23This message came to me concerning Tyre. Weep, O ships of Tarshish, for the harbor and houses of Tyre are gone! The rumors you heard in Cyprus are all true.H4853H6865H3213H591H8659H7703H1004H935H776H3794H15402Mourn in silence, you people of the coast and you merchants of Sidon. Your traders crossed the sea,H1826H3427H339H5503H6721H5674H3220H43903sailing over deep waters. They brought you grain from Egypt and harvests from along the Nile. You were the marketplace of the world.H7227H4325H2233H7883H7105H2975H8393H5505H14714But now you are put to shame, city of Sidon, for Tyre, the fortress of the sea, says, “Now I am childless; I have no sons or daughters.”H954H6721H3220H559H4581H3220H559H2342H3205H1431H970H7311H13305When Egypt hears the news about Tyre, there will be great sorrow.H8088H4714H2342H8088H68656Send word now to Tarshish! Wail, you people who live in distant lands!H5674H8659H3213H3427H3397Is this silent ruin all that is left of your once joyous city? What a long history was yours! Think of all the colonists you sent to distant places.H5947H6927H6924H3117H7272H2986H7350H14818Who has brought this disaster on Tyre, that great creator of kingdoms? Her traders were all princes, her merchants were nobles.H3289H6865H5849H5503H8269H3667H3513H7769The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has done it to destroy your pride and bring low all earth’s nobility.H3068H6635H3289H2490H1347H6643H7043H3513H77610Come, people of Tarshish, sweep over the land like the flooding Nile, for Tyre is defenseless.H5674H776H2975H1323H8659H420611The Lord held out his hand over the sea and shook the kingdoms of the earth. He has spoken out against Phoenicia, ordering that her fortresses be destroyed.H5186H3027H3220H7264H4467H3068H6680H3667H8045H4581H458112He says, “Never again will you rejoice, O daughter of Sidon, for you have been crushed. Even if you flee to Cyprus, you will find no rest.”H559H3254H5937H6231H1330H1323H6721H6965H5674H3794H511713Look at the land of Babylonia—the people of that land are gone! The Assyrians have handed Babylon over to the wild animals of the desert. They have built siege ramps against its walls, torn down its palaces, and turned it to a heap of rubble.H776H3778H5971H804H3245H6728H6965H971H6209H759H7760H465414Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your harbor is destroyed!H3213H591H8659H4581H770315For seventy years, the length of a king’s life, Tyre will be forgotten. But then the city will come back to life as in the song about the prostitute.H3117H6865H7911H7657H8141H3117H259H4428H7093H7657H8141H6865H7892H218116Take a harp and walk the streets, you forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody and sing your songs so you will be remembered again.H3947H3658H5437H5892H2181H7911H3190H5059H7235H7892H214217Yes, after seventy years the Lord will revive Tyre. But she will be no different than she was before. She will again be a prostitute to all kingdoms around the world.H7093H7657H8141H3068H6485H6865H7725H868H2181H4467H776H6440H12718But in the end her profits will be given to the Lord. Her wealth will not be hoarded but will provide good food and fine clothing for the Lord’s priests.H5504H868H6944H3068H686H2630H5504H3427H6440H3068H398H7654H6266H4374
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are all true.H4853
