---
title: "Commentary on Isaiah, Volume 2"
author: "John Calvin"
translator: "William Pringle"
languages: [en]
shelf: "Commentaries"
section: 53 of 62
url: https://scriptura.si/works/john-calvin-commentary-on-isaiah-volume-2/53/
cite: "John Calvin, tr. William Pringle, Commentary on Isaiah, Volume 2, section 53. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/john-calvin-commentary-on-isaiah-volume-2/53/"
---

# Commentary on Isaiah, Volume 2

*John Calvin, tr. William Pringle*

Calvin on the prophet Isaiah, volume 2 of 4.

## 53. Chapter 23

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/john-calvin-commentary-on-isaiah-volume-2/53/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/john-calvin-commentary-on-isaiah-volume-2/53/#p-N

[¶0] 1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; For desolation has been made, So that there is no house, That there is no entering in from the land of Chittim. This was revealed to them.

[¶1] 2 Be silent, ye inhabitants of the islands, The merchant of Sidon; they that crossed the sea; Who supplied thee.

[¶2] 3 By great waters was the seed of the Nile; Her fruits were the harvest of the river; And she was a mart of nations.

[¶3] 4 Be ashamed, O Sidon; For the sea hath spoken, The strength of the sea, saying, I have not conceived nor brought forth, And I have not brought up young men, And have not reared virgins.

[¶4] 5 As soon as the report shall reach the Egyptians, They shall be grieved according to the report of Tyre.

[¶5] 6 Pass ye over to Tarshish; Howl, ye inhabitants of the islands.

[¶6] 7 Is this your exulting city? From ancient days is her antiquity. Her feet shall carry her, To travel into a distant country.

[¶7] 8 Who hath consulted this concerning crowning Tyre, Whose merchants are princes, Whose traders are the nobles of the land?

[¶8] 9 Thus hath Jehovah of hosts decreed, To profane the pride of all that are illustrious, To bring into contempt all the renowned of the land.

[¶9] 10 Cross over from thy land, like a river, To the daughter of Tarshish; For there is no longer any girdle.

[¶10] 11 He laid his hand upon the sea, He shook kingdoms. Jehovah hath commanded concerning Canaan, To weaken her strength.

[¶11] 12 And he saith, O virgin daughter of Sidon, When thou shalt be oppressed, Thou shalt not add any more to rejoice. Arise, that thou mayest pass over into Chittim; Yet even there thou shalt not have rest.

[¶12] 13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans; This was not a people; Assyria founded it for the inhabitants of the wilderness; They have reared its fortresses; They have built its palaces; He hath reduced it to desolation.

[¶13] 14 Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; For your strength is laid waste.

[¶14] 15 It shall come to pass in that day, That Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, According to the days of one king; At the end of seventy years Shall Tyre have a song like that of a harlot.

[¶15] 16 Take a harp, go about the city, O harlot, devoted to forgetfulness! Make sweet melody, multiply song, That thou mayest be kept in remembrance.

[¶16] 17 It shall then be at the end of seventy years, That Jehovah will visit Tyre; And then shall she return to her hire, And shall commit fornication With all the kingdoms of the earth Which are upon the earth.

[¶17] 18 Yet her merchandise and her hire Shall be holy to Jehovah; It shall not be treasured nor laid up; But her merchandise shall be For them that dwell before Jehovah, That they may eat sufficiently, And may have a thick covering.