King James Version
Isaiah 23
18 verses with commentary
Prophecy Against Tyre
The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The burden of Tyre.</strong> Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.' Tyre, ancient Phoenician maritime power and trading empire, receives judgment. The 'ships of Tarshish' (large merchant vessels, possibly named for Tartessos in Spain, representing long-distance trade) are called to mourn...
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XXIII.
(1) **The burden of Tyre . . .**—The chapter calls us to enquire into the political relations of Tyre at the time of Isaiah. These we learn, partly from Scripture itself, partly from Assyrian inscriptions. In the days of David and Solomon there had been an intimate alliance between Israel and Hiram, King of Tyre. Psalm 45:12 indicates at least the interchange of kingly gifts, if not the ack...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
11. (See on 1Ki 1:1). The image is taken from man and wife, but applies universally to the warm sympathy derived from social ties. So Christian ties (Lu 24:32; Ac 28:15).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
**Verses 1-3**
God's restraints of the appetite only say, Do thyself no harm.
Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. still: Heb. silent
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle</strong> (דֹּמּוּ יֹשְׁבֵי אִי)—The command to 'be still' or 'be silent' (<em>dommu</em>) opens the lament over Tyre. The Hebrew conveys stunned silence in the face of catastrophe, not peaceful rest. <strong>Thou whom the merchants of Zidon have replenished</strong>—Zidon (Sidon) and Tyre were sister Phoenician cities dominating Mediterranean trade. The...
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(2) **Inhabitants of the isle . . .**—Better, *coast. *The word was specially appropriate to the narrow seaboard strip of land occupied by the Phœnicians—Zidon, the older city, the “great Zidon” of Joshua 11:8; Joshua 19:28, appearing as the representative of Phœnicia generally. It was her commerce that had filled Tyre and the other daughter cities. The “dumbness” to which the prophet calls the pe...
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**12. one--**enemy.
**threefold cord--**proverbial for a combination of many--for example, husband, wife, and children (Pr 11:14); so Christians (Lu 10:1; Col 2:2, 19). Untwist the cord, and the separate threads are easily "broken."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
**Verses 1-3**
God's restraints of the appetite only say, Do thyself no harm.
And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>By great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue</strong>—Sihor (שִׁיחוֹר) refers to the Nile, whose grain exports enriched Tyre. The Hebrew <em>zera'</em> (seed) and <em>qetsir</em> (harvest) emphasize agricultural abundance transformed into commercial profit. <strong>She is a mart of nations</strong> (סְחַר גּוֹיִם)—Tyre functioned as the international marketpl...
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(3) **By great waters the seed of Sihor . . .**—Sihor (“the dark river”) is as in Jeremiah 2:18, a Hebrew name for the Nile. The corn-trade with Egypt (Ezekiel 27:7, adds the linen-trade) was naturally a chief branch of Tyrian commerce. Practically, indeed, as the Egyptians had no timber to build ships, and, for the most part, hated the sea, their navy consisted of Phœnicians. Tyre practically rea...
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13. The "threefold cord" [Ec 4:12] of social ties suggests the subject of civil government. In this case too, he concludes that kingly power confers no lasting happiness. The "wise" child, though a supposed case of Solomon, answers, in the event foreseen by the Holy Ghost, to Jeroboam, then a poor but valiant youth, once a "servant" of Solomon, and (1Ki 11:26-40) appointed by God through the proph...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
**Verses 1-3**
God's restraints of the appetite only say, Do thyself no harm.
Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken</strong>—The sea itself (<em>yam</em>), source of Phoenicia's wealth and power, becomes witness against her. The personified ocean declares: <strong>I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins</strong>. The Hebrew verbs <em>chalti</em> (travail), <em>yaladti</em> (give birth), <em>gaddalt...
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(4) **Be thou ashamed, O Zidon . . .**—Zidon is addressed as the mother-city of Tyre. The “strength” (or *fortress*) of the sea is the rock-island on which the new Tyre was built. She sits as a widow bereaved of her children, with no power to renew the population which once crowded her streets. (Comp. Lamentations 1:1.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. out of prison--**Solomon uses this phrase of a supposed case; for example, Joseph raised from a dungeon to be lord of Egypt. His words are at the same time so framed by the Holy Ghost that they answer virtually to Jeroboam, who fled to escape a "prison" and death from Solomon, to Shishak of Egypt (1Ki 11:40). This unconscious presaging of his own doom, and that of Rehoboam, constitutes the i...
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**Verses 4-5**
Be not of those that will be rich. The things of this world are not happiness and a portion for a soul; those that hold them ever so fast, cannot hold them always, cannot hold them long.
As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre</strong>—The Hebrew <em>yachilu</em> (be in anguish/writhe in pain) describes physical agony, often used for childbirth pangs. Egypt's judgment (Isaiah 19-20) sent shockwaves through the ancient Near East; Tyre's fall would be equally traumatic. The parallelism emphasizes that the seemingly invincible e...
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(5) **As at the report concerning Egypt . . .**—Better, *When the report cometh to Egypt ***. . .** The news of the capture of Tyre would cause dismay in Egypt, partly because the export trade of their corn depended upon it, partly because it had served as a kind of outpost against the Assyrians, who, under Sargon (*Records of the Past, vii.* 34) and Sennacherib (2Kings 18:21; 2Kings 19:8), were p...
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15. "I considered all the living," the present generation, in relation to ("with") the "second youth" (the "legitimate successor" of the "old king," as opposed to the "poor youth," the one first spoken of, about to be raised from poverty to a throne), that is, Rehoboam.
**in his stead--**the old king's.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-5**
Be not of those that will be rich. The things of this world are not happiness and a portion for a soul; those that hold them ever so fast, cannot hold them always, cannot hold them long.
Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle</strong>—Tarshish (תַּרְשִׁישׁ), probably located in southern Spain, represented the western extent of Phoenician colonization. The command to 'pass over' (<em>ivru</em>) means flee, evacuate, seek refuge. <strong>Howl</strong> (<em>yeililu</em>) is the sustained wailing of mourning, the opposite of the stunned silence commanded in...
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(6) **Pass ye** **over to Tarshish . . .**—The words have the ring of a keen irony. The Tyrians are told to go to Tarshish, the extreme point of their commerce; not, as before, to bring back their wealth, but to seek safety there as exiles. No nearer asylum would give them safety. So, in the siege of Tyre by Alexander the Great, the Tyrians sent their old men, women, and children to Carthage (Diod...
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16. Notwithstanding their now worshipping the rising sun, the heir-apparent, I reflected that "there were no bounds, no stability (2Sa 15:6; 20:1), no check on the love of innovation, of all that have been before them," that is, the past generation; so
**also they that come after--**that is, the next generation,
**shall not rejoice in him--**namely, Rehoboam. The parallel, "shall not rejoice,"...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-8**
Do not make thyself burdensome to any, especially those not sincere. When we are called by God to his feast, and to let our souls delight themselves, Is 25:6; 55:2, we may safely partake of the Bread of life.
Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. afar: Heb. from afar off
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days?</strong> (הֲזֹאת לָכֶם עַלִּיזָה מִימֵי קֶדֶם קַדְמָתָהּ)—The rhetorical question drips with irony. Tyre, the 'joyous' (<em>alliyzah</em>) city known for celebrations, music, and festive commerce, now lies in ruins. Her <em>qedem</em> (antiquity) stretches back centuries—Josephus claims Tyre was founded c. 1200 BC, making it ove...
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(7) **Is this your joyous city . . .?**—Tyre was, as has been said, of later origin than Zidon, but was the oldest of the daughter cities. Josephus (*Ant. viii.* 3. 1) fixes the date of its foundation at 240 years before Solomon.
**Her own feet shall carry her.**—The English version (tenable grammatically) points to the wanderings of exile. Another rendering, *her feet are wont to carry her ***. ....
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-8**
Do not make thyself burdensome to any, especially those not sincere. When we are called by God to his feast, and to let our souls delight themselves, Is 25:6; 55:2, we may safely partake of the Bread of life.
Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city?</strong> (מִי יָעַץ זֹאת עַל־צֹר הַמַּעֲטִירָה)—The question demands identification of the planner behind Tyre's judgment. The epithet <em>ha-ma'atirah</em> (the crowning/crown-giving) signifies Tyre's role as kingmaker: she established colonies, appointed governors, and crowned merchant princes. <strong>Whose merchants are princ...
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(8) **The crowning city.**—The participle is strictly transitive in its force. Tyre was the distributor of crowns to the Phœnician colonies. The Vulg., however, gives “crowned.”
**Whose merchants are princes.**—It is a fact worth noting in the history of language that the word for “merchants” here, and in Hosea 12:7; Proverbs 31:24, is the same as that for Canaanite. The traffickers of the earth w...
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CHAPTER 5
Ec 5:1-20.
1. From vanity connected with kings, he passes to vanities (Ec 5:7) which may be fallen into in serving the King of kings, even by those who, convinced of the vanity of the creature, wish to worship the Creator.
**Keep thy foot--**In going to worship, go with considerate, circumspect, reverent feeling. The allusion is to the taking off the shoes, or sandals, in entering ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-8**
Do not make thyself burdensome to any, especially those not sincere. When we are called by God to his feast, and to let our souls delight themselves, Is 25:6; 55:2, we may safely partake of the Bread of life.
The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. to stain: Heb. to pollute
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory</strong>—This verse crystallizes the theological center of Isaiah 23. The phrase <em>ga'on kol-tsevi</em> (pride of all beauty/glory) encompasses not only Tyre but all human glory. God's stated purpose (<em>ya'atsah</em>, purposed/counseled) involves <em>lechallel</em> (to profane, pollute, defile)—the same verb used for d...
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(9) **The Lord of hosts hath purposed . . .**—This is the prophet’s answer. The kings of Assyria were but instruments in the hand of Jehovah Sabaoth, working out what He had planned.
**To stain the pride . . .**—The primary meaning of the verb is to pollute or desecrate, possibly in reference to the destruction of the temples of Tyre, such *e.g. *as that of Melkarth, which was reported to be one o...
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**2. rash--**opposed to the considerate reverence ("keep thy foot," Ec 5:1). This verse illustrates Ec 5:1, as to prayer in the house of God ("before God," Is 1:12); so Ec 5:4-6 as to vows. The remedy to such vanities is stated (Ec 5:6). "Fear thou God."
**God is in heaven--**Therefore He ought to be approached with carefully weighed words, by thee, a frail creature of earth.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 9**
It is our duty to take all fit occasions to speak of Divine things; but if what a wise man says will not be heard, let him hold his peace.
Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. strength: Heb. girdle
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength</strong>—The imagery shifts: Tarshish, once a constrained colony controlled by Tyre, now flows freely like a river (<em>ye'or</em>, the Nile). The Hebrew <em>mezach</em> (strength/restraint/girdle) indicates the binding control that once constrained colonial expansion. <strong>There is no more strength</str...
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(10) **Pass through thy land as a river . . .**—The word for “river” is that used in Isaiah 23:3 with special reference to the Nile. Here the inundation of the Nile gives special force to the comparison. The daughter of Tarshish (*i.e., *Tarshish itself) is to spread and overflow in independent action. The colonies of Tyre are no longer subject to her, paying tribute or custom duties as she might ...
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3. As much "business," engrossing the mind, gives birth to incoherent "dreams," so many words, uttered inconsiderately in prayer, give birth to and betray "a fool's speech" (Ec 10:14), [Holden and Weiss]. But Ec 5:7 implies that the "dream" is not a comparison, but the vain thoughts of the fool (sinner, Psa 73:20), arising from multiplicity of (worldly) "business." His "dream" is that God hears hi...
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**Verses 10-11**
The fatherless are taken under God's special protection. He is their Redeemer, who will take their part; and he is mighty, almighty.
He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. against: or, concerning a merchantman the merchant city: Heb. Canaan strong: or, strengths
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms</strong>—The pronoun 'He' refers to Yahweh, whose hand (<em>yad</em>) extended over the sea (<em>yam</em>) that gave Phoenicia her power. The verb <em>hirgiz</em> (shook/made tremble) appears in earthquake contexts—God's touch destabilizes entire political orders. <strong>The LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant ci...
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(11) **He shook the kingdoms.**—The picture of the great convulsion of the time includes more than Tyre and its subject states. Egypt, Ethiopia, Babylon, Syria, Israel, Judah, were all affected, shaken as to their very foundations, by the rapid progress of the restored Assyrian empire under Tiglath-pileser and his successors.
**Against the merchant city.**—Literally, *Canaan *(the word “city” bein...
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**4. When thou vowest a vow unto God--**Hasty words in prayer (Ec 5:2, 3) suggest the subject of hasty vows. A vow should not be hastily made (Jud 11:35; 1Sa 14:24). When made, it must be kept (Psa 76:11), even as God keeps His word to us (Ex 12:41, 51; Jos 21:45).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-11**
The fatherless are taken under God's special protection. He is their Redeemer, who will take their part; and he is mighty, almighty.
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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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin daughter of Zidon</strong>—The title 'oppressed virgin' (<em>ha'ashukah betulat</em>) is bitterly ironic: Sidon the oppressor now becomes the oppressed. 'Virgin' suggests she remained unconquered through history, proud of her independence. The verb <em>ashaq</em> (oppress/exploit) here turns back on the oppressor—those who crushed others ...
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(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....
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5. (De 23:21, 23).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-16**
Here is a parent instructing his child to give his mind to the Scriptures. Here is a parent correcting his child: accompanied with prayer, and blessed of God, it may prove a means of preventing his destruction. Here is a parent encouraging his child, telling him what would be for his good. And what a comfort it would be, if herein he answered his expectation!
Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not</strong>—The Chaldeans (כַּשְׂדִּים, Kasdim) were relative newcomers to power. The phrase 'was not' (<em>lo hayah</em>) means they were insignificant, not a recognized nation. <strong>Till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness</strong>—This historical note is debated: some see it as Assyria founding what would be...
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(13) **Behold, the land of the Chaldeans.**—Heb., *land of Kasdim. *The prophet points to the destruction of one power that had resisted Assyria as an example of what Tyre might expect. The Assyrian inscriptions record the conquests referred to. Sargon relates his victory over the “perverse and rebellious Chaldæans,” who had rebelled under Merôdach-baladan (*Records of the Past, *vii. 41, 45). Tow...
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**6. thy flesh--**Vow not with "thy mouth" a vow (for example, fasting), which the lusts of the flesh ("body," Ec 2:3, Margin) may tempt thee to break (Pr 20:25).
**angel--**the "messenger" of God (Job 33:23); minister (Re 1:20); that is, the priest (Mal 2:7) "before" whom a breach of a vow was to be confessed (Le 5:4, 5). We, Christians, in our vows (for example, at baptism, the Lord's Supper, ...
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**Verses 12-16**
Here is a parent instructing his child to give his mind to the Scriptures. Here is a parent correcting his child: accompanied with prayer, and blessed of God, it may prove a means of preventing his destruction. Here is a parent encouraging his child, telling him what would be for his good. And what a comfort it would be, if herein he answered his expectation!
Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste</strong> (הֵילִילוּ אֳנִיּוֹת תַּרְשִׁישׁ כִּי שֻׁדַּד מָעֻזְּכֶם)—The command to <em>heylilu</em> (wail, howl) frames the oracle (verses 1, 6, 14), creating literary closure. <strong>Ships of Tarshish</strong> represents Phoenicia's far-ranging merchant fleet, the source and symbol of their economic empire. Your <em>ma'oz</em> (f...
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(14) **Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your Strength is laid waste.**—The prophecy of woe ends as it began in Isaiah 23:1. The “strength” is the *fortress *of Tyre.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7. (See on Ec 5:3). God's service, which ought to be our chief good, becomes by "dreams" (foolish fancies as of God's requirements of us in worship), and random "words," positive "vanity." The remedy is, whatever fools may do, "Fear thou God" (Ec 12:13).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-16**
Here is a parent instructing his child to give his mind to the Scriptures. Here is a parent correcting his child: accompanied with prayer, and blessed of God, it may prove a means of preventing his destruction. Here is a parent encouraging his child, telling him what would be for his good. And what a comfort it would be, if herein he answered his expectation!
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. shall Tyre: Heb. it shall be unto Tyre as the song of an harlot
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In that day shall Tyre be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king</strong>—The <em>shiv'im shanah</em> (seventy years) parallels Judah's exile (Jeremiah 25:11). The phrase 'according to the days of one king' (<em>kimey melek echad</em>) is enigmatic: either the typical reign of a long-lived monarch, or metaphorically 'one kingdom's era.' Seventy years suggests a lifetime...
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(15) **Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years.**—If we take the number literally, the seventy years may coincide with those of the captivity of Judah, during which, under the Chaldæan supremacy, Tyre was reduced to a state of comparative insignificance. It seems better, however, with Cheyne, to take it as a symbolic number for a long period of indefinite duration, and so, bringing it into closer co...
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8. As in Ec 3:16, so here the difficulty suggests itself. If God is so exact in even punishing hasty words (Ec 5:1-6), why does He allow gross injustice? In the remote "provinces," the "poor" often had to put themselves for protection from the inroads of Philistines, &c., under chieftains, who oppressed them even in Solomon's reign (1Ki 12:4).
**the matter--**literally, "the pleasure," or pu...
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**Verses 15-18** The desolations of Tyre were not to be for ever. The Lord will visit Tyre in mercy. But when set at liberty, she will use her old arts of temptation. The love of worldly wealth is spiritual idolatry; and covetousness is spiritual idolatry. This directs those that have wealth, to use it in the service of God. When we abide with God in our worldly callings, when we do all in our pow...
Read full commentary →Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten</strong>—This verse extends the prostitute metaphor with bitter irony. The aged prostitute, once popular but now forgotten (<em>nishkachah</em>), must actively solicit business. <strong>Make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered</strong> (הֵיטִיבִי נַגֵּן הַרְבִּי־שִׁיר לְמַעַן תִּזָּכֵרִי)—The im...
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(16) **Take an harp, go about the city . . .**—In a tone half of irony and half of pity, the prophet tells the “harlot that had been forgotten” to return to her old arts of song (the singing women of the East were commonly of this class), and to go about once more with song and lyre, recalling her old lovers (*i.e., *her old allies) to the memory of their past love.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. "The profit (produce) of the earth is (ordained) for (the common good of) all: even the king himself is served by (the fruits of) the field" (2Ch 26:10). Therefore the common Lord of all, high and low, will punish at last those who rob the "poor" of their share in it (Pr 22:22, 23; Am 8:4-7).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-18** The desolations of Tyre were not to be for ever. The Lord will visit Tyre in mercy. But when set at liberty, she will use her old arts of temptation. The love of worldly wealth is spiritual idolatry; and covetousness is spiritual idolatry. This directs those that have wealth, to use it in the service of God. When we abide with God in our worldly callings, when we do all in our pow...
Read full commentary →And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire</strong>—The verb <em>paqad</em> (visit) carries double meaning: divine intervention that can be either blessing or judgment. Here it's both: God ends the seventy-year desolation, but Tyre returns to <em>etan</em> (hire/prostitute's wages). <strong>And shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the e...
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(17) **She shall turn to her hire.**—The words indicate, in the strong imagery of Isaiah 23:15, the revival of the commercial prosperity of Tyre under the rule of the Persian kings. To that commerce there was to be no limit. The ships of all nations were once more to crowd her harbours.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. Not only will God punish at last, but meanwhile the oppressive gainers of "silver" find no solid "satisfaction" in it.
**shall not be satisfied--**so the oppressor "eateth his own flesh" (see on Ec 4:1 and Ec 4:5).
**with increase--**is not satisfied with the gain that he makes.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-18** The desolations of Tyre were not to be for ever. The Lord will visit Tyre in mercy. But when set at liberty, she will use her old arts of temptation. The love of worldly wealth is spiritual idolatry; and covetousness is spiritual idolatry. This directs those that have wealth, to use it in the service of God. When we abide with God in our worldly callings, when we do all in our pow...
Read full commentary →And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing. durable: Heb. old
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD</strong>—This stunning reversal transforms the preceding judgment into eschatological hope. The very <em>sachar</em> (merchandise) and <em>etnan</em> (hire/prostitute's wages) that symbolized spiritual adultery will become <em>qodesh</em> (holiness) to Yahweh. Deuteronomy 23:18 forbids bringing a prostitute's wages into God's house...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord.**—The words seem to reverse the rule of Deuteronomy 23:18, which, probably not without a reference to practices like those connected with the worship of Mylitta (Herod., i. 99), forbade gifts that were so gained from being offered in the Sanctuary. Here, it seems to be implied, the imagery was not to be carried to what might have s...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. they ... that eat them--**the rich man's dependents (Psa 23:5).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-18** The desolations of Tyre were not to be for ever. The Lord will visit Tyre in mercy. But when set at liberty, she will use her old arts of temptation. The love of worldly wealth is spiritual idolatry; and covetousness is spiritual idolatry. This directs those that have wealth, to use it in the service of God. When we abide with God in our worldly callings, when we do all in our pow...
Read full commentary →