Isaiah 47
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. For thou shall no more be called tender and delicate.
“Go down and sit in the dust, O Virgin Daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O Daughter of Chaldea! For you will no longer be called tender or delicate.
2 Take the millstones, and grind meal. Remove thy veil, strip off the train, uncover the leg, pass through the rivers.
Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams.
3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and will spare no man.
Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”
4 Our Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
Our Redeemer—the LORD of Hosts is His name— is the Holy One of Israel.
5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shall no more be called The mistress of kingdoms.
“Sit in silence and go into darkness, O Daughter of Chaldea. For you will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people. I profaned my inheritance, and gave them into thy hand. Thou showed them no mercy. Upon the aged thou have laid thy yoke very heavily.
I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.
7 And thou said, I shall be mistress forever, so that thou did not lay these things to thy heart, nor remembered the latter end of it.
You said, ‘I will be queen forever.’ You did not take these things to heart or consider their outcome.
8 Now therefore hear this, thou who are given to pleasures, who sit securely, who say in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me. I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of sons.
So now hear this, O lover of luxury who sits securely, who says to herself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or know the loss of children.’
9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day: the loss of sons, and widowhood. In their full measure they shall come upon thee, in the multitude of thy sorceries, and the great abundance of thine enchantments.
These two things will overtake you in a moment, in a single day: loss of children, and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the potency of your spells.
10 For thou have trusted in thy wickedness. Thou have said, None sees me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it has perverted thee. And thou have said in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me.
You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray; you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Therefore evil shall come upon thee. Thou shall not know the dawning of it. And mischief shall fall upon thee. Thou shall not be able to put it away. And desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou know not.
But disaster will come upon you; you will not know how to charm it away. A calamity will befall you that you will be unable to ward off. Devastation will happen to you suddenly and unexpectedly.
12 Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, in which thou have labored from thy youth, if so be thou shall be able to profit, if so be thou may prevail.
So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!
13 Thou are wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee.
You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you— your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate.
14 Behold, 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 a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before.
Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals to warm them or fire to sit beside.
15 Thus shall be the things to thee, in which thou have labored. Those who have trafficked with thee from thy youth shall wander each one to his quarter. There shall be none to save thee.
This is what they are to you— those with whom you have labored and traded from youth— each one strays in his own direction; not one of them can save you.
