Isaiah 23:3

English Standard Version

And on many waters your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
They traveled the seas looking for grain. The men from Tyre bought grain that grows near the Nile River and sold it to other nations.

New Living Translation
sailing over deep waters. They brought you grain from Egypt and harvests from along the Nile. You were the marketplace of the world.

Update Bible Version
And on great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.

New Century Version
They traveled the sea to bring grain from Egypt; the sailors of Tyre brought grain from the Nile Valley and sold it to other nations.

New English Translation
the deep waters! Grain from the Shihor region, crops grown near the Nile she receives; she is the trade center of the nations.

Webster's Bible Translation
And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, [is] her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

World English Bible
On great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the market of nations.

Amplified Bible
And they were on great waters. The grain of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile River, was Tyre's revenue; And she was the market of nations.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
the seed of Nylus is heruest, the flood is the corn therof, and it is maad the marchaundie of hethene men.

English Revised Version
And on great waters the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.

Berean Standard Bible
On the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre; she was the merchant of the nations.

Contemporary English Version
Your merchants sailed the seas, making you wealthy by trading with nation after nation. They brought back grain that grew along the Nile.

American Standard Version
And on great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.

Bible in Basic English
Who get in the seed of Shihor, whose wealth is the trade of the nations.

Complete Jewish Bible
By the great water the grain of Shichor, the harvest of the Nile, brought you profits. She was marketplace for the nations.

Darby Translation
And on great waters, the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the market of the nations.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And on great waters the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.

King James Version (1611)
And by great waters the seede of Sihor, the haruest of the riuer is her reuenew, and she is a mart of nations.

New Life Bible
and go on many waters. The grain of the Nile, that was gathered beside that River, made money for Tyre who was the trader of the nations.

New Revised Standard
and were on the mighty waters; your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.

Geneva Bible (1587)
The seede of Nilus growing by the abundance of waters, and the haruest of the riuer was her reuenues, and she was a marte of the nations.

George Lamsa Translation
Your commerce is on many waters, O offspring of merchants; the harvest of the river is her revenue, and she is a mart of nations.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Yea on mighty waters, was the grain of Shihor, The harvest of the Nile, was her increase, - And so she became a mart of nations.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The seed of the Nile in many waters, the harvest of the river is her revenue: and she is become the mart of the nations.

Revised Standard Version
and were on many waters; your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The corne that groweth by the great waters of Nilus, and the fruites of the riuer were her vittayles, so that it became a common mart of the nations.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
in great waters, a generation of merchants? as when the harvest is gathered in, so are these traders with the nations.

Good News Translation
across the sea to buy and sell the grain that grew in Egypt and to do business with all the nations.

Christian Standard Bible®
over deep water.Tyre’s revenue was the grain from Shihor—the harvest of the Nile.She was the merchant among the nations.

Hebrew Names Version
On great waters the seed of the Shichor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the market of nations.

King James Version
And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

Lexham English Bible
And on the great waters is the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile is its produce, and she was the merchandise of the nations.

Literal Translation
And by great waters, the seed of Sihor and the harvest of the river Nile was her revenue; and she a mart of nations.

Young's Literal Translation
And in many waters [is] the seed of Sihor, The harvest of the brook [is] her increase, And she is a mart of nations.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For by see were there frutes brought vnto the, and all maner of corne by water. Thou wast the comon marcket of al people.

New American Standard Bible
And were on many waters. The grain of the Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue; And she was the market of nations.

New King James Version
And on great waters the grain of Shihor,The harvest of the River, [fn] is her revenue;And she is a marketplace for the nations.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And were on many waters. The grain of the Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue; And she was the market of nations.

Legacy Standard Bible
And were on many waters.The grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile was her revenue;And she was the nations' gain.

Contextual Overview

¹ The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor! From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them. ² Be still, O inhabitants of the coast; the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you. ³ And on many waters your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations. ⁴ Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying: "I have neither labored nor given birth, I have neither reared young men nor brought up young women." ⁵ When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre. ⁶ Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coast! ⁷ Is this your exultant city whose origin is from days of old, whose feet carried her to settle far away? ⁸ Who has purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth? ⁹ The Lord of hosts has purposed it, to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth. ¹⁰ Cross over your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint anymore.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Sihor: 1 Chronicles 13:5, Jeremiah 2:18

the harvest: Isaiah 32:20, Deuteronomy 11:10

she is: Isaiah 23:8, Ezekiel 27:33, Ezekiel 28:4, Joel 3:5, Revelation 18:11-13

Reciprocal: Isaiah 23:11 - against the merchant city Ezekiel 28:5 - and by

Cross-References

Genesis 10:15
Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth,

Genesis 23:5
The Hittites answered Abraham,

Genesis 23:7
Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land.

Genesis 25:10
the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife.

Genesis 27:46
Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?"

Genesis 49:30
in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place.

1 Samuel 26:6
Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab's brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, "Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?" And Abishai said, "I will go down with you."

2 Samuel 23:39
Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And by great waters the seed of Sihor,.... Sihor is the river Nile in Egypt; it had its name from the black colour of its waters, as in Jeremiah 2:18 hence called by the Greeks Melas, and by the Latins Melo: the "seed" of it intends what was sown and grew upon the banks of it, or was nourished by the overflow of this river throughout the land, and includes corn, flax, paper, c. with which Egypt abounded and when this is said to be "by great waters", the meaning either is, that it grew by great waters, the waters of the Nile, and through the influence of them; or that it came by great waters to Tyre; that is, by the waters of the sea, the Mediterranean Sea:

the harvest of the river [is] her revenue; this clause is the same with the former, and serves to explain it; the river is the river Nile, the harvest is the seed that was sown and grew by it, and which at the proper season, when ripe, was gathered from it, and carried in ships to Tyre, with which that city was supplied and enriched, as if it had been its own produce:

and she is a mart of nations; Tyre was a city to which all nations traded, it was a mart for them all, and where they brought their wares to sell, and always found a market for them, here they had vent. The twenty seventh chapter of Ezekiel Ezekiel 27:1 is a proper commentary on this clause.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And by great waters - That is, by the abundant-waters, or the overflowing of the Nile. Tyre was the mart to which the superabundant productions of Egypt were borne (see Ezekiel 27:0)

The seed of Sihor - There can be no doubt that by ‘Sihor’ here is meant the river Nile in Egypt (see Joshua 13:3; 1 Chronicles 13:5; Jeremiah 2:18). The word שׁחר shichor is derived from שׁחר shachar, “to be black” Job 30:30, and is given to the Nile from its color when it brings down the slime or mud by which Egypt is rendered so fertile. The Greeks gave to the river the name Μέλας Melas (“black”), and the Latins call it “Melo” - (Serv. ad Virg. “Geor.” iv. 291. It was called “Siris” by the Ethiopians; perhaps the same as Sihor. The upper branches of the Nile in Abyssinia all receive their names from the “color” of the water, and are called the White River, the Blue River, etc.

The harvest of the river - The productions caused by the overflowing of the river. Egypt was celebrated for producing grain, and Rome and Greece derived no small part of their supplies from that fertile country. It is also evident that the inhabitants of Palestine were early accustomed to go to Egypt in time of scarcity for supplies of grain (see Genesis 37:25, Genesis 37:28, and the history of Joseph, Gen. 41–43) That the “Tyrians” traded with Egypt is also well known. Herodotus (ii. 112) mentions one entire quarter of the city of Memphis that was inhabited by the Tyrians.

Is her revenue - Her resources are brought from thence.

She is a mart of nations - How true this was, see Ezekiel 27:0. No place was more favorably situated for commerce; and she had engrossed the trade nearly of all the world.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 23:3. The seed of Sihor - "The seed of the Nile"] The Nile is called here Shichor, as it is Jeremiah 2:18, and 1 Chronicles 13:5. It had this name from the blackness of its waters, charged with the mud which it brings down from Ethiopia when it overflows, Et viridem AEgyptum nigra fecundat arena; as it was called by the Greeks Melas, and by the Latins Melo, for the same reason. See Servius on the above line of Virgil, Georg. iv. 291. It was called Siris by the Ethiopians, by some supposed to be the same with Shichor. Egypt by its extraordinary fertility, caused by the overflowing of the Nile supplied the neighbouring nations with corn, by which branch of trade the Tyrians gained great wealth.