Single lesson
Isaiah 23: The Burden against Tyre
Isaiah 23:1–18
Isaiah 23 is a prophecy about Tyre, a city described here by its shipping, merchants, and international trade. The passage mourns its collapse, says Yahweh planned this humbling, and ends by showing a future use for Tyre’s gain.
Before you teach
Within this passage, Tyre is linked with Tarshish, Sidon, Egypt, Kittim, Canaan, and the land of the Chaldeans. It is presented as a long-established trading power whose downfall troubles many places. The prophecy explains that Yahweh of Armies has planned this, and it later speaks of Tyre being forgotten, remembered, and finally redirected toward holiness to Yahweh.
Explain the central teaching of Isaiah 23: The Burden against Tyre, using two details from the reading. Isaiah 23 teaches that Yahweh brings down proud human glory and can redirect wealth toward his own holy purpose.
Welcome: Isaiah 23: The Burden against Tyre
5 minIntroduce “The Burden against Tyre” and locate Isaiah 23:1–18. Isaiah 23 teaches that Yahweh brings down proud human glory and can redirect wealth toward his own holy purpose. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Isaiah 23:1, Isaiah 23:10, Isaiah 23:18
Read and explain the passage
12 minThe prophecy begins with lament: the ships of Tarshish are told to howl because Tyre is laid waste. Coastland people and Sidon’s merchants are addressed too. Tyre’s revenue came over great waters, linked with the Nile harvest, and the city is called the market of nations, showing wide influence.
Tyre is described as a city whose merchants were like princes and whose traders were honoured in the earth. Then the passage answers clearly: Yahweh of Armies planned this, to stain pride and bring contempt on what people count glorious. Daughter of Tarshish is told that restraint is gone, and Yahweh shakes kingdoms.
Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, then compared to a prostitute’s song as she seeks to be remembered again. After that, Yahweh will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages among the kingdoms. Yet the final word is surprising: her merchandise will be holiness to Yahweh, supplying food and durable clothing.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “The Burden against Tyre”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Isaiah 23:1, Isaiah 23:2, Isaiah 23:3, Isaiah 23:8, Isaiah 23:9, Isaiah 23:10, Isaiah 23:11, Isaiah 23:15, Isaiah 23:16, Isaiah 23:17, Isaiah 23:18
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What details show that Tyre’s importance reached beyond one city?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. Isaiah 23 teaches that Yahweh brings down proud human glory and can redirect wealth toward his own holy purpose. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Isaiah 23:1, Isaiah 23:2, Isaiah 23:3, Isaiah 23:8, Isaiah 23:9, Isaiah 23:17, Isaiah 23:18
Make and respond: Vision and message evidence map
12 minWork on “Isaiah 23: The Burden against Tyre: Vision and message evidence map”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “The Burden against Tyre” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Isaiah 23:1, Isaiah 23:10, Isaiah 23:18
Closing: return to The Burden against Tyre
3 minRevisit Isaiah 23:1–18. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about The Burden against Tyre and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Isaiah 23:1, Isaiah 23:10, Isaiah 23:18
Questions to explore
What details show that Tyre’s importance reached beyond one city?
Notice the ships, coastlands, merchants, great waters, Nile harvest, and the phrase 'market of nations'.
Isaiah 23:1, Isaiah 23:2, Isaiah 23:3
How does the passage explain who is behind Tyre’s downfall?
Read the question about who planned this and then the direct answer that follows.
Isaiah 23:8, Isaiah 23:9
How does the ending change the way Tyre’s wealth is described?
Compare Tyre’s wages and merchandise in the last two verses and note who benefits from them.
Isaiah 23:17, Isaiah 23:18
Make, think or respond
Isaiah 23: The Burden against Tyre: Vision and message evidence map
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “What the passage describes”, “What is explained in the text”, “What question remains”.
- Read Isaiah 23:1–18. Use “The Burden against Tyre” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Circle an explanation the passage itself provides. Leave unexplained details as questions for further reading.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Isaiah 23: The Burden against Tyre connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “The Burden against Tyre” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Isaiah 23:1–18. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Isaiah 23:1–18. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Isaiah 23
1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in. From the land of Kittim it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you whom the merchants of Sidon that pass over the sea have replenished.
3 On great waters, the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue. She was the market of nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon; for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, “I have not travailed, nor given birth, neither have I nourished young men, nor brought up virgins.”
5 When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report of Tyre.
6 Pass over to Tarshish! Wail, you inhabitants of the coast!
7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days, whose feet carried her far away to travel?
8 Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
9 Yahweh of Armies has planned it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
10 Pass through your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish. There is no restraint any more.
11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea. He has shaken the kingdoms. Yahweh has ordered the destruction of Canaan’s strongholds.
12 He said, “You shall rejoice no more, you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, pass over to Kittim. Even there you will have no rest.”
13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans. This people didn’t exist. The Assyrians founded it for those who dwell in the wilderness. They set up their towers. They overthrew its palaces. They made it a ruin.
14 Howl, you ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste!
15 It will come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. After the end of seventy years it will be to Tyre like in the song of the prostitute.
16 Take a harp; go about the city, you prostitute that has been forgotten. Make sweet melody. Sing many songs, that you may be remembered.
17 It will happen after the end of seventy years that Yahweh will visit Tyre. She will return to her wages, and will play the prostitute with all the kingdoms of the world on the surface of the earth.
18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holiness to Yahweh. It will not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise will be for those who dwell before Yahweh, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.