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Isaiah 2:16

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Isaiah 2:16

Verse 16 of 22

Scripture focus

And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.

Isaiah 2:16 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Isaiah 2:16

Theological / Devotional

The ships of Tarshish. These were great seagoing ships, carrying cargoes of metals in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea for commerce with distant lands (see 1 Kings 10:22; 22:48; 2 Chron. 20:36). The judgment of Heaven would rest upon these commercial enterprises, prompted as they were by selfishness and greed.

All pleasant pictures. The Hebrew of this phrase was formerly considered uncertain.

Recent studies, however, reveal that the Heb. sekiyyah, formerly thought to mean “picture,” means “ship.” The phrase should therefore be translated “all pleasant ships,” or “all desirable ships.” The context — the first part of this verse — confirms this definition.

The LXX also reads “ships.” In Egyptian skti means “ship.”

By SdaBc