Esias 47

1 Come down, sit on the ground, O virgin daughter of Babylon: sit on the ground, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for you shall no more be called tender and luxurious.

Come down and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans. You will no longer be called dainty and delicate.

2 Take a millstone, grind meal: remove your veil, uncover your white hairs, make bare the leg, pass through the rivers.

Take the millstone and grind flour; remove your veil, strip off your flowing robe, uncover your legs, cross the streams.

3 Your shame shall be uncovered, your reproaches shall be brought to light: I will exact of you due vengeance, I will no longer deliver you to men.

Your nakedness will be uncovered, yes, your shame will be seen: I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.

4 Your deliverer is the Lord of hosts, the Holy One of Israel is his name.

Our Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

5 Sit you down pierced with woe, go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: you shall no more be called the strength of a kingdom.

Sit in silence and go into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans; for you will no longer be called queen of kingdoms.

6 I have been provoked with my people; you have defiled mine inheritance: I gave them into your hand, but you did not extend mercy to them: you made the yoke of the aged man very heavy,

I was angry with my people; I defiled my heritage and gave them over into your hand, but you showed them no mercy; you placed a very heavy yoke on the old people.

7 and said, I shall be a princess for ever: you did not perceive these things in your heart, nor did you remember the latter end.

You said, “I will rule forever as sovereign queen.” You did not take these things to heart, nor did you consider how they would turn out.

8 But now hear these words, you luxurious one, [who are] the one that sits [at ease], that is secure, that says in her heart, I am, and there is not another; I shall not sit a widow, neither shall I know bereavement.

So now hear this, you who love pleasure and sit securely; you who say in your heart, “I exist, and there is no one else like me; I will never sit as a widow, nor will I ever experience loss of children.”

9 But now these two things shall come upon you suddenly in one day, the loss of children and widowhood shall come suddenly upon you, for your sorcery, for the strength of your enchantments,

But these two things will come to you in a moment in one day: the loss of children and widowhood; in full force they will come on you, despite your sorceries and your many incantations and amulets.

10 for your trusting in wickedness: for you said, I am, and there is not another: know you, the understanding of these things and your harlotry shall be your shame; for you said in your heart, I am, and there is not another.

You have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, “No one sees me”; your wisdom and your knowledge lead you astray, but you say in your heart, “I exist, and there is no one else like me.”

11 And destruction shall come upon you, and you shall not be aware; [there shall be a] pit, and you shall fall into it: and grief shall come upon you, and you shall not be able to be clear; and destruction shall come suddenly upon you, and you shall not know.

Disaster will overcome you; you will not be able to drive it away with your incantations. Destruction will fall on you; you will not be able to ward it off. Calamity will strike you suddenly, before you know it.

12 Stand now with your enchantments, and with the abundance of your sorcery, which you have learned from your youth; if you can be profited.

Persist in casting your spells and your many sorceries which you have faithfully recited since your childhood; perhaps you will be successful, perhaps you will scare away disaster.

13 You are wearied in your counsels. Let now the astrologers of the heaven stand and deliver you, let them that see the stars tell you what is about to come upon you.

You are tired out with your many consultations; let those men stand up and save you—those who chart the heavens and look at the stars, those who declare the new moons—let them save you from what will happen to you.

14 Behold, they all shall be burnt up as sticks in the fire; neither shall they at all deliver their life from the flame. Because you have coals of fire, sit you upon them;

See, they will become like stubble. The fire will burn them up. They will not save themselves from the hand of the flame. There are no coals to warm them and no fire for them to sit by!

15 these shall be your help. You have wearied yourself with traffic from your youth: every man has wandered to his own home, but you shall have no deliverance.

This is what they have become to you— those with whom you have worked, and you have bought and sold with them since your youth— they wandered about each one in his own direction; there is no one who can rescue you.”