מַשָּׂא צֹר הֵילִילוּ אֳנִיּוֹת תַּרְשִׁישׁ כִּי שֻׁדַּד מִבַּיִת מִבּוֹא מֵאֶרֶץ כִּתִּים נִגְלָה לָמוֹ

A prophecy of Tyre: Wail, ships of Tarshish, which traded with Tyre, for it, Tyre, is sacked, no longer a house of ships. As a result of the capture and plunder of Tyre, it will cease to function as a port city for ships or anyone carrying or seeking merchandise to enter. From the land of Kitim it was revealed [nigla] to them. The raiding invader appeared from the land of the Kitim to attack the inhabitants of Tyre. Or: Tyre’s catastrophic fall became known due to ships from the land of Kitim. Another interpretation is: The residents of Tyre were to be exiled [niglu] via the land of Kitim (see verse 12).

דֹּמּוּ יֹשְׁבֵי אִי סֹחֵר צִידוֹן עֹבֵר יָם מִלְאוּךְ

Be silent, you island dwellers. Tyre was originally located on an island, although at a later point a causeway was built connecting it to the mainland. Be silent, even though the merchants of Sidon, a port city nearby and subordinate to Tyre also known for its seafarers, had previously filled you with people and wealth.

וּבְמַיִם רַבִּים זֶרַע שִׁחֹר קְצִיר יְאוֹר תְּבוּאָתָהּ וַתְּהִי סְחַר גּוֹיִם

The seed, grain of Shihor, a branch of the Nile, was transported to Tyre through much water, via the sea.The harvest of the Nile of Egypt was its, Tyre’s, produce, and it, Tyre, was the market of nations.

בּוֹשִׁי צִידוֹן כִּי אָמַר יָם מָעוֹז הַיָּם לֵאמֹר לֹא חַלְתִּי וְלֹא יָלַדְתִּי וְלֹא גִדַּלְתִּי בַּחוּרִים רוֹמַמְתִּי בְתוּלוֹת

Be ashamed, Sidon, as the sea has said, the stronghold of the sea, saying in rebuke: I have not gone into labor and suffered birth pangs, and I did not give birth; I did not raise young men or bring up virgins. In this image, the sea denies the children it fostered, those who derived all their strength from it. Tyre and Sidon will be emptied as though they never existed. According to most commentaries, the term “stronghold of the sea” refers to Tyre, as the sea is speaking in Tyre’s name.

כַּאֲשֶׁר שֵׁמַע לְמִצְרָיִם — יָחִילוּ כְּשֵׁמַע צֹר

When the report reaches Egypt, they will tremble at the arrival of the report of Tyre, which had both natural defenses and man-made fortifications. Egypt will become frightened when Tyre is conquered, as it will realize that there will be nothing to prevent the northern enemy from continuing its advance toward their land.

עִבְרוּ תַּרְשִׁישָׁה הֵילִילוּ יֹשְׁבֵי אִי

Move to Tarshish. Wail, inhabitants of the island, over its destruction.

הֲזֹאת לָכֶם עַלִּיזָה מִימֵי קֶדֶם קַדְמָתָהּ יֹבִלוּהָ מֵרָחוֹק לָגוּר

Is this for you, jovial one, whose antiquity is from ancient days? Tyre, who had been full of life for as long as anyone could remember, whose legs, those of all her inhabitants, will lead her afar to reside? The exiled residents will be forced to wander far from Tyre, as refugees.

מִי יָעַץ זֹאת עַל צֹר הַמַּעֲטִירָה אֲשֶׁר סֹחֲרֶיהָ שָׂרִים כִּנְעָנֶיהָ נִכְבַּדֵּי אָרֶץ!

Who devised this against Tyre, the city glorified with wealth and honor, whose merchants are princes, her peddlers, the eminent of the land? Due to Tyre’s wealth and its preference to remain neutral in military conflicts, no one thought it would ever fall.

– ה' צְבָאוֹת יְעָצָהּ לְחַלֵּל גְּאוֹן כָּל צְבִי לְהָקֵל כָּל נִכְבַּדֵּי אָרֶץ

The Lord of hosts devised it, to profane the pride of all the magnificent and humiliate them, to demean all the eminent of the land.

עִבְרִי אַרְצֵךְ כַּיְאֹר בַּת תַּרְשִׁישׁ אֵין מֵזַח עוֹד

You can pass through your land like the river, daughter of Tarshish, because there is no wharf, or barrier to protect the port city anymore. It is defenseless and entirely exposed.

יָדוֹ נָטָה עַל הַיָּם הִרְגִּיז מַמְלָכוֹת ה' צִוָּה אֶל כְּנַעַן לַשְׁמִד מָעֻזְנֶיהָ

He, God, stretched out His hand over the sea; He provoked the kingdoms to come against it; the Lord commanded concerning Canaan, to destroy its strongholds. Canaan can also mean merchant. Here Tyre is called Canaan not only because it was a commercial city, but also because its inhabitants were from Canaanite extraction.

וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא תוֹסִיפִי עוֹד לַעְלוֹז הַמְעֻשָּׁקָה בְּתוּלַת בַּת צִידוֹן כִּתִּים קוּמִי עֲבֹרִי גַּם שָׁם לֹא יָנוּחַ לָךְ

He said: You will not continue to rejoice anymore; oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon, a symbolic name for the city. Similar expressions are used in reference to other areas, such as “Virgin daughter of Zion,” referring to Jerusalem, “Daughter of Babylon,” “Daughter of the Chaldeans” (47:1), and “Daughter of Egypt.” Arise, Sidon, and let your inhabitants wander and cross the sea to Kitim and other distant coasts. There too, there will be no rest for you, as the enemy will continue to pursue you there.

הֵן אֶרֶץ כַּשְׂדִּים זֶה הָעָם לֹא הָיָה אַשּׁוּר יְסָדָהּ לְצִיִּים הֵקִימוּ בַחוּנָיו עֹרְרוּ אַרְמְנוֹתֶיהָ שָׂמָהּ לְמַפֵּלָה

Behold, the land of the Chaldeans, the Babylonians who will destroy Tyre, this people that was not a significant nation until this time, as Babylon had been dominated by Assyria until recently and would only now begin to become a world power. Assyria, it, Babylon, rendered wastelands. They, the Babylonians, have established towers against it, Tyre, and undermined its palaces, and ultimately they rendered it a ruin.

הֵילִילוּ אֳנִיּוֹת תַּרְשִׁישׁ כִּי שֻׁדַּד מָעֻזְּכֶן

The prophet returns to his opening statement: Wail, ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is sacked. The great port city in which you placed your trust has been plundered and is lost.

וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְנִשְׁכַּחַת צֹר שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה כִּימֵי מֶלֶךְ אֶחָד מִקֵּץ שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה יִהְיֶה לְצֹר כְּשִׁירַת הַזּוֹנָה

It shall be on that day that Tyre will be forgotten and forsaken for a period of seventy years, like the days of one king. The kingdom of Babylonia, in all its glory, would last for only seventy years, after which time Tyre would begin to recover. Nevertheless, at the end of seventy years, it will be for Tyre like the song of the harlot. Tyre will have to go around begging for sustenance, like a harlot who goes around singing in order to attract solicitors of her service. The prophet mocks the miserable, forgotten Tyre.

קְחִי כִנּוֹר סֹבִּי עִיר זוֹנָה נִשְׁכָּחָה הֵיטִיבִי נַגֵּן הַרְבִּי שִׁיר לְמַעַן תִּזָּכֵרִי

Take a harp, circle the city, forgotten harlot; play well, sing much, so that you will be remembered.

וְהָיָה מִקֵּץ שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה יִפְקֹד ה' אֶת צֹר וְשָׁבָה לְאֶתְנַנָּה וְזָנְתָה אֶת כָּל מַמְלְכוֹת הָאָרֶץ עַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה

It shall be that at the end of seventy years the Lord will remember Tyre and she will return for her harlot’s fee [le’etnana], a derisive reference to Tyre’s profits from commerce. The prophet uses this reference as a play on words instead of the expected term: “will return to its strength [le’eitana].” She will whore with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth once again. After it will have been forgotten, Tyre will again be established as a commercial city.

וְהָיָה סַחְרָהּ וְאֶתְנַנָּהּ קֹדֶשׁ לַה' לֹא יֵאָצֵר וְלֹא יֵחָסֵן כִּי ליֹּשְׁבִים לִפְנֵי ה' יִהְיֶה סַחְרָהּ לֶאֱכֹל לְשָׂבְעָה וְלִמְכַסֶּה עָתִיק

Ultimately, though, there will come a time when all of her merchandise and her fee will be sacred to the Lord. It will not be stored and will not be accumulated in treasuries or warehouses, for her merchandise will be for those who dwell before the Lord. The righteous and the upright, and those who study His Torah will be the ones to benefit from Tyre’s wealth. It will provide them with food to eat to satiation and for acquiring fine garments for them to wear. The Sages homiletically interpret this phrase as referring to those who preserve the secrets of Torah, as if covering them with garments, or to those who reveal its hidden messages that had previously been covered.