Isaiah 23:4

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.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The prophet addresses Sidon, identified as the "stronghold of the sea," pronouncing its shame as the sea itself delivers the declaration. This oracle follows the description of Tyre's maritime trade and precedes Egypt's reaction to the same coastal collapse.

The words — בּוֹשִׁי (bōšî) commands "be ashamed," while מָעוֹז (maʿōz) names the city a "stronghold." The sea personifies its own barrenness, stating it has neither labored nor raised children.

The thread — The cessation of life and celebration in Isaiah 23:4 parallels the final desolation described in Revelation 18:23. Sidon's geographic and genealogical placement appears in Genesis 10:15 and 10:19 as a son of Canaan and a northern boundary marker.

Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that coastal commerce and fortified cities cannot produce life or avert judgment. It requires the reader to confront the futility of economic power when divine declaration stands.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

בּ֣וֹשִׁיBo.o.shibe ashamed צִיד֔וֹןtzi.DonO Sidon כִּֽי־ki-for אָמַ֣ר'a.Marit has said יָ֔םYam[the] sea מָע֥וֹזma.'oz[the] stronghold of הַיָּ֖םhai./Yamthe/ sea לֵאמֹ֑רle./Mor<to>/ saying לֹֽא־lo'-not חַ֣לְתִּיChal.tiI have been in labor וְלֹֽא־ve./lo'-and/ not יָלַ֗דְתִּיya.Lad.tiI have given birth וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not גִדַּ֛לְתִּיgi.Dal.tiI have brought up בַּחוּרִ֖יםba.chu.Rimyoung men רוֹמַ֥מְתִּיro.Mam.tiI have raised בְתוּלֽוֹת׃ve.tu.Lotyoung women

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Revelation 18:23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”
Genesis 10:15 And Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites,
Genesis 10:19 and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
Jeremiah 47:3 at the sound of the galloping hooves of stallions, the rumbling of chariots, and the clatter of their wheels. The fathers will not turn back for their sons; their hands will hang limp.
Ezekiel 26:3 therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, O Tyre, I am against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.
Hosea 9:11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird, with no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception.

Places named

Sidon