Font Size
Isaiah 47
International Children’s Bible
Isaiah 47
International Children’s Bible
God Will Destroy Babylon
47 The Lord says, “City of Babylon,
go down and sit in the dirt.
People of Babylon, sit on the ground.
You are no longer the ruler.
You will no longer be called
tender or beautiful.
2 You must use large stones to grind grain into flour.
Remove your veil and your nice skirts.
Uncover your legs and cross the rivers.
3 Men will see your nakedness.
They will see your shame.
I will punish you.
I will punish every one of you.”
4 Our Savior is named the Lord of heaven’s armies.
He is the Holy One of Israel.
5 “Babylon, sit in darkness and say nothing.
You will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people.
So I rejected those people who belonged to me.
I gave them to you,
but you showed them no mercy.
You even made the old people
work very hard.
7 You said, ‘I will live forever.
I will always be the queen.’
You did not think about these things.
You did not think about what would happen.
8 “Now, listen, you lover of pleasure.
You think you are safe.
You tell yourself,
‘I am the only important person.
I will never be a widow.
I will never lose my children.’
9 Two things will happen to you
suddenly in a single day.
You will lose your children and your husband.
These things will truly happen to you.
All your magic and powerful tricks
will not save you.
10 You do evil things, but you feel safe.
You say, ‘No one sees what I do.’
Your wisdom and knowledge
have fooled you.
You say to yourself,
‘I am God. No one is equal to me.’
11 But troubles will come to you.
You will not know how to stop them.
Disaster will fall on you.
And you will not be able to keep it away.
You will be destroyed quickly.
You will not even see it coming.
12 “Keep on using your tricks.
Continue doing all your magic.
You have done these things since you were young.
Maybe they will help you.
Maybe you will be able to scare someone.
13 You are tired of the advice you have received.
So let those who study the sky come.
They tell the future by looking at the stars.
So let them save you from what is about to happen to you.
14 But they are like straw.
Fire will quickly burn them up.
They cannot save themselves
from the power of the fire.
They are not like coals that give warmth.
They are not like a fire you may sit beside.
15 You have worked with these people.
They have been with you since you were young.
But they will not be able to help you.
Everyone will go his own way.
And there will be no one left to save you.”
Isaiah 47
New International Version
Isaiah 47
New International Version
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)
2 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.
3 Your nakedness(I) will be exposed
and your shame(J) uncovered.
I will take vengeance;(K)
I will spare no one.(L)”
5 “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)
6 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.
7 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)
8 “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.’
9 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
- Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5
International Children’s Bible (ICB) 
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.