Isaiah 23:5-9 · Bible study
Isaiah 23:5-9 Commentary: Tyre's Fall and God's Sovereign Purpose
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why Egypt anguishes at Tyre's fall: interdependence of nations and God's plan to humble pride. Commentary for teaching and preaching.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The fall of Tyre reveals God's sovereignty over proud commercial powers and the interconnected judgment of nations.
- Key Words: 'Yahweh of Armies' (God as commander), 'profane' (to treat as common, to defile), 'pride of all glory' (self-exalting splendor).
- Main Debate: The historical timing of Tyre's fall, whether during the Assyrian, Babylonian, or Greek (Alexander) era. The text is open to multiple fulfillments.
- Theological Theme: God's judgment on human pride, His sovereign plan over history, and the shifting of earthly power.
- Best Use: A sermon or study on pride and humility, God's rule over nations, or the fragility of wealth and influence.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
5When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre.
6Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coastland!
7Is this your jubilant city, whose origin is from antiquity, whose feet have taken her to settle far away?
8Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth?
9The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth.
WEB World English Bible 2000
5When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report of Tyre.
6Pass over to Tarshish! Wail, you inhabitants of the coast!
7Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days, whose feet carried her far away to travel?
8Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
9Yahweh of Armies has planned it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
KJV King James Version 1769
5As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
6Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.
7Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
8Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
9The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
5When the report cometh to Egypt, they shall be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
6Pass ye over to Tarshish; wail, ye inhabitants of the coast.
7Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days, whose feet carried her afar off to sojourn?
8Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth?
9Jehovah of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
5As at the report of Egypt they are pained, So at the report of Tyre.
6Pass over to Tarshish, howl, ye inhabitants of the isle,
7Is this your exulting one? From the days of old is her antiquity, Carry her do her own feet afar off to sojourn.
8Who hath counselled this against Tyre, The crowning one, whose traders are princes, Her merchants the honoured of earth?'
9Jehovah of Hosts hath counselled it, To pollute the excellency of all beauty, To make light all the honoured of earth.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
5— When the report came into Egypt, they were sorely pained at the news of Tyre.
6Pass over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the coast!
7Is this your joyous [city], whose antiquity is of ancient days? Her feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
8Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the distributor of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose dealers were the honourable of the earth?
9Jehovah of hosts hath purposed it, to profane the pride of all glory, to bring to nought all the honourable of the earth.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
5When it shall be heard in Egypt, they will be sorry when they shall hear of Tyre:
6Pass over the seas, howl, ye inhabitants of the island.
7Is not this your city, which gloried from of old in her antiquity? her feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
8Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, that was formerly crowned, whose merchants were princes, and her traders the nobles of the earth?
9The Lord of hosts hath designed it, to pull down the pride of all glory, and bring to disgrace all the glorious ones of the earth.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Isaiah 23:5
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Egypt's anguish at Tyre's fall (v5) reveals the deep economic and political ties binding the two nations. The Cambridge Bible notes that Assyria threatened both, so Tyre's collapse signals Egypt's own vulnerability. Barnes adds that Tyrian ships carried Egypt's grain, making the loss catastrophic. The rhetorical questions in verses 7, 8 build a sense of disbelief: how can this ancient, wealthy, crown-giving city be destroyed? The answer in verse 9 is decisive and unanimous. Calvin states that 'the Lord of hosts hath purposed it' shows God acting directly to 'profane the pride of all glory.' Jamieson-Fausset-Brown insists that 'whoever be the instruments, God is the First Cause.' The passage does not merely predict an event; it interprets it as divine judgment.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The Lord of Hosts has planned the fall of Tyre to humble the proud; this central truth is not in dispute across Christian traditions.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt's anguish at Tyre's fall | All traditions agree that Egypt reacts because of the economic and military alliance between the two nations. | Some commentators emphasize Egypt's fear of Assyria as the common enemy (Cambridge Bible), while others highlight the loss of trade in Egyptian grain (Ellicott). |
| Historical identity of Tyre's destroyer | Christians agree that the immediate agent is a human empire (Assyria, Babylon, or later Greece), but the ultimate cause is God's purpose. | The debate centers on which siege Isaiah primarily foretold: Sargon II's campaign, Nebuchadnezzar's thirteen-year siege, or Alexander the Great's conquest. Each reading finds support from different parts of the passage. |
| Meaning of 'crowning city' (המעטירה) | The phrase is taken to mean Tyre gave crowns to its colonies or its own rulers; Tyre was a city that created kings. | Some hold it refers to colonies like Tarshish and Carthage that had their own kings (Cambridge, Calvin). Others see it as describing Tyre's own wealth crowning its inhabitants (Gill). |
| God's role in planning destruction | All traditions affirm that Yahweh purposed this judgment; it is not a random historical event. | There is a minor difference in emphasis: Calvin stresses the motive as humbling pride, while Gill adds that even the instruments (pagan armies) are unwittingly serving God's plan. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Tyre was a Phoenician city-state on a rocky island off the Mediterranean coast, its name meaning 'rock.' It was among the most ancient cities in the region, Clarke notes it was already a strong city in Joshua's time (Jos 19:29). The Tyrians built a commercial empire stretching from Spain (Tarshish) to North Africa (Carthage). Their fleets carried the 'seed of the Shihor', the grain of Egypt, across the sea, making Tyre the nerve center of Mediterranean trade (Isa 23:3). When Assyria expanded westward under Sargon II and Sennacherib, both Egypt and Tyre felt the pressure. The Cambridge Bible observes that Assyria was a common enemy, so the report of Tyre's fall would strike Egypt as a death knell. The summons to 'pass over to Tarshish' (v6) is deeply ironic: the merchants are told to flee to the farthest colony, their last refuge. The rhetorical question 'Is this your joyous city?' (v7) mocks Tyre's self-confidence. Verse 8 highlights Tyre as 'the giver of crowns', a city that elevated dependent rulers to kingship. Egypt's anguish is not neighborly sympathy; it is the panic of a trading partner whose lifeline has been cut. As Ellicott notes, Egypt's export economy depended on Tyrian shipping. With Tyre gone, Egypt stood exposed.
Textual Notes
The Hebrew manuscript tradition for Isaiah 23 is well-preserved. The Masoretic Text (MT) is the basis of modern translations, and no significant variants affect the meaning of verses 5, 9. The differences between English versions (e.g., 'stain' vs 'profane' in v.9) arise from different choices in rendering the Hebrew verb chalal, not from a variant reading. The text is stable across the major ancient witnesses.
Reception History
Christian interpreters have read this passage as a sharp warning against pride and a proclamation of God's sovereignty over nations. Jerome applied it to Tyre's fall under Alexander the Great. Reformation-era commentators such as Calvin and Luther used it to argue that economic and political power cannot stand against God's decree. In the Wesleyan and Methodist traditions, it has been preached as a call to humility before the Lord of hosts. Modern readers continue to turn to this passage when reflecting on the fragility of global systems and the moral cost of pride.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- The Shock That Stops a Nation (v5). When the report reaches Egypt, they writhe in agony. The fall of one power reveals how deeply nations depend on each other. The gospel calls us to place ultimate trust not in any human system but in the God who rules over them all.
- Pride Put on Trial (vv6, 8). Tyre is mocked for its ancient glory, its self-absorbed joy, and its status as a crown-giver. Yet now its inhabitants flee to Tarshish. The city that boasted of its merchants as princes is reduced to scattering. Pride sets itself up for a fall that history records again and again.
- The Designer of History (v9). 'Yahweh of Armies has planned it.' This is the hinge. The fall is not an accident or mere human conflict. God is at work, humbling the proud to display His justice and to call all nations to acknowledge Him.
Five-Point Outline
- The report that shatters hope (v5).
- The desperate flight to the colonies (v6).
- The mockery of ancient glory (v7).
- The question of authorship (v8).
- The answer: God's sovereign purpose to stain pride (v9).
Illustration Hooks
- The Ever Given shipping blockage in the Suez Canal (2021) showed how one vessel can cripple global trade. Multiply that effect a thousandfold when a whole city like Tyre is wiped out.
- A town that hosts a major factory closing overnight, leaving workers and the local economy in shock, that sudden collapse mirrors the way Tyre's destruction rippled through the ancient world.
- The 2008 financial crisis illustrated how the failure of a few large institutions sows panic in countries on the other side of the world. Egypt's anguish is the same kind of systemic fear.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- Why does God allow prosperous, powerful cities to be destroyed?
- If Tyre fell for pride, how do we guard our own communities and hearts against the same? Is pride really that dangerous?
- What does it mean that God 'stains the pride of all glory'? Does He take pleasure in humiliating people?
Leading a Discussion
The passage invites us to see God as the Lord not only of individuals but of nations and economies. As you read Isaiah 23:5-9 together, pay attention to the systems we depend on, and to our own tendency toward pride.
Discussion Questions
- What does the description of Tyre in verses 6, 8 tell you about its wealth, reach, and self-image?
- Why does Egypt react with such anguish to the news of Tyre's fall? What does that reaction reveal about their relationship?
- In verse 8, the prophet asks 'Who has planned this?' How does the answer in verse 9 shape the way you understand the event? What does it say about God's character?
- The Hebrew verb for 'stain' (leChalel) means 'to profane' or 'to treat as common.' What does it mean for God to treat 'the pride of all glory' as common? How does that differ from merely punishing pride?
- Tyre is called 'the giver of crowns' and its merchants 'princes.' What does this reveal about the city's self-perception? How is that perception called into question by God's action?
- How does this passage challenge the way you think about economic, political, or national power today? Where do you place your ultimate trust?
- In what areas of your personal or community life might pride be a hidden factor that needs to be exposed before God?
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)
| Exodus 15:14 | The peoples have heard. They tremble. Pangs have taken hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. |
| Exodus 15:16 | Terror and dread falls on them. By the greatness of your arm they are as still as a stone, until your people pass over, Yahweh, until the people you have purchased pass over. |
| Joshua 2:9 | She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. |
| Joshua 2:11 | As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, and there wasn’t any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath. |
| Isaiah 19:16 | In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because of the shaking of Yahweh of Armies’s hand, which he shakes over them. |
| Ezekiel 26:15 | “The Lord Yahweh says to Tyre: ‘Won’t the islands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made within you? |
| Ezekiel 26:21 | I will make you a terror, and you will no more have any being. Though you are sought for, yet you will never be found again,’ says the Lord Yahweh.” |
| Ezekiel 27:29 | All who handle the oars, the mariners and all the pilots of the sea, will come down from their ships. They will stand on the land, |
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
6 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke defends Tyre's extreme antiquity against interpreters who question it, citing Joshua and 2 Samuel. He also argues that "far off" in the prophecy does not require a great literal distance, as the same Hebrew word describes a two-thousand-cubit gap in Joshua's crossing of the Jordan.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note stresses that the Lord of hosts personally decreed Tyre’s ruin to humble its pride and strip all earthly glory of its honor. Tyre, which gave crowns to others, will be led into exile by its own feet, making clear that God alone brings down the arrogant.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill compares Tyre's fall to what happened when Egypt was judged, saying surrounding nations hearing the news will be seized with the same terror. He stresses that the Lord of hosts deliberately planned this destruction to humble Tyre's pride and show that worldly glory is a fleeting, fragile thing.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB emphasizes that when Egypt hears of Tyre's ruin, they will recognize their own doom is near. Yet behind all human instruments, God is the first cause who brings down every haughty power. Tyre's fall displays how God mars the luster of all pride.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange emphasizes that this prophecy names the Chaldeans, not the Assyrians, as the people who will destroy Tyre. He treats this as a seed prediction, planted in Isaiah's time and later developed by prophets like Jeremiah and Zephaniah. For Lange, the mention of Chaldeans is a distinctive germ of later prophecy.
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.