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.

Stubborn Israel

48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
    you who are called by the name of Israel(BA)
    and come from the line of Judah,(BB)
you who take oaths(BC) in the name of the Lord(BD)
    and invoke(BE) the God of Israel—
    but not in truth(BF) or righteousness—
you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city(BG)
    and claim to rely(BH) on the God of Israel—
    the Lord Almighty is his name:(BI)
I foretold the former things(BJ) long ago,
    my mouth announced(BK) them and I made them known;
    then suddenly(BL) I acted, and they came to pass.
For I knew how stubborn(BM) you were;
    your neck muscles(BN) were iron,
    your forehead(BO) was bronze.
Therefore I told you these things long ago;
    before they happened I announced(BP) them to you
so that you could not say,
    ‘My images brought them about;(BQ)
    my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
You have heard these things; look at them all.
    Will you not admit them?

“From now on I will tell you of new things,(BR)
    of hidden things unknown to you.
They are created(BS) now, and not long ago;(BT)
    you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
    ‘Yes, I knew(BU) of them.’
You have neither heard nor understood;(BV)
    from of old your ears(BW) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous(BX) you are;
    you were called a rebel(BY) from birth.
For my own name’s sake(BZ) I delay my wrath;(CA)
    for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
    so as not to destroy you completely.(CB)
10 See, I have refined(CC) you, though not as silver;
    I have tested(CD) you in the furnace(CE) of affliction.
11 For my own sake,(CF) for my own sake, I do this.
    How can I let myself be defamed?(CG)
    I will not yield my glory to another.(CH)

Israel Freed

12 “Listen(CI) to me, Jacob,
    Israel, whom I have called:(CJ)
I am he;(CK)
    I am the first and I am the last.(CL)
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,(CM)
    and my right hand spread out the heavens;(CN)
when I summon them,
    they all stand up together.(CO)

14 “Come together,(CP) all of you, and listen:
    Which of the idols has foretold(CQ) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally(CR)
    will carry out his purpose(CS) against Babylon;(CT)
    his arm will be against the Babylonians.[b]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
    yes, I have called(CU) him.
I will bring him,
    and he will succeed(CV) in his mission.

16 “Come near(CW) me and listen(CX) to this:

“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;(CY)
    at the time it happens, I am there.”

And now the Sovereign Lord(CZ) has sent(DA) me,
    endowed with his Spirit.(DB)

17 This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,(DC) the Holy One(DD) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches(DE) you what is best for you,
    who directs(DF) you in the way(DG) you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention(DH) to my commands,
    your peace(DI) would have been like a river,(DJ)
    your well-being(DK) like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants(DL) would have been like the sand,(DM)
    your children like its numberless grains;(DN)
their name would never be blotted out(DO)
    nor destroyed from before me.”

20 Leave Babylon,
    flee(DP) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy(DQ)
    and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;(DR)
    say, “The Lord has redeemed(DS) his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst(DT) when he led them through the deserts;
    he made water flow(DU) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
    and water gushed out.(DV)

22 “There is no peace,”(DW) says the Lord, “for the wicked.”(DX)

The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen(DY) to me, you islands;(DZ)
    hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born(EA) the Lord called(EB) me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.(EC)
He made my mouth(ED) like a sharpened sword,(EE)
    in the shadow of his hand(EF) he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow(EG)
    and concealed me in his quiver.
He said to me, “You are my servant,(EH)
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(EI)
But I said, “I have labored in vain;(EJ)
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,(EK)
    and my reward(EL) is with my God.”(EM)

And now the Lord says—
    he who formed me in the womb(EN) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel(EO) to himself,
for I am[c] honored(EP) in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength(EQ)
he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant(ER)
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.(ES)
I will also make you a light(ET) for the Gentiles,(EU)
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”(EV)

This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel(EW)
to him who was despised(EX) and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings(EY) will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,(EZ)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,(FA)
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen(FB) you.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5
  2. Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20
  3. Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be

You were running a good race.(A) Who cut in on you(B) to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.(C) “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”(D) 10 I am confident(E) in the Lord that you will take no other view.(F) The one who is throwing you into confusion,(G) whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?(H) In that case the offense(I) of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators,(J) I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Life by the Spirit

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.(K) But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a];(L) rather, serve one another(M) humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b](N) 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit,(O) and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.(P) 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.(Q) They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want.(R) 18 But if you are led by the Spirit,(S) you are not under the law.(T)

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,(U) impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.(V) I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.(W)

22 But the fruit(X) of the Spirit is love,(Y) joy, peace,(Z) forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.(AA) Against such things there is no law.(AB) 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh(AC) with its passions and desires.(AD) 25 Since we live by the Spirit,(AE) let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited,(AF) provoking and envying each other.

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Footnotes

  1. Galatians 5:13 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24; and in 6:8.
  2. Galatians 5:14 Lev. 19:18
  3. Galatians 5:17 Or you do not do what

Psalm 109

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

My God, whom I praise,(A)
    do not remain silent,(B)
for people who are wicked and deceitful(C)
    have opened their mouths against me;
    they have spoken against me with lying tongues.(D)
With words of hatred(E) they surround me;
    they attack me without cause.(F)
In return for my friendship they accuse me,
    but I am a man of prayer.(G)
They repay me evil for good,(H)
    and hatred for my friendship.

Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
    let an accuser(I) stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty,(J)
    and may his prayers condemn(K) him.
May his days be few;(L)
    may another take his place(M) of leadership.
May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.(N)
10 May his children be wandering beggars;(O)
    may they be driven[a] from their ruined homes.
11 May a creditor(P) seize all he has;
    may strangers plunder(Q) the fruits of his labor.(R)
12 May no one extend kindness to him
    or take pity(S) on his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be cut off,(T)
    their names blotted out(U) from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers(V) be remembered before the Lord;
    may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before(W) the Lord,
    that he may blot out their name(X) from the earth.

16 For he never thought of doing a kindness,
    but hounded to death the poor
    and the needy(Y) and the brokenhearted.(Z)
17 He loved to pronounce a curse—
    may it come back on him.(AA)
He found no pleasure in blessing—
    may it be far from him.
18 He wore cursing(AB) as his garment;
    it entered into his body like water,(AC)
    into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a cloak wrapped(AD) about him,
    like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the Lord’s payment(AE) to my accusers,
    to those who speak evil(AF) of me.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 109:10 Septuagint; Hebrew sought

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