Isaiah 23:4

Context

23:4 Be ashamed, O Sidon,

for the sea¹ says this, O fortress of the sea:

“I have not gone into labor

or given birth;

I have not raised young men

or brought up young women.”²

[23:4] ¹tn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:430-31) sees here a reference to Yam, the Canaanite god of the sea. He interprets the phrase מָעוֹז הַיָּם (ma’oz hayyam, “fortress of the sea”) as a title of Yam, translating “Mighty One of the Sea.” A more traditional view is that the phrase refers to Sidon.

[23:4] ²tn Or “virgins” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).