Add parallel Print Page Options

The Fall of Babylon

47 Come down, and sit in the dust,
    O virgin daughter of Babylon;
sit on the ground; there is no throne,
    O daughter of the Chaldeans.
For you shall no more be called
    tender and delicate.
Take the millstones and grind meal.
    Uncover your veil,
strip off the skirt, uncover the leg,
    pass over the rivers.
Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
    and your shame shall be seen;
I will take vengeance,
    and I will not meet you as a man.

As for our Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts is His name,
    the Holy One of Israel.

Sit silently, and go into darkness,
    O daughter of the Chaldeans;
for you shall no more be called
    the queen of kingdoms.
I was angry with My people;
    I have polluted My inheritance
and given them into your hand.
    You did not show them mercy;
on the aged
    you have laid your yoke very heavily.
You said, “I shall be a queen forever,”
    but you did not take these things to heart,
    nor remember the outcome of them.

Therefore, now hear this, you who are given to pleasures,
    who dwell carelessly,
who say in your heart,
    “I am, and there is no one besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow,
    nor shall I know the loss of children”;
but these two things shall come to you
    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
    and for the great abundance of your enchantments.
10 For you have trusted in your wickedness;
    you have said, “No one sees me”;
your wisdom and your knowledge have perverted you;
    and you have said in your heart,
    “I am, and there is no one besides me.”
11 Therefore, evil shall come upon you,
    which you shall not know from where it rises.
And disaster shall fall upon you,
    for which you shall not be able to atone.
And desolation shall come upon you suddenly,
    which you shall not know.

12 Stand fast now with your enchantments,
    and with the multitude of your sorceries
    in which you have labored from your youth.
Perhaps you shall be able to profit,
    perhaps you may cause trembling.
13 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels;
    let now the astrologers, the stargazers,
the monthly prognosticators stand up
    and save you from these things that shall come upon you.
14 Surely they shall be as stubble,
    the fire shall burn them;
they shall not deliver themselves
    from the power of the flame;
it shall not be coal to be warmed by
    nor a fire to sit before.
15 Thus those shall be to you
    with whom you have labored,
    even your merchants, from your youth;
they shall wander, everyone to his quarter.
    No one shall save you.

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

47 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.

Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.

As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.

I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.

Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:

But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

10 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.

11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.

12 Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.

13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.

14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.

15 Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.