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, virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of Babylonia! No longer will people call you gentle and delicate.
2 Take the millstones, and grind meal. Remove thy veil, strip off the train, uncover the leg, pass through the rivers.
Go to work grinding flour with millstones. Remove your veil. Strip off your skirt, bare your legs, wade through rivers.
3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and will spare no man.
You will be seen naked; what should be kept private will be shamefully exposed. I will take vengeance—I won't spare anyone.
4 Our Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
Our Redeemer—his name is the Lord Almighty—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 quietly, and go into the darkness, daughter of Babylonia. Never again will you be called queen of all 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, and I abandoned those who belonged to me. I handed them over to you. But you didn't show them mercy—you even mistreated old people.
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 reign forever as the eternal queen.” But you didn't think about what was coming; you didn't remember what would happen to you in the end.
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.
Now listen to this, you sensual woman, sitting there so sure of yourself, saying to yourself, “I am supreme—there's nobody besides me. I shall never be a widow or experience the loss of my 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.
But both these things will happen to you in quick succession! In just one day you will lose your children and become a widow. You will have this experience in its totality, in spite of all your witchcraft, in spite of all your magic 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 put your trust in your evil actions, saying “No one can see what I'm doing.” Your wisdom and knowledge seduced you, and you told yourself, “I am supreme—there's nobody 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.
Evil is going to strike you, and you won't be able to magic it away. Disaster will fall on you that you can't stop by paying a ransom. Destruction will suddenly hit you that you weren't expecting.
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 keep going with your magic spells and all your witchcraft, which you have worked at since you were young. Maybe you'll be successful, maybe you'll terrify people!
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.
All the advice you've received has worn you out! Where are your astrologers, those who look to the stars for guidance, who give you their predictions every month? Let them stand up and save you from what's coming down on you!
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.
But look at them! They're like stubble that fire burns up completely—they can't even save their own lives from the flames. This is no fire to sit beside and grow warm!
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.
All those people you've worked with, all those you've traded with from when you were young—they will all go their own way, nobody will come and save you.
