Isaiah 23:3

23:3 the deep waters! ¹ 

Grain from the Shihor region, ² 

crops grown near the Nile ³  she receives; ⁴ 

she is the trade center ⁵  of the nations.

Isaiah 23:8

23:8 Who planned this for royal Tyre, ⁶ 

whose merchants are princes,

whose traders are the dignitaries ⁷  of the earth?

[23:3]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text (23:2b-3a) reads literally, “merchant of Sidon, the one who crosses the sea, they filled you, and on the deep waters.” Instead of מִלְאוּךְ (mil’ukh, “they filled you”) the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads מלאכיך (“your messengers”). The translation assumes an emendation of מִלְאוּךְ to מַלְאָכָו (mal’akhav, “his messengers”), taking the vav (ו) on וּבְמַיִם (uvÿmayim) as improperly placed; instead it should be the final letter of the preceding word.

[23:3]  ² tn Heb “seed of Shihor.” “Shihor” probably refers to the east branch of the Nile. See Jer 2:18 and BDB 1009 s.v. שִׁיחוֹר.

[23:3]  ³ tn Heb “the harvest of the Nile.”

[23:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “[is] her revenue.”

[23:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “merchandise”; KJV, ASV “a mart of nations”; NLT “the merchandise mart of the world.”

[23:8]  ⁶ tn The precise meaning of הַמַּעֲטִירָה (hamma’atirah) is uncertain. The form is a Hiphil participle from עָטַר (’atar), a denominative verb derived from עֲטָרָה (’atarah, “crown, wreath”). The participle may mean “one who wears a crown” or “one who distributes crowns.” In either case, Tyre’s prominence in the international political arena is in view.

[23:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the honored” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “renowned.”