Isaiah 23:16
ESV
"Take a harp; go about the city, O forgotten prostitute! Make sweet melody; sing many songs, that you may be remembered."
NIV
"Take up a harp, walk through the city, you forgotten prostitute; play the harp well, sing many a song, so that you will be remembered."
NASB
Take your harp, wander around the city, You forgotten prostitute; Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.
CSB
Pick up your lyre, stroll through the city, you forgotten prostitute. Play skillfully, sing many a song so that you will be remembered.
NLT
Take a harp and walk the streets, you forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody and sing your songs so you will be remembered again.
KJV
Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
NKJV
“Take a harp, go about the city, You forgotten harlot; Make sweet melody, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.”
What does Isaiah 23:16 mean?
Isaiah's prophecy from the Lord against the city of Tyre progresses like this: She will be ruined and put out of commission by the Lord (Isaiah 23:1–12). She will be forgotten for seventy years as the premier place to ship goods into and out of Phoenicia and Syria. Then the city will begin a return to its former status as a center of business, trade, and prosperity (Isaiah 23:15).However, this return is not described as a triumphant victory. Isaiah has depicted Tyre as a prostitute stepping out of retirement. He quotes lyrics from a song to show that Tyre will be like a prostitute drumming up business again after an absence. These lyrics could have been from a song that was known in the prophets time.
The singer urges the prostitute to take a harp and walk around the city singing songs to remind her former customers that she is back in business. Tyre will do the same, once more attracting shipping business from around the ancient world. It is not a flattering comparison. Nor does this image cast the business of profit in an honorable light.
