Isaiah 47
Living Bible
47 “O Babylon, the unconquered, come sit in the dust; for your days of glory, pomp, and honor are ended. O daughter of Chaldea, never again will you be the lovely princess, tender and delicate. 2 Take heavy millstones and grind the corn; remove your veil;[a] strip off your robe; expose yourself to public view. 3 You shall be in nakedness and shame. I will take vengeance upon you and will not repent.”
4 So speaks our Redeemer, who will save Israel from Babylon’s mighty power; the Lord Almighty is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
5 Sit in darkness and silence, O Babylon; never again will you be called “The Queen of Kingdoms.” 6 For I was angry with my people Israel and began to punish them a little by letting them fall into your hands, O Babylon. But you showed them no mercy. You have made even the old folks carry heavy burdens. 7 You thought your reign would never end, Queen Kingdom of the world. You didn’t care a whit about my people or think about the fate of those who do them harm.
8 O pleasure-mad kingdom, living at ease, bragging as the greatest in the world—listen to the sentence of my court upon your sins. You say, “I alone am God! I’ll never be a widow; I’ll never lose my children.” 9 Well, those two things shall come upon you in one moment, in full measure in one day: widowhood and the loss of your children, despite all your witchcraft and magic.
10 You felt secure in all your wickedness. “No one sees me,” you said. Your “wisdom” and “knowledge” have caused you to turn away from me and claim that you yourself are Jehovah. 11 That is why disaster shall overtake you suddenly—so suddenly that you won’t know where it comes from. And there will be no atonement then to cleanse away your sins.
12 Call out the demon hordes you’ve worshiped all these years. Call on them to help you strike deep terror into many hearts again. 13 You have advisors by the ton—your astrologers and stargazers, who try to tell you what the future holds. 14 But they are as useless as dried grass burning in the fire. They cannot even deliver themselves! You’ll get no help from them at all. Theirs is no fire to sit beside to make you warm! 15 And all your friends of childhood days shall slip away and disappear, unable to help.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 47:2 remove your veil. In ancient Babylonia (and in many Eastern lands today) only harlots were permitted to go without veils.
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”
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