Isaiah 47
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 47
The Fall of Babylon
1 Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon.
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans.
Never again will you be called
tender and delicate.[a]
2 Take the millstone and grind meal;
remove your veil,
strip off your skirt, bare your legs,
and wade through the rivers.
3 Your nakedness will be exposed
and your shame will be seen.
I will take vengeance,
and I will show clemency to no one.
4 Thus says our redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel,
whose name is the Lord of hosts.
5 Sit in silence and conceal yourself in darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans.
For never again will you be called
the mistress of kingdoms.
6 Because I was angry with my people
I profaned my inheritance
and gave them over into your power.
You showed them no mercy,
and you laid a very heavy yoke on the aged.
7 You said, “I will be a queen forever.”
Thus you did not reflect carefully on your actions
or give any consideration to their outcome.
8 Now listen to this, you voluptuous woman,
as you sit securely on your throne,
thinking to yourself,
“I am the only one who matters.
I will never be a widow
or experience the loss of children.”
9 However, both of these things will befall you,
suddenly, in a single day;
both the loss of children and widowhood
will come upon you in full measure
despite all your sorceries
and all your potent spells.
10 You felt secure in your wickedness
as you thought, “No one can see me.”
But your wisdom and your knowledge
led you astray,
and you said to yourself,
“I am the only one who matters.”
11 As a result, evil will come upon you,
and you will not know how to conjure it away,
disaster will befall you
that you will not be able to avert;
complete ruin which you did not foresee
will suddenly afflict you.
12 [b]But continue to persist in your spells
and your many sorceries
in which you have placed your confidence
throughout your life.
Perhaps you can succeed with them;
perhaps you can inspire terror.
13 You have exhausted yourself with consultations
ever since your youth.
Let the astrologers now come forth to save you,
those who seek the future in the stars
and who predict at each new moon
what will befall you next.
14 But they are like stubble;
the fire consumes them.
They cannot even deliver themselves
from the heat of the flames.
These flames are not meant to sit beside;
these glowing embers are not meant for keeping warm.
15 Of absolutely no use to you are your astrologers
upon whom you have depended from your youth.
Each of them follows his own path;
not one of them can save you.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 47:1 The splendor of a young woman (a virgin) is the customary image in Hebrew poetry for the splendor of a city.
- Isaiah 47:12 Babylon was famous for its astronomers and astrologers.
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
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.