Isaiah 47
Lexham English Bible
Babylon’s Fall
47 Come down and sit on the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon!
Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of Chaldea!
For they shall no longer call[a] you tender and delicate.
2 Take the pair of mill stones and grind flour!
Uncover your veil,
strip off your skirt,
uncover your thigh,
pass through the rivers!
3 Your nakedness shall be exposed;
indeed, your shame shall become visible.
I will take vengeance
and I will not spare[b] a person.
4 Our redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is his name, the holy one of Israel.
5 Sit silently and go into the darkness, daughter of Chaldea,
for they shall no longer call[c] you mistress of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people;
I profaned my inheritance,
and I gave them into your hand.
You did not give[d] them mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke very heavy.
7 And you said, “I shall be an eternal mistress forever!”
You did not set these things upon your heart;
you did not remember its end.
8 Therefore now hear this, luxuriant one who sits[e] in security,
who says[f] in her heart, “I am, and besides me there is no one.
I shall not sit as a widow,
and I shall not know the loss of children.”
9 And these two shall come to you in a moment, in one day:
the loss of children and widowhood shall come on you completely,[g]
in spite of your many sorceries,
in spite of the power of your great enchantments.
10 And you felt secure in your wickedness;
you said, “No one[h] sees[i] me.”
Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,
and you said in your heart, “I am, and besides me there is no one.”
11 And evil shall come upon you, you will not know;
it will be on the lookout for her.
And disaster shall fall upon you; you will not be able to avert[j] it.
And ruin shall come on you suddenly; you do not know.
12 Stand, now, in your enchantments,
and in your many sorceries with which you have labored from your youth.
Perhaps you may be able to benefit;
perhaps you may scare away.[k]
13 You struggle with your many consultations;[l]
let them stand, now, and save you—
those who see the stars, divide the celestial sphere,[m]
who inform by new moons—
from those things that are coming upon you.
14 Look! They are like stubble;
the fire burns them completely.
They cannot deliver themselves[n] from the power[o] of the flame;
there is no coal for warming oneself,[p]
no fire before which to sit.
15 So are to you those with whom you have labored,
your traders from your youth.
They wander, each to his side;
there is no one who can save you.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 47:1 Literally “you shall not add they shall call to”
- Isaiah 47:3 Literally “plead with”
- Isaiah 47:5 Literally “you shall not add they shall call to”
- Isaiah 47:6 Literally “set up”
- Isaiah 47:8 Or “sitting”
- Isaiah 47:8 Or “saying”
- Isaiah 47:9 Literally “as their fullness”
- Isaiah 47:10 Literally “none”
- Isaiah 47:10 Or “is seeing”
- Isaiah 47:11 Literally “make amends”
- Isaiah 47:12 Literally “terrify”
- Isaiah 47:13 Or “advice”
- Isaiah 47:13 Literally “heavens,” that is, for astrology
- Isaiah 47:14 Literally “their lives”
- Isaiah 47:14 Literally “hand”
- Isaiah 47:14 Literally “to grow warm”
Isaiah 47
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Fall of Babylon
47 “Go down and sit in the dust,(A)
Virgin Daughter Babylon.(B)
Sit on the ground without a throne,
Daughter Chaldea!
For you will no longer be called pampered and spoiled.
2 Take millstones and grind meal;(C)
remove your veil,
strip off your skirt, bare your thigh,
wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness will be uncovered,
and your shame will be exposed.(D)
I will take vengeance;
I will spare no one.[a]
4 The Holy One of Israel is our Redeemer;(E)
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.
5 “Daughter Chaldea,
sit in silence(F) and go into darkness.
For you will no longer be called mistress of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with My people;
I profaned My possession,
and I placed them under your control.
You showed them no mercy;
you made your yoke very heavy on the elderly.
7 You said, ‘I will be the mistress forever.’
You did not take these things to heart
or think about their outcome.
8 “So now hear this, lover of luxury,
who sits securely,(G)
who says to herself,
‘I exist, and there is no one else.
I will never be a widow
or know the loss of children.’(H)
9 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(I)
and the potency of your spells.
10 You were secure in your wickedness;
you said, ‘No one sees me.’(J)
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.[b]
Devastation will happen to you suddenly
and unexpectedly.(K)
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,[c] who observe the stars,(L)
who predict monthly
what will happen to you.
14 Look, they are like stubble;(M)
fire burns them up.(N)
They cannot deliver themselves
from the power[d] 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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 47:3 Hb obscure
- Isaiah 47:11 Or to atone for it
- Isaiah 47:13 Lit dividers of the heavens
- Isaiah 47:14 Lit hand
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