Isaiah 47
GOD’S WORD Translation
Babylon’s Fall
47 Go, sit in the dirt,
virgin princess of Babylon!
Sit on the ground, not on a throne,
princess of the Babylonians!
You will no longer be called soft and delicate.
2 Take millstones and grind flour.
Remove your veil.
Take off your skirt.
Uncover your legs, and cross the river.
3 People will see you naked.
People will see your shame.
I will take revenge.
I won’t spare anyone.
4 Our defender is the Holy One of Israel.
His name is the Lord of Armies.
5 Go into the dark, and sit in silence,
princess of the Babylonians!
You will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people.
I dishonored those who belong to me.
I put them under your control.
You showed them no mercy.
You placed a heavy burden on old people.
7 You said, “I will always be a queen.”
You didn’t carefully consider these things
or keep in mind how they would end.
8 Now then, listen to this, you lover of pleasure.
You live securely and say to yourself,
“I’m the only one, and there’s no one else.
I won’t live as a widow.
I won’t suffer the loss of children.”
9 In one day both of these will happen to you instantly:
the loss of your children and your husband.
All this will happen to you in spite of
your evil magic and your many spells.
10 You feel safe in your wickedness
and say, “No one can see me.”
Your wisdom and knowledge have led you astray,
so you say to yourself,
“I’m the only one, and there’s no one else.”
11 But evil will happen to you.
You won’t know how to keep it away.
Disaster will strike you.
You won’t be able to stop it.
Destruction will overtake you suddenly.
You won’t expect it.
12 Keep practicing your spells and your evil magic.
You have practiced them ever since you were young.
You may succeed.
You may cause terror.
13 You are worn out by your many plans.
Let your astrologers and your stargazers,
who foretell the future month by month,
come to you, rise up, and save you.
14 They are like straw.
Fire burns them.
They can’t rescue themselves from the flames.
There are no glowing coals to keep them warm
and no fire for them to sit by.
15 This is how it will be for those who have worked with you,
for those who have been with you ever since you were young.
They will go their own ways,
and there will be no one to save you.
Isaiah 47
New King James Version
The Humiliation of Babylon
47 “Come (A)down and (B)sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of (C)Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no more be called
Tender and [a]delicate.
2 (D)Take the millstones and grind meal.
Remove your veil,
Take off the skirt,
Uncover the thigh,
Pass through the rivers.
3 (E)Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
Yes, your shame will be seen;
(F)I will take vengeance,
And I will not arbitrate with a man.”
4 As for (G)our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
5 “Sit in (H)silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans;
(I)For you shall no longer be called
The Lady of Kingdoms.
6 (J)I was angry with My people;
(K)I have profaned My inheritance,
And given them into your hand.
You showed them no mercy;
(L)On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily.
7 And you said, ‘I shall be (M)a lady forever,’
So that you did not (N)take these things to heart,
(O)Nor remember the latter end of them.
8 “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures,
Who dwell securely,
Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow,
Nor shall I know the loss of children’;
9 But these two things shall come to you
(P)In a moment, in one day:
The loss of children, and widowhood.
They shall come upon you in their fullness
Because of the multitude of your sorceries,
For the great abundance of your enchantments.
10 “For you have trusted in your wickedness;
You have said, ‘No one (Q)sees me’;
Your wisdom and your knowledge have [b]warped you;
And you have said in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’
11 Therefore evil shall come upon you;
You shall not know from where it arises.
And trouble shall fall upon you;
You will not be able [c]to put it off.
And (R)desolation shall come upon you (S)suddenly,
Which you shall not know.
12 “Stand now with your enchantments
And the multitude of your sorceries,
In which you have labored from your youth—
Perhaps you will be able to profit,
Perhaps you will prevail.
13 (T)You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels;
Let now (U)the[d] astrologers, the stargazers,
And [e]the monthly prognosticators
Stand up and save you
From what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, they shall be (V)as stubble,
The fire shall (W)burn them;
They shall not deliver themselves
From the power of the flame;
It shall not be a coal to be warmed by,
Nor a fire to sit before!
15 Thus shall they be to you
With whom you have labored,
(X)Your merchants from your youth;
They shall wander each one to his [f]quarter.
No one shall save you.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 47:1 dainty
- Isaiah 47:10 led you astray
- Isaiah 47:11 Lit. to cover it or atone for it
- Isaiah 47:13 Lit. viewers of the heavens
- Isaiah 47:13 Lit. those giving knowledge for new moons
- Isaiah 47:15 own side or way
Isaiah 47
English Standard Version
The Humiliation of Babylon
47 (A)Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin (B)daughter of Babylon;
(C)sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of (D)the Chaldeans!
(E)For you shall no more be called
tender and delicate.
2 Take the millstones and (F)grind flour,
(G)put off your veil,
strip off your robe, uncover your legs,
pass through the rivers.
3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your disgrace shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
and I will spare no one.
4 (H)Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—
is the Holy One of Israel.
5 (I)Sit in silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of (J)the Chaldeans;
for you shall no more be called
(K)the mistress of kingdoms.
6 (L)I was angry with my people;
I profaned my heritage;
I gave them into your hand;
(M)you showed them no mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.
7 You said, “I shall be (N)mistress forever,”
so that you did not lay these things to heart
or remember their end.
8 Now therefore hear this, (O)you lover of pleasures,
(P)who sit securely,
who say in your heart,
(Q)“I am, and there is no one besides me;
(R)I shall not sit as a widow
or know the loss of children”:
9 (S)These two things shall come to you
in a moment, (T)in one day;
the loss of children and widowhood
shall come upon you in full measure,
(U)in spite of your many sorceries
and the great power of your enchantments.
10 You felt secure in your wickedness;
you said, “No one sees me”;
your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,
and you said in your heart,
(V)“I am, and there is no one besides me.”
11 But evil shall come upon you,
which you will not know how to charm away;
disaster shall fall upon you,
for which you will not be able to atone;
(W)and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,
of which you know nothing.
12 (X)Stand fast in your enchantments
and your many sorceries,
with which you have labored from your youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed;
perhaps you may inspire terror.
13 You are wearied with your many counsels;
let them stand forth and save you,
(Y)those who divide the heavens,
who gaze at the stars,
who at the new moons make known
what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, (Z)they are like stubble;
(AA)the fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
no fire to sit before!
15 Such to you are those with whom you have labored,
who have done business with you from your youth;
they wander about, each in his own direction;
there is no one to save you.
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
