These two things will happen to you
suddenly, in one day:
loss of children and widowhood.
They will happen to you in their entirety,
in spite of your many sorceries(A)
and the potency of your spells.
10 You were secure in your wickedness;
you said, ‘No one sees me.’(B)
Your wisdom and knowledge
led you astray.
You said to yourself,
‘I exist, and there is no one else.’
11 But disaster will happen to you;
you will not know how to avert it.
And it will fall on you,
but you will be unable to ward it off.[a]
Devastation will happen to you suddenly
and unexpectedly.(C)
12 So take your stand with your spells
and your many sorceries,
which you have wearied yourself with from your youth.
Perhaps you will be able to succeed;
perhaps you will inspire terror!
13 You are worn out with your many consultations.
So let them stand and save you—
the astrologers,[b] who observe the stars,(D)
who predict monthly
what will happen to you.
14 Look, they are like stubble;(E)
fire burns them up.(F)
They cannot deliver themselves
from the power[c] of the flame.
This is not a coal for warming themselves,
or a fire to sit beside!
15 This is what they are to you—
those who have wearied you
and have traded with you from your youth—
each wanders on his own way;
no one can save you.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 47:11 Or to atone for it
  2. Isaiah 47:13 Lit dividers of the heavens
  3. Isaiah 47:14 Lit hand

Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment,(A) on a single day:
    loss of children(B) and widowhood.(C)
They will come upon you in full measure,
    in spite of your many sorceries(D)
    and all your potent spells.(E)
10 You have trusted(F) in your wickedness
    and have said, ‘No one sees me.’(G)
Your wisdom(H) and knowledge mislead(I) you
    when you say to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disaster(J) will come upon you,
    and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
    that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
    will suddenly(K) come upon you.

12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
    and with your many sorceries,(L)
    which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
    perhaps you will cause terror.
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!(M)
    Let your astrologers(N) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
    let them save(O) you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;(P)
    the fire(Q) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
    from the power of the flame.(R)
These are not coals for warmth;
    this is not a fire to sit by.
15 That is all they are to you—
    these you have dealt with
    and labored(S) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
    there is not one that can save(T) you.

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