Isaiah 23:14
ESV
Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste.
NIV
Wail, you ships of Tarshish; your fortress is destroyed!
NASB
Wail, you ships of Tarshish, For your stronghold is destroyed.
CSB
Wail, ships of Tarshish, because your fortress is destroyed!
NLT
Wail, you ships of Tarshish, for your harbor is destroyed!
KJV
Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
NKJV
Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For your strength is laid waste.
What does Isaiah 23:14 mean?
The poem laid out against Tyre returns to where it started: a call for the ships of Tarshish to mourn (Isaiah 23:1). Isaiah pictures crews returning from the dangerous sea to the perceived safety of Tyre's harbor only to discover it is all gone. The high-walled fortress is no more. There is nobody waiting to unload their cargo. Everything and everyone they knew is gone. They have no more homes to go to. Life as they knew it was over and would not be the same as long as they lived. The Lord had spoken in judgment (Isaiah 23:9).Even the most stable and protected of nations and peoples are not self-existing. Everything depends on the Lord of hosts to continue.
