Isaiah 23:16
New International Version
“Take up a harp, walk through the city, you forgotten prostitute; play the harp well, sing many a song, so that you will be remembered.”

New Living Translation
Take a harp and walk the streets, you forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody and sing your songs so you will be remembered again.

English Standard Version
“Take a harp; go about the city, O forgotten prostitute! Make sweet melody; sing many songs, that you may be remembered.”

Berean Standard Bible
“Take up your harp, stroll through the city, O forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody, sing many a song, so you will be remembered.”

King James Bible
Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

New King James Version
“Take a harp, go about the city, You forgotten harlot; Make sweet melody, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.”

New American Standard Bible
Take your harp, wander around the city, You forgotten prostitute; Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.

NASB 1995
Take your harp, walk about the city, O forgotten harlot; Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.

NASB 1977
Take your harp, walk about the city, O forgotten harlot; Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.

Legacy Standard Bible
Take your harp, walk about the city, O forgotten harlot; Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.

Amplified Bible
Take a harp, walk around the city, O forgotten prostitute; Play the strings skillfully, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.

Christian Standard Bible
Pick up your lyre, stroll through the city, you forgotten prostitute. Play skillfully, sing many a song so that you will be remembered.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Pick up your lyre, stroll through the city, prostitute forgotten by men. Play skillfully, sing many a song, and you will be thought of again.

American Standard Version
Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

Contemporary English Version
You're gone and forgotten, you evil woman! So strut through the town, singing and playing your favorite tune to be remembered again.

English Revised Version
Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Take your lyre. Go around in the city, you forgotten prostitute. Make sweet music. Sing many songs so that you'll be remembered."

Good News Translation
Take your harp, go round the town, you poor forgotten whore! Play and sing your songs again to bring men back once more.

International Standard Version
"Take a harp; walk around the city, you forgotten whore! Make sweet melody; sing many songs, and perhaps you'll be remembered."

Majority Standard Bible
?Take up your harp, stroll through the city, O forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody, sing many a song, so you will be remembered.?

NET Bible
"Take the harp, go through the city, forgotten prostitute! Play it well, play lots of songs, so you'll be noticed!"

New Heart English Bible
Take a harp; go about the city, you prostitute that has been forgotten. Make sweet melody. Sing many songs, that you may be remembered.

Webster's Bible Translation
Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

World English Bible
Take a harp; go about the city, you prostitute that has been forgotten. Make sweet melody. Sing many songs, that you may be remembered.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Take a harp, go around the city, O forgotten harlot, play well, "" Multiply song that you may be remembered.

Young's Literal Translation
Take a harp, go round the city, O forgotten harlot, play well, Multiply song that thou mayest be remembered.

Smith's Literal Translation
Take a harp, go about the city, O harlot having been forgotten; be cheerful, playing on the instrument; increase the song so that thou shalt be remembered.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten: sing well, sing many a song, that thou mayst be remembered.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Take up a stringed instrument. Circulate through the city, you harlot who had been forgotten. Sing many canticles well, so that you may be remembered.

New American Bible
Take a harp, go about the city, forgotten prostitute; Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.

New Revised Standard Version
Take a harp, go about the city, you forgotten prostitute! Make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Take a harp, go about the city, O you harlot that has been forgotten; play sweet melodies, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Take a harp and go around the city, whore that was forgotten! Play beautifully! Multiply singers so that you will be remembered!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Take a harp, Go about the city, Thou harlot long forgotten; Make sweet melody, Sing many songs, That thou mayest be remembered.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Take a harp, go about, O city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; play well on the harp, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Fall of Tyre
15At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years—the span of a king’s life. But at the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot: 16“Take up your harp, stroll through the city, O forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody, sing many a song, so you will be remembered.” 17And at the end of seventy years, the LORD will restore Tyre. Then she will return to hire as a prostitute and sell herself to all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.…

Cross References
Ezekiel 26:13
So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.

Revelation 18:22
And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again.

Jeremiah 25:10
Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.

Ezekiel 27:25-27
The ships of Tarshish carried your merchandise. And you were filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea. / Your oarsmen have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind will shatter you in the heart of the sea. / Your wealth, wares, and merchandise, your sailors, captains, and shipwrights, your merchants and all the warriors within you, with all the other people on board, will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your downfall.

Nahum 3:4
because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the seductive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft.

Isaiah 47:15
This is what they are to you—those with whom you have labored and traded from youth—each one strays in his own direction; not one of them can save you.

Revelation 17:1-2
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. / The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

Isaiah 14:11
Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket.

Ezekiel 28:12-19
“Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. / You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation. / You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for I had ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones. ...

Revelation 18:3
All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”

Isaiah 24:8
The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent.

Jeremiah 51:7
Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations have gone mad.

Isaiah 32:13-14
and for the land of my people, overgrown with thorns and briers—even for every house of merriment in this city of revelry. / For the palace will be forsaken, the busy city abandoned. The hill and the watchtower will become caves forever—the delight of wild donkeys and a pasture for flocks—

Revelation 14:8
Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

Isaiah 16:10
Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards. No one tramples the grapes in the winepresses; I have put an end to the cheering.


Treasury of Scripture

Take an harp, go about the city, you harlot that have been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.

Proverbs 7:10-12
And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart…

Jeremiah 30:14
All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.

Jump to Previous
City Forgotten Harlot Harp Instrument Loose Mayest Melody Memory Minds Music Play Pluck Prostitute Remembered Round Sing Skillfully Songs Strings Sweet Walk
Jump to Next
City Forgotten Harlot Harp Instrument Loose Mayest Melody Memory Minds Music Play Pluck Prostitute Remembered Round Sing Skillfully Songs Strings Sweet Walk
Isaiah 23
1. The miserable overthrow of Tyre
15. Her restoration and unfaithfulness














Take up your harp
The phrase "Take up your harp" suggests an action of engaging in music, which in ancient times was a significant part of cultural and religious expression. The harp, a stringed instrument, was often associated with joy, celebration, and sometimes lamentation. In the Hebrew context, the harp (Hebrew: כִּנּוֹר, kinnor) was a common instrument used in worship and festivities. This call to take up the harp indicates a return to a former way of life, possibly suggesting a revival or continuation of cultural practices despite adversity.

walk around the city
The instruction to "walk around the city" implies a public display or performance. In ancient cities, musicians and performers would often walk through the streets to attract attention or to bring a message. This action could symbolize a call to reclaim presence and influence within the city, suggesting resilience and the continuation of life and culture even after hardship. Historically, cities were centers of trade and culture, and walking around them would be a way to engage with the community.

O forgotten prostitute
The term "O forgotten prostitute" is a metaphorical reference to Tyre, a city known for its wealth and trade, often depicted as a prostitute in prophetic literature due to its commercial relationships with many nations. The word "forgotten" indicates a loss of status or influence. In the Hebrew context, the use of "prostitute" (Hebrew: זוֹנָה, zonah) is symbolic of unfaithfulness or idolatry, often used by prophets to describe cities or nations that have turned away from God. This phrase highlights the city's fall from prominence and the need to regain its former position.

make sweet melody
The phrase "make sweet melody" suggests creating music that is pleasing and attractive. In the context of the verse, it implies an effort to regain favor or attention through charm and skill. Music in the ancient world was not only entertainment but also a means of communication and persuasion. The Hebrew root for "melody" (נָעִים, na'im) conveys pleasantness and delight, indicating that the music should be appealing and captivating.

sing many songs
"Sing many songs" emphasizes the need for persistence and variety in the effort to be remembered or to regain influence. Songs in ancient times were a way to tell stories, convey messages, and preserve history. The act of singing many songs suggests a comprehensive and sustained effort to reach out and connect with others. In the biblical context, singing was often associated with worship and celebration, indicating a hopeful and determined spirit.

that you may be remembered
The ultimate goal expressed in "that you may be remembered" is the restoration of reputation and influence. In the ancient Near Eastern culture, being remembered was crucial for legacy and honor. The Hebrew root for "remembered" (זָכַר, zakar) implies not just recollection but also consideration and acknowledgment. This phrase underscores the desire for restoration and the hope that through persistent effort, the city of Tyre might regain its place in the world.

(16) Take an harp, go about the city . . .--In a tone half of irony and half of pity, the prophet tells the "harlot that had been forgotten" to return to her old arts of song (the singing women of the East were commonly of this class), and to go about once more with song and lyre, recalling her old lovers (i.e., her old allies) to the memory of their past love.

Verse 16. - Take an harp. Harlots in the East, and indeed in the West also in ancient times (Her., 'Epist.,' 1:14, 1. 25), were expected to be musicians. The harp and the guitar were their usual instruments. Forgotten harlot. In addressing. Tyro as a "harlot," the prophet does not seem to mean more than that her aims were, or at any rate had been, selfish and worldly, such as sever between man and God. She had pursued wealth for the enjoyments that it brought her, not in order to make a good use of it. Hers had been the covetousness which is "idolatry" (Colossians 3:5).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Take up
קְחִ֥י (qə·ḥî)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - feminine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

your harp,
כִנּ֛וֹר (ḵin·nō·wr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3658: A harp

stroll through
סֹ֥בִּי (sōb·bî)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - feminine singular
Strong's 5437: To turn about, go around, surround

the city,
עִ֖יר (‘îr)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5892: Excitement

O forgotten
נִשְׁכָּחָ֑ה (niš·kā·ḥāh)
Verb - Nifal - Participle - feminine singular
Strong's 7911: To mislay, to be oblivious of, from want of memory, attention

harlot;
זוֹנָ֣ה (zō·w·nāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2181: To commit adultery, to commit idolatry

make sweet
הֵיטִ֤יבִי (hê·ṭî·ḇî)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - feminine singular
Strong's 3190: To be good, well, glad, or pleasing

melody,
נַגֵּן֙ (nag·gên)
Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5059: To touch or play a stringed instrument

sing many
הַרְבִּי־ (har·bî-)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - feminine singular
Strong's 7235: To be or become much, many or great

a song,
שִׁ֔יר (šîr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7892: A song, singing

so you will be remembered.
תִּזָּכֵֽרִי׃ (tiz·zā·ḵê·rî)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - second person feminine singular
Strong's 2142: To mark, to remember, to mention, to be male


Links
Isaiah 23:16 NIV
Isaiah 23:16 NLT
Isaiah 23:16 ESV
Isaiah 23:16 NASB
Isaiah 23:16 KJV

Isaiah 23:16 BibleApps.com
Isaiah 23:16 Biblia Paralela
Isaiah 23:16 Chinese Bible
Isaiah 23:16 French Bible
Isaiah 23:16 Catholic Bible

OT Prophets: Isaiah 23:16 Take a harp (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 23:15
Top of Page
Top of Page