Isaiah 23:4 · Bible study
Isaiah 23:4 Commentary: The Barren Mother’s Lament for Tyre
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Isaiah personifies Tyre as a childless mother to show God's judgment on her commercial pride. Verse meaning, Hebrew grammar, and historical background.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Tyre, personified as a barren mother, laments the loss of her colonies and citizens, showing complete divine judgment.
- Key words: Bōsh (be ashamed), maʿoz (stronghold, refuge), ḥal (travail), yālad (give birth), gādal (bring up), rūm (raise). The perfect verbs deny any past fertility.
- Main debate: Whether the sea itself speaks (literal personification) or the stronghold of the sea (Tyre) speaks. Most commentators take the latter.
- Theological theme: God humbles commercial pride; human success cannot protect against His purposes (Isaiah 23:9).
- Best use: A warning against trusting in wealth, power, or legacy; a call to place hope in God’s enduring kingdom.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men or brought up young women.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
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.”
KJV King James Version 1769
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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Be thou ashamed, O Sidon; for the sea hath spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not travailed, nor brought forth, neither have I nourished young men, nor brought up virgins.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Be ashamed, O Zidon; for the sea spake, The strength of the sea, saying: `I have not been pained, nor have I brought forth, Nor have I nourished young men, nor brought up virgins.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Be thou ashamed, Sidon, for the sea hath spoken, the strength of the sea, saying, I have not travailed nor brought forth, neither have I nourished young men [nor] brought up virgins.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Be thou ashamed, O Sidon: for the sea speaketh, even the strength of the sea, saying: I have not been in labour, nor have I brought forth, nor have I nourished up young men, nor brought up virgins.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Avergüénzate, Sidón, porque la mar, la fortaleza de la mar habló, diciendo: Nunca estuve de parto, ni parí, ni crié mancebos, ni levanté vírgenes.
Envergonha-te, Sidom; pois o mar falou, a fortaleza do mar disse: Eu não tive dores de parto, nem de mim nasceu criança; nunca criei meninos nem eduquei virgens.
Sois confuse, Sidon!
Du magst wohl erschrecken, Sidon; denn das Meer, ja, die Feste am Meer spricht: Ich bin nicht mehr schwanger, ich gebäre nicht mehr; so ziehe ich keine Jünglinge mehr auf und erziehe keine Jungfrauen.
Word beschaamd, o Sidon! want de zee spreekt, ja, de sterkte der zee, zeggende: Ik heb geen barensnood gehad, ik heb ook niet gebaard, en ik heb geen jongelingen groot gemaakt, en geen jonge dochters opgebracht.
Sii confusa, o Sidon! Poiché così parla il mare, la fortezza del mare: “Io non sono stata in doglie, e non ho partorito, non ho nutrito dei giovani, non ho allevato delle vergini”.
Zawstydź się, Sydonie! bo rzekło morze, moc morska, mówiąc: Nie pracuję w porodzeniu, i nie rodzą, i nie wychowuję młodzieńców, ani odchowuję panien.
Устыдись, Сидон; ибо вот что говорит море, крепость морская: "как бы ни мучилась я родами и ни рождала, и ни воспитывала юношей, ни возращала девиц".
西頓哪，你當慚愧；因為 大海 說，就是海中 的保障 說：我沒有 劬勞，也沒有 生產，沒有 養育 男子，也沒有撫養 童女。
Be shamed, O Zidon: for the sea, the strong place of the sea has said, I have not been with child, or given birth; I have not taken care of young men, or kept watch over the growth of virgins.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Isaiah 23:4
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Isaiah 23:4 dramatises the total destruction of Tyre and the shame of her mother city, Sidon. The verse personifies Tyre (or the sea that surrounds her) as a woman who has lost every child. Barnes, Keil and Delitzsch, and Calvin all read the lament as Tyre's own voice: she once sent out colonies like a mother, but now war has stripped her of young men and virgins, making her as if she had never given birth. The Hebrew verbs ḥalti ('I have been in labour'), yāladti ('I have given birth'), giddalti ('I have brought up'), and rōmamti ('I have raised') are all first‑person perfects, completed actions that the speaker now denies. The sequence of four negatives ('not… nor… neither… nor') leaves no room for hope. Gill and Wesley add that Sidon, as Tyre's founding city, feels the shame most keenly, for her daughter lies barren. The consensus is that this maternal imagery conveys the totality of divine judgment: Tyre will never again nurture cities or people.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- The sea speaks literally: The Hebrew text says 'the sea has spoken'; the sea is personified as a voice lamenting that it no longer brings people to Tyre.
- Tyre as the stronghold speaks: Most commentators (Calvin, Barnes, Keil & Delitzsch) take the phrase 'the stronghold of the sea' as a title for Tyre, and the speech that follows is Tyre's own lament.
- The phrase 'stronghold of the sea' as a gloss: Cambridge Bible notes that the clause disrupts the personification and may be a later addition to clarify the subject.
What is clear: The verse expresses total loss of inhabitants and fertility as a sign of divine judgment, regardless of whether the speaker is the sea or Tyre.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of the speaker in verse 4 | The speaker is a personification, either the sea or Tyre itself, lamenting loss of inhabitants. | Some read 'the sea has spoken' literally (the sea as a voice), while others argue it is Tyre, called 'the stronghold of the sea,' speaking in the first person. Cambridge Bible suggests the phrase 'stronghold of the sea' may be a later gloss. |
| Meaning of 'I have not travailed, nor given birth' | The imagery of barrenness expresses complete desolation, Tyre has lost all her people. | Some (e.g., Barnes) see it as Tyre's own lament over loss of colonies; others (e.g., Gill) think it refers to the sea no longer bringing people to Tyre. Both agree on the result: Tyre is childless. |
| Role of Sidon in the verse | Sidon is addressed because she was the mother city that founded Tyre. | There is no debate; all commentators accept Sidon as the founding city. Some (e.g., Wesley) note it is also a partner in trade. |
| Relation to historical conquest | The prophecy points to a real downfall of Tyre, fulfilled through successive conquerors (Assyria, Babylon, Alexander). | The specific fulfillment is debated: some see immediate local destruction, others a longer process culminating in Alexander the Great. The 'barrenness' fits siege and depopulation in either case. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Tyre and Sidon were the two great city‑states of Phoenicia, a coastal region north of Israel. According to Barnes and Calvin, Sidon founded Tyre as a colony, hence Tyre is called 'the daughter of Sidon' (Isaiah 23:12). The prophet addresses Sidon as a mother who must watch her daughter fall. Tyre itself was built on an island fortress, which the verse calls 'the stronghold of the sea' (Hebrew maʿoz hayyām). This rock‑island made Tyre seem impregnable, protected by the Mediterranean on all sides. Her wealth came from maritime trade, acting as the marketplace of nations (Isaiah 23:3).
When Isaiah writes 'the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea,' he personifies Tyre through the waters that surround her. The sea, often a symbol of chaos in ancient Near Eastern literature, here becomes the voice of the ruined city. Jeremiah 47:4 links Tyre and Sidon together as targets of destruction: 'to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains.' Ezekiel 26:3‑6 echoes the same imagery, where God declares He will bring nations against Tyre 'as the sea causes its waves to come up,' and her daughters shall be slain. The language of not giving birth or raising children thus reflects the historical reality: war, siege, and exile would leave Tyre depopulated, stripped of the next generation that would carry on her commercial empire. The lament is not metaphorical poetry; it describes actual loss.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Isaiah 23:4. One ancient manuscript cited by Adam Clarke prefixes a vav to rōmamti ('I have raised'), making the negative series consistent with the preceding verbs (cf. Deuteronomy 23:6; Proverbs 30:3). This does not change the meaning. The Masoretic Text as reflected in the translations is stable.
Reception History
Isaiah 23:4 has been read across Christian traditions as a warning against worldly pride. Early church fathers, including Eusebius of Caesarea, saw Tyre as a type of the arrogant city that opposes God. During the Reformation, Calvin and Luther used the verse to illustrate God's sovereignty over nations and economies, no maritime empire can withstand His decree. In later centuries, the image of the barren mother was employed in hymns and sermons to comfort those who had lost children, redirecting hope toward God's eternal city. The verse is also cited in discussions of divine judgment on trade built on exploitation (cf. Revelation 18).
Preaching This Verse
Three‑point outline
- The shame of the mother city (Sidon). Sidon, the founder of Tyre, is called to be ashamed because her great daughter is destroyed. Parental pride turns to humiliation when the child falls (Isaiah 23:4; cf. Genesis 10:15,19).
- The voice of the sea. Tyre, once a fortress of the sea, now speaks as a barren woman. The sea that protected her becomes the platform for her grief. God uses the very elements that gave her strength to announce her ruin.
- The fivefold denial of fertility. The sequence, no labour, no birth, no nourishing young men, no raising virgins, drives home total loss. Commercial empire cannot save when the Lord of hosts purposes to stain pride (Isaiah 23:9).
Five‑point outline
- Address to Sidon: The ancestral city is singled out (Barnes, Gill).
- The sea speaks: Personification of Tyre as the stronghold of the sea (Calvin, Keil & Delitzsch).
- Lament of the barren mother: Fourfold denial of childbirth and rearing (Clarke, Jamieson‑Fausset‑Brown).
- The shock to Egypt: Even Egypt trembles at Tyre’s fall (v.5).
- The Lord’s purpose: Pride stained, glory brought low (v.9).
Illustration hooks
- A prosperous business family loses everything in a sudden crash. Neighbours who once admired their success now avert their eyes. The sense of barrenness, nothing left to pass on, mirrors Tyre’s lament.
- A once‑thriving city centre becomes a ghost town after the main factory closes. The streets that were full of young people are now silent. That silence is the voice of the sea: 'I have not raised young men.'
- Parents who outlive their children know a grief that feels like they never had children at all. Isaiah uses that raw grief to make divine judgment visceral.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God judge Tyre so harshly? Wasn’t she just successful at business?
- What does it mean that the sea speaks? Is this literal or poetic?
- How does this ancient judgment apply to modern nations or to our own lives?
Leading a Discussion
This verse forces us to confront a painful truth: the success we build can be stripped away in a moment, leaving us as if we had never produced anything at all. As you read Isaiah 23:4 in its context (vs.1‑9), notice how God uses the very elements of Tyre's pride, the sea, commerce, colonies, to announce her end. Let the barren mother's lament sink in before you move to application.
Discussion questions
- Observation: Who is addressed in this verse, and why is Sidon called to be ashamed? (Compare verse 12.)
- Observation: What does 'the sea has spoken' mean, and how is Tyre described as 'the stronghold of the sea'?
- Interpretation: Why does the speaker use the image of a woman who has not travailed, given birth, or raised children? What does that convey about Tyre’s condition?
- Interpretation: Commentators note that Tyre was a 'mother city' of colonies (Barnes, Calvin). How does the maternal metaphor specifically fit Tyre’s history?
- Interpretation: Read Ezekiel 26:3‑6 and Jeremiah 47:4. How do other prophets reinforce the theme of childlessness as judgment?
- Application: Where do we place our hope of legacy, in our work, family, or reputation? How does Tyre's fall challenge that?
- Application: 'The Lord of hosts has purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory' (v.9). How does this shape our view of human achievement?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 10:15 | Canaan became the father of Sidon (his firstborn), Heth, |
| Genesis 10:19 | The border of the Canaanites was from Sidon—as you go toward Gerar—to Gaza—as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim—to Lasha. |
| Jeremiah 47:3 | At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong ones, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers don’t look back for their children because their hands are so feeble, |
| Jeremiah 47:4 | because of the day that comes to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; for Yahweh will destroy the Philistines, the remnant of the isle of Caphtor. |
| Ezekiel 26:3 | therefore the Lord Yahweh says, ‘Behold, I am against you, Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. |
| Ezekiel 26:6 | Her daughters who are in the field will be slain with the sword. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.’ |
| Hosea 9:11 | As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird. There will be no birth, no one with child, and no conception. |
| Hosea 9:14 | Give them—Yahweh what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke draws attention to Sidon as the mother city of Tyre, noting that her shame comes from grief over her daughter's calamity, a relationship supported by historical
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes personifies Sidon as the mother city grieving over Tyre her daughter, destroyed and humbled. He interprets the sea's speech as Tyre itself lamenting that its commercial power to plant colonies and nourish other cities has ended. The verse depicts the commercial queen of the world brought low.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin identifies a dramatic personification: Isaiah calls Tyre "the sea" to emphasize her maritime dominance. The prophet then puts a taunting lament in Tyre's mouth, where she mourns as though she never gave birth to famous colonies like Carthage. This strips Tyre of all glory from her founding achievements.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible suggests the phrase "the stronghold of the sea" interrupts the poet's vivid personification of the sea as a childless mother. They suspect the words were added later as a gloss, as if the poet corrected himself mid-image and shifted focus from the sea to Tyre.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Be ashamed, thou Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, euen the strength of the sea, saying, I haue not trauailed, nor brought forth children, neither nourished yong men, nor brought vp virgins.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill identifies Tyre as the speaker behind "the sea" and "the strength of the sea," lamenting that it no longer bears or raises children. He notes that Tyre was famous as a mother city that sent out colonies like Carthage, so its ruin left it barren and childlike. This explains why nearby Zidon, as Tyre's daughter colony, shares its shame.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes that Zidon, Tyre's parent city, is called to feel the shame of being childless, as if she no longer gives birth. He explains "strength of the sea" as the stronghold of New Tyre, a rock fortress surrounded by water, comparable to Venice being called "Bride of the sea."
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch observe that the sea itself, or specifically the island fortress of Tyre, is pictured as a woman mourning that war has robbed her of her young people, making her as if she had never given birth. They also note that news of Tyre's fall spreads terror in Egypt, whose own prosperity was bound up with Tyre as the great market for its corn.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry sees Tyre's fall as a deliberate divine judgment against human pride. The Lord of hosts purposed the city's destruction specifically to stain the pride of all glory and bring the honorable of the earth into contempt. No human power or wealth can stand when God acts to humble the proud.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights the dramatic reversal in Tyre's fortune