Now therefore hear this, (A)you lover of pleasures,
    (B)who sit securely,
who say in your heart,
    (C)“I am, and there is no one besides me;
(D)I shall not sit as a widow
    or know the loss of children”:
(E)These two things shall come to you
    in a moment, (F)in one day;
the loss of children and widowhood
    shall come upon you in full measure,
(G)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,
    (H)“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;
(I)and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,
    of which you know nothing.

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“Now hear this, you wanton creature,
    lounging with no cares,
and saying to herself:
    ‘I am the one, and there will be none besides me;
I won’t live as a widow,
    nor will I see[a] the loss of children.’
Both of these things will overtake you
    suddenly on a single day:
loss of children and widowhood.
    They will come upon you in full measure,
despite the multitude of your incantations
    and the great power of your spells.”

Self-Deception of the Babylonians

10 “You trusted in your own knowledge.[b]
    You said, ‘No one sees me.’
Your wisdom and knowledge have misled you.
    You said in your heart,
        ‘I am the one, and there will be none besides me.’

11 “But disaster will come[c] upon you,
    and[d] you will not know how to charm it away.
A calamity will befall you
    that you will not be able to[e] ward off;
and devastation will come upon you suddenly,
    and[f] you won’t anticipate it.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 47:8 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT LXX read know
  2. Isaiah 47:10 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read evil
  3. Isaiah 47:11 So 1QIsaa (feminine); MT (masculine [incorrectly])
  4. Isaiah 47:11 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT lacks and
  5. Isaiah 47:11 So 1QIsaa; MT lacks to
  6. Isaiah 47:11 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT lacks and