He said, “You shall rejoice no more, you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, pass over to Kittim. Even there you will have no rest.”
Parallel Translations
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He said, “You shall rejoice no more, you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, pass over to Kittim. Even there you will have no rest.”
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And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.
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And He said: 'Thou shalt no more rejoice.' O thou oppressed virgin daughter of Zidon, arise, pass over to Kittim; even there shalt thou have no rest.
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Isaiah 23:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Revelation 18:22 The voice of harpists, minstrels, flute players, and trumpeters will be heard no more at all in you. No craftsman, of whatever craft, will be found any more at all in you. The sound of a mill will be heard no more at all in you.
- Isaiah 23:1-2 The burden of Tyre. Howl, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in. From the land of Kittim it is revealed to them. Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you whom the merchants of Sidon that pass over the sea, have replenished.
- Isaiah 47:1 “Come down and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans. For you will no longer be called tender and delicate.
- Ezekiel 26:13-14 I will cause the noise of your songs to cease. The sound of your harps won’t be heard any more. I will make you a bare rock. You will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more; for I Yahweh have spoken it,’ says the Lord Yahweh.
- Genesis 10:15-19 Canaan became the father of Sidon (his firstborn), Heth, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were spread abroad. The border of the Canaanites was from Sidon—as you go toward Gerar—to Gaza—as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim—to Lasha.
- Genesis 49:13 “Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea. He will be for a haven of ships. His border will be on Sidon.
- Numbers 24:24 But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim. They shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber. He also shall come to destruction.”
- Deuteronomy 28:64-67 Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone. Among these nations you will find no ease, and there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; but Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and pining of soul. Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be afraid night and day, and will have no assurance of your life. In the morning you will say, “I wish it were evening!” and at evening you will say, “I wish it were morning!” for the fear of your heart which you will fear, and for the sights which your eyes will see.
- Joshua 11:8 Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Israel, and they struck them, and chased them to great Sidon, and to Misrephoth Maim, and to the valley of Mizpah eastward. They struck them until they left them no one remaining.
- Isaiah 23:7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days, whose feet carried her far away to travel?
- Isaiah 37:22 this is the word which Yahweh has spoken concerning him. The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and ridiculed you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.
- Isaiah 47:5 “Sit in silence, and go into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans. For you shall no longer be called the mistress of kingdoms.
- Jeremiah 14:17 “You shall say this word to them: “ ‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous wound.
- Jeremiah 46:11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, virgin daughter of Egypt. You use many medicines in vain. There is no healing for you.
- Lamentations 1:3 Judah has gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude. She dwells among the nations. She finds no rest. All her persecutors overtook her within the straits.
- Lamentations 1:15 “The Lord has set at nothing all my mighty men within me. He has called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord has trodden the virgin daughter of Judah as in a wine press.
- Lamentations 4:15 “Go away!” they cried to them. “Unclean! Go away! Go away! Don’t touch! When they fled away and wandered, men said among the nations, “They can’t live here any more.”
- Ezekiel 27:6 They have made your oars of the oaks of Bashan. They have made your benches of ivory inlaid in cypress wood from the islands of Kittim.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For Tyre was never touched nor afflicted before.
For Tyre was never touched nor afflicted before.
Because Tyre was built by them of Sidon.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 23:12 And he said, Thou shalt no more…
Isa 23:12 And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.
Ver. 12. Thou shalt no more rejoice.] Heb., Exult, revel.
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O thou oppressed.] Or, Ravished damsel, daughter of Zidon, hactenus intacta vi hostili, never till now subdued.
Arise, pass.] Asyndeton, q.d., Haste, haste.
Over to Chittim.] To Cyprus, Greece, Italy.
There also shalt thou have no rest.] Safety or shelter. Cain’s curse was upon them; the visible vengeance of God followed them close at heels. See Deu 28:65-66.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain O thou oppressed virgin: so he calls her, either…
O thou oppressed virgin: so he calls her, either for her pride and beauty, and living in great ease and pleasure; or because she had hitherto never borne the yoke of a conquering enemy; though withal he declares that she should be oppressed or defloured very suddenly.
Daughter of Zidon; whereby he understands either,
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1. Zidon herself, who suffered in and with Tyre: for so this phrase seems generally to be used,
the daughter of Zion, or of Jerusalem, or of Babel, or Egypt, &c., being nothing else but Zion, Jerusalem, Babel, Egypt, &c. Or rather,
2. Tyrus, as most interpreters, both Jewish and Christian, understand it, of whom this whole context and prophecy speaks; which may well be called the daughter of Zidon, because she was first built and possessed by a colony of the Sidonians; as Pliny calleth Carthage the daughter of Tyre, because she was built by a colony of Tyrians. And the title of daughter is ofttimes given in Scripture to towns or cities which had their being from or dependence upon other cities; in which sense we read of the daughter of Heshbon, Num 21:25, and of Rubbah, Jer 49:2,3, and of Sodom, and of Samaria, Eze 16:46,49,53. And the daughter of Tarshish here above, Isa 23:10, is not meant of Tarshish itself, but of Tyrus, which had a relation to and dependence upon Tarshish.
Pass over to Chittim; of which place See Poole "Isa 23:1". There also shalt thou have no rest; thither thine enemies shall pursue thee, and there shall they overtake thee, although thou wilt think thyself secure when thou art fled to remote parts beyond the sea.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he said, thou shalt no more rejoice,.... Not…
And he said, thou shalt no more rejoice,.... Not meaning that she should never more rejoice, but not for a long time, as Kimchi interprets it; when her calamity should come upon her, her jovial time, her time of mirth, jollity, and revelling, would be over for a time; for, at the end of seventy years, she should take her harp, and sing again, Isa 23:15 for the words seem to be spoken of Tyre, concerning whom the whole prophecy is; though some think Zidon is here meant, which, being near, suffered at the same time with Tyre, or quickly after:
O thou oppressed virgin! Tyre is called a "virgin", because of her beauty, pride, and lasciviousness, and because never before subdued and taken: and "oppressed", because now deflowered, ransacked, plundered, and ruined, by Nebuchadnezzar:
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daughter of Zidon: some think Zidon itself is meant, just as daughter of Zion means Zion herself, &c.; but it may be also observed, that such cities that have sprung from others, or have their dependence on them, are called their daughters; so we read of Samaria and her daughters, and Sodom and her daughters, Eze 16:46 and so Tyre is called the daughter of Zidon, because it was a colony of the Zidonians (f); and at first built and supported by them, though now grown greater than its mother:
arise, pass over to Chittim; to the isle of Cyprus, which was near them, and in which was a city called Citium; or to Macedonia, which was called the land of Chittim, as in the Apocrypha:
"And it happened, after that Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece,'' (1 Maccabees 1:1)
or to the isles of the Aegean and Ionian seas; or to Greece and Italy; which latter sense is approved by Vitringa, who thinks the islands of Corsica, and Sardinia, and Sicily, are meant, which were colonies of the Tyrians; and so in Isa 23:1,
there also shalt thou have no rest; since those countries would also fall into the enemy's hands, either the Babylonians, or the Medes and Persians, or the Romans; into whose hands Macedonia, Carthage, and other colonies of the Tyrians fell, so that they had no rest in any of them.
(f) Justin ex Trogo, l. 18. c. 3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Virgin - So he calls her, because she had…
Virgin - So he calls her, because she had hitherto never born the yoke of a conquering enemy. Zidon - Tyre may be called the daughter of Zidon, because she was first built and possessed by a colony of the Zidonians. No rest - Thither thine enemies shall pursue thee, and there shall they overtake the.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And he said - God said Isa 23:9.
And he said - God said Isa 23:9.
Thou shalt no more rejoice - The sense is, that Tyre was soon to be destroyed. It does not mean that it should never afterward exult or rejoice, for the prophet says Isa 23:17, that after its destruction it would be restored, and again be filled with exultation and joy.
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O thou oppressed Virgin - Lowth renders this, ‘O thou deflowered virgin,’ expressing the sense of the word המעשׁקה hame‛ushâqâh.
O daughter of Zidon - Isa 23:4. “Pass over to Chittim” (see the note at Isa 23:1). The idea is, that under the siege the inhabitants of Tyre would seek refuge in her colonies, and the cities that were dependent on her.
There also shalt thou have no rest - It is not improbable that Nebuchadnezzar would carry his arms to Cyprus - on which the city of Citium was - where the Tyrians would take refuge first. Megasthenes, who lived about 300 years before Christ, says of Nebuchadnezzar that he subdued a great part of Africa and Spain, and that he carried his arms so far as the Pillars of Hercules (see Newton, On the Prophecies, xi. 11). But whether this refers to the oppressions which Nebuchadnezzar would bring on them or not, it is certain that the colonies that sprung from Phenicia were exposed to constant wars after this. Carthage was a colony of Tyre, and it is well known that this city was engaged in hostility with the Romans until it was utterly destroyed. Indeed all the dependent colonies of ancient Tyre became interested and involved in the agitations and commotions which were connected with the conquests of the Roman empire.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Daughter; colony. (Calmet) --- Oppressed. Literally, "calumniated." (Haydock)
Daughter; colony. (Calmet) --- Oppressed. Literally, "calumniated." (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain rejoice--riotously (Isa 23:7).
he--God.
rejoice--riotously (Isa 23:7).
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oppressed--"deflowered"; laying aside the figure "taken by storm"; the Arabs compare a city never taken to an undefiled virgin (compare Nah 3:5, &c.).
daughter of Zidon--Tyre: or else, sons of Zidon, that is, the whole land and people of Phœnicia (see on Isa 23:2) [MAURER].
Chittim--Citium in Cyprus (Isa 23:1).
there also . . . no rest--Thy colonies, having been harshly treated by thee, will now repay thee in kind (see on Isa 23:10). But VITRINGA refers it to the calamities which befell the Tyrians in their settlements subsequently, namely, Sicily, Corcyra, Carthage, and Spain, all flowing from the original curse of Noah against the posterity of Canaan (Gen 9:25-27).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. He said — Jehovah said, as in Isa_23:9.
12. He said — Jehovah said, as in Isa_23:9.
No more rejoice — Because doomed to be crippled; yes, nearly destroyed.
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Daughter of Zidon — Zidon was the older city, hence addressed as the mother city.
To Chittim — To Tyrian colonies in Cyprus. Yet even there they would find no rest, because too near and too accessible to the conquering power.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. And he said] What follows may be regarded…
12. And he said] What follows may be regarded as the “commandment” referred to in Isa_23:11.
O thou oppressed (or ravished) virgin, daughter of Zidon] The epithet “virgin” is applied to Zidon as a fortress hitherto unviolated by a conqueror. It is an almost inevitable inference that the calamity here described is the first she has known, at least within living memory. This would apply to the campaign of Shalmaneser, but not to that of Sennacherib.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (12) Thou oppressed virgin.—Strictly speaking, the noun and adjective…
(12) Thou oppressed virgin.—Strictly speaking, the noun and adjective are incompatible, the latter conveying the sense of “defiled,” or “deflowered.” Till now Tyre had known no defeat. Her fortress was a virgin citadel. Now the barbarian conqueror was to rob her of that virginity.
Pass over to Chittim.—With a keen irony the prophet gives a counsel which he declares will be of no avail. They may flee to Chittim (Cyprus); but the power of the Assyrians would reach them even there. Once and again the inscriptions of the Assyrian kings record how they subdued and took tribute from “Yatnan,” the “island in the sea of the setting sun,” which can be none other than Cyprus (e.g., Sargon in Records of the Past, vii. 26).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain He said. Jehovah continues his threatenings. The oppressed virgin,…
He said. Jehovah continues his threatenings. The oppressed virgin, daughter of Sidon or rather, the oppressed virgin-daughter of Sidon may he either. Tyre, which, according to some, was built by fugitives from Zidon, or Phoenicia generally, of which Zidon, as the "firstborn", (Gen_10:15) was a sort of mother. Pass over to Chittim (comp. ver. 6). Chittim (Cyprus) was a nearer refuge than Tarshish, and far more easily reached; but, on the other hand, it was much less safe. Sargon and Esarhaddon both of them exercised dominion over it; and when Abdi-Milkut, King of Sidon, fled there in the reign of the latter, the Assyrian monarch pursued him, caught him, and "cut off his head" (G. Smith, "Eponym Canon," p. 137). Still, it was so often sought by princes flying from Phoenicia when attacked by Assyria, that cuneiform scholars call it "the usual refuge of the Phoenician kings" ("Transactions of Bibl. Archaeology Society," vol. 4. p. 86). There also shalt thou have no rest. Cyprus submitted to Sargon ("Records of the Past," vol. 7. p. 26), and again to Esarhaddon (ibid., vol. 8. p. 108). It was included in the dominions of Asshur-bani-pal (G. Smith, "History of Asshur-bani-pal," pp. 31, 32). After Nebuchadnezzar"s conquest of Tyre, it was annexed by Egypt (Herod., 2:182), on the conquest of which country by Cambyses it became Persian. The Phoenicians had "no rest" there after Assyria had once found her way to the island.
No escape from God"s judgments.
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"There also shalt thou have no rest." Either the colonists would not receive them, or their enemies would still pursue after them, seeking them out even where they had found shelter. Reference is intended to those calamities which befell the Tyrians in their subsequent settlements Cyprus, Sicily, Carthage, and Spain. Cheyne illustrates the expression by showing that "the long arm of Assyria reached them even in Cyprus, where Lull, King of Zidon, had already sought refuge." The importance of Cyprus as a naval station was recognized by the Babylonians fifteen or sixteen centuries before Christ. The inscription of Sargon, King of Agane, relates how "the sea of the setting sun he crossed," and in the third year conquered a land which can hardly be any other than Cyprus. Cyprus was also conquered by the Assyrian Sargon. God"s judgments never exhaust themselves in acts which fail to accomplish the desired ends of humbling men"s pride and correcting men"s faults. They go on until their purpose is reached. The point to be illustrated here is that God"s judgments cannot be escaped by any fleeing from the place where God"s judgments are resting. The judgment was on the Tyrians, and it affected Tyre only for their sakes. So to escape from Tyre could not result in getting away from the afflicting and humbling hand of God. This may be efficiently illustrated from the story of Jonah, who hurried from the upland districts of Palestine to take ship at Joppa, flee across the great sea, and get away from the presence of the Lord. He could not. God holdeth "the winds in his fists, and the waters in the hollow of his hand," and can send these to execute his judgments. And still it is a fixed idea of men, out of which they need to be driven, that they can get free of their disabilities, and of Divine judgment as correction of sin, by changing their circumstances, or going from one place to another. Never. God deals with theft, and only in a secondary sense with their circumstances. As long as we sin we come into the Divine judgment. If we suffer, and yet the evil is not cured, the Divine judgments must continue. "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still." And sometimes the freedom we have sought by changing our place is changed to an even more humiliating form of chastisement, as the Tyrians endured worse things in their escape than if they had remained at home. However we flee from troubles, we can never flee from ourselves, and never rice from God. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.