Isaiah 23:16-18 Meaning: Why God Tells a City to Sing Again
16Take a harp; go about the city, you prostitute that has been forgotten. Make sweet melody. Sing many songs, that you may be remembered.
17It 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.
18Her 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.
16Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17And 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.
18And 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.
16Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her hire, and shall play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
18And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to Jehovah: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
16Take a harp, go round the city, O forgotten harlot, play well, Multiply song that thou mayest be remembered.
17And it hath come to pass, At the end of seventy years Jehovah inspecteth Tyre, And she hath repented of her gift, That she committed fornication With all kingdoms of the earth on the face of the ground.
18And her merchandise and her gift have been holy to Jehovah, Not treasured up nor stored, For to those sitting before Jehovah is her merchandise, To eat to satiety, and for a lasting covering!
16Take a harp, go about the city, thou forgotten harlot! Make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17And it shall come to pass at the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre; and she will return to her hire, and will commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the earth upon the face of the ground.
18And her merchandise and her hire shall be holy to Jehovah: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah, to eat and be sufficed, and for excellent clothing.
Meaning in one sentence
Why does God tell a forgotten city to take up a harp? Isaiah 23:16-18 shows judgment, restoration, and how even worldly profits become holy to the Lord.
Context
This passage sits within Isaiah's long series of oracles against the nations, each pronouncing judgment on a foreign power. Tyre, the great Phoenician port city, had grown rich on maritime trade. Earlier in the chapter Isaiah announces her coming destruction and a period of seventy years when she will be 'forgotten', set aside, powerless, no longer a player among nations. But the promise does not end there. After seventy years, the Lord will 'visit' Tyre in mercy. She will regain her commercial vitality, yet the prophet looks beyond that recovery to something startling: the very profits she earned through self-serving trade will become holy to God. The imagery of a forgotten prostitute taking up a harp and singing to be remembered captures both the city's desperate self-reliance and the surprising grace that awaits her.
Key Words
Two Hebrew words form a crucial pair in these verses. The first is nishkachah, 'forgotten', the Niphal form of shakach, meaning to be left behind, ignored, no longer held in memory. Tyre will lie forgotten as if dead. But then the Lord will 'visit' (yifkod), a verb that in the Old Testament means much more than a friendly call. It suggests God intervening with purpose, to inspect, to act, to change a situation. When the Lord visits Tyre, the forgotten city is suddenly remembered. She is told to play the harp and sing many songs 'that you may be remembered' (tizzakeri), the same root now turned to hope. But the deepest surprise lies in the word qodesh, 'holiness'. It means something set apart for God. The same word that described the sanctuary now describes Tyre's commercial profits. The hire of a prostitute, normally forbidden (Deuteronomy 23:18), is declared holy to Yahweh. What was entirely self-centered becomes something God himself owns and uses.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christian readers across traditions agree that the passage describes God's sovereignty over a pagan city. Protestants like Matthew Henry and John Wesley see the prophecy fulfilled in Tyre's restoration after the Babylonian exile, and later in the conversion of Tyrians to Christianity in the apostolic age, Paul found disciples there (Acts 21:3-6). Reformed commentators such as Calvin and the Geneva Bible also emphasize this double fulfillment: an immediate historical restoration, and a spiritual one when the Gospel reached Tyre. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, from an Anglican perspective, notes that the word 'holiness' here has no ethical sense of personal conversion, but rather signifies that Tyre's commerce becomes dedicated to Yahweh, serving the worshipping community. Catholics, following the Douay translation and patristic tradition, likewise read the passage as pointing to the eventual sanctification of the city's wealth for God's people. All traditions see God taking what was once corrupt and making it serve His purposes.
A common misunderstanding
Some readers take the harlot imagery literally, as if the Bible is promoting or excusing prostitution. In fact, the metaphor is drawn from the ancient trade practices of Tyre, where commercial gain was compared to the wages a prostitute earns from her clients. The prophet uses this shocking picture to expose the purely mercenary motives behind Tyre's global trading. The point is not that God approves of the behavior, but that even a city that built its wealth on self-interest cannot escape His sovereign claim.
Living This Out
This week you may be doing work that feels entirely secular, selling a product, managing accounts, serving customers. None of that must stay ordinary. Tyre's profits, once earned for her own glory, became 'holiness to the Lord' and were used to feed and clothe those who dwell before Him. Ask yourself: what if the money I earn, the projects I finish, the tasks I complete were all seen as something I am handing over to God? Not just the leftover or the tithe, but the whole of it. You do not need to change your job to serve Him; you can begin to see every hour's labor as goods that will one day be part of His kingdom. Start by offering this day's work in prayer, asking that even its smallest yield might be set apart.
Main takeaway: No matter how lost a city or person may seem, God can restore them and consecrate even the profits of their labor for His own use.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Tyre was a city that became very quiet for seventy years. But God said, 'Take a harp and sing again!' God remembered her, and He always remembers you.
For ages 9, 12
Isaiah compares Tyre to a forgotten prostitute to show how completely she had lost her influence. But God promised to restore her. And the most surprising part is that her profits, the money she made from trade, would become 'holy to the Lord', meaning it would be used for God's purposes, to feed and clothe His people. Even things that start out selfish can be transformed when God gets involved.
Questions People Ask
Why is Tyre called a harlot in this passage?
The image is a metaphor used by the prophet. Tyre's international trade and wealth were gained through self-serving commercial relationships, much like a prostitute's wages. The comparison highlights the city's mercenary motives and its willingness to 'sell itself' to any nation for profit.
What does the seventy years refer to?
Most commentators agree it marks the period of Tyre's desolation under Babylonian supremacy, roughly matching the seventy-year exile of Judah (Jeremiah 29:10). After that time, God 'visited' Tyre in mercy, and the city was gradually restored to its former commercial activity.
How can a prostitute's wages become holy to the Lord?
The word 'holy' (qodesh) means set apart for God. This is a radical promise that even the profits of a pagan city, built on selfish trade, can be consecrated and used to support the community of worship. It does not mean God approves of the conduct; it shows He can redeem and repurpose anything for His kingdom.
Does this passage predict the conversion of Tyre to Christianity?
Many Christian interpreters, including Calvin, Matthew Henry, and Wesley, see a fulfillment in the apostolic era when the Gospel reached Tyre (Acts 21:3-6). The city later became a Christian bishopric. While the passage does not describe personal repentance, it does point to a time when Tyre's wealth would sustain those who worship the true God.
What is the 'song of the harlot' in verse 16?
It is a mocking musical command that Tyre, after seventy years of obscurity, should take up a harp and sing many songs to attract attention again, just as a forgotten prostitute would try to draw customers. The irony is that this same city will later see its profits dedicated to God.
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study