about a time when Tyre’s prosperity and might are replaced by a state akin to a prostitute's song, symbolizing its degradation and loss of former glory. The original audience would have understood this as a prophecy of significant political and economic decline, emphasizing the fleeting nature of human power and the ultimate sovereignty of God.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Take an harp -This is a continuation of the figure commenced in the previous verse, a direct command to Tyre as an harlot, to go about the city with the usual expressions of rejoicing. Thus Donatus, in Terent. Eunuch., iii. 2, 4, says: ‘Fidicinam esse meretricum est;’ And thus Horace: ‘Nec meretrix tibicina, cujus Ad strepitum salias.’ 1 Epis. xiv. 25. Thou harlot that hast been forgotten -For seventy years thou hast lain unknown, desolate, ruined. Make sweet melody ... -Still the prophet keeps up the idea of the harlot that had been forgotten, and that would now call her lovers again to her dwelling.

More from Isaiah 23

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