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47 Thou virgin, the daughter of Babylon, go down, sit thou in (the) dust, sit thou in [the] earth; a king’s seat is not to the daughter of [the] Chaldees, for thou shalt no more be called soft and tender. (Thou virgin daughter of Babylon, go down from off thy throne, and sit thou in the dust, yea, upon the ground; a king’s throne is not for the daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called soft and tender.)

Take thou a quern-stone, and grind thou meal; make thou naked thy filth(hood), discover the shoulder, show the hips, pass thou [over the] floods. (Take thou a millstone, and grind thou some meal with it; make thou thyself naked, yea, uncover the shoulder, show the hips, and cross thou over the rivers.)

Thy shame shall be showed, and thy shame shall be seen; I shall take vengeance, and no man shall against-stand me.

Our again-buyer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy of Israel. (Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.)

Daughter of Chaldees, sit thou, be thou still, and enter into darknesses, for thou shalt no more be called the lady of realms. (Daughter of the Chaldeans, sit thou, be thou silent, and enter into the darkness, or into the shadows, for thou shalt no more be called the lady, or the queen, of many kingdoms.)

I was wroth on my people, I defouled mine heritage, and I gave them in thine hand, and thou settedest not mercies to them; thou madest grievous the yoke greatly on an eld man, (I was angry with my people, I defiled my inheritance, and I gave them into thy hands, or into thy power, and thou gavest no mercy to them; thou madest the yoke greatly grievous upon an old man,)

and thou saidest, Without end I shall be [a] lady (and thou saidest, I shall be a lady forever); thou puttedest not these things on thine heart, neither thou bethoughtest on thy last thing.

And now, thou delicate, and dwelling trustily, hear these things, which sayest in thine heart, I am, and besides me there is no more; I shall not sit [a] widow, and I shall not know barrenness. (And now, O delicate one, and trustily dwelling, hear ye these things, thou who sayest in thy heart, Here I am, and there is no other besides me; I shall never be a widow, and I shall never know barrenness.)

These two things, barrenness and widowhood, shall come to thee suddenly in one day; all things came on thee for the multitude of thy witchcrafts, and for the great hardness of thine enchanters, either tregetours. (But these two things, barrenness and widowhood, shall suddenly come upon thee in a single day; they shall come upon thee for the multitude of thy witchcrafts, and for the great willfulness of thy enchanters, or of thy conjurers.)

10 And (for) thou haddest trust in thy malice, and saidest, None is that seeth me; this, thy wisdom and thy knowing, (hath) deceived thee; and thou saidest in thine heart, I am, and besides me there is none other (I am, and there is no one else besides me).

11 Evil shall come [up]on thee, and thou shalt not know the beginning thereof; and mischief shall fall [up]on thee, which thou shalt not be able to cleanse; wretchedness which thou knowest not, shall come [up]on thee suddenly (and such wretchedness, which thou knowest not, shall suddenly come upon thee).

12 Stand thou with thine enchanters, and with the multitude of thy witches, in which thou travailedest from thy youth; if in hap they profit anything to thee, either if thou mayest be made the stronger. (Stand thou with thy enchanters, and with the multitude of thy witches, with whom thou hast laboured from thy youth; if perhaps they profit anything to thee, or if thou mayest be made stronger, or more awesome.)

13 Thou failedest in the multitude of thy counsels; the false diviners of heaven stand, and save thee, which beheld stars, and numbered months, that they should tell by them things to coming to thee. (Thou hast failed, despite the multitude of thy advice; let the false diviners of the heavens stand up, and save thee, they who looked at the stars, and numbered the months, so that they could tell by them the things that would come to thee.)

14 Lo! they be made as stubble, the fire hath burnt them; they shall not deliver their life from the power of flame; coals be not, by which they shall be warmed, neither fire, that they sit at it. (Lo! they shall be made like stubble, and the fire shall burn them up; they shall not be able to save, or to rescue, their own lives from the power of the flame; there shall not be coals by which they shall be warmed, nor a fire, that they can sit before.)

15 So those things be made to thee in which ever thou travailedest; thy merchants from thy youth erred, each man in his way; none is, that shall save thee. (So shall these enchanters be to thee, they with whom thou hast laboured all thy life; they have wandered off, each in his own way, and there is no one, who can save thee.)

The Fall of Babylon

47 “Go down, sit in the dust,(A)
    Virgin Daughter(B) Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
    queen city of the Babylonians.[a](C)
No more will you be called
    tender or delicate.(D)
Take millstones(E) and grind(F) flour;
    take off your veil.(G)
Lift up your skirts,(H) bare your legs,
    and wade through the streams.
Your nakedness(I) will be exposed
    and your shame(J) uncovered.
I will take vengeance;(K)
    I will spare no one.(L)

Our Redeemer(M)—the Lord Almighty(N) is his name(O)
    is the Holy One(P) of Israel.

“Sit in silence,(Q) go into darkness,(R)
    queen city of the Babylonians;(S)
no more will you be called
    queen(T) of kingdoms.(U)
I was angry(V) with my people
    and desecrated my inheritance;(W)
I gave them into your hand,(X)
    and you showed them no mercy.(Y)
Even on the aged
    you laid a very heavy yoke.
You said, ‘I am forever(Z)
    the eternal queen!’(AA)
But you did not consider these things
    or reflect(AB) on what might happen.(AC)

“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security(AD)
and saying to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.(AE)
I will never be a widow(AF)
    or suffer the loss of children.’
Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment,(AG) on a single day:
    loss of children(AH) and widowhood.(AI)
They will come upon you in full measure,
    in spite of your many sorceries(AJ)
    and all your potent spells.(AK)
10 You have trusted(AL) in your wickedness
    and have said, ‘No one sees me.’(AM)
Your wisdom(AN) and knowledge mislead(AO) you
    when you say to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disaster(AP) 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(AQ) come upon you.

12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
    and with your many sorceries,(AR)
    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!(AS)
    Let your astrologers(AT) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
    let them save(AU) you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;(AV)
    the fire(AW) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
    from the power of the flame.(AX)
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(AY) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
    there is not one that can save(AZ) you.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5