< Isaiah 47 >
1 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 men shall nevermore call thee, Tender and delicate.
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.
2 Take the mill, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, lift up the train, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
Take a millstone, grind meal: remove your veil, uncover your white hairs, make bare the leg, pass through the rivers.
3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not regard any man.
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.
4 Our redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
Your deliverer is the Lord of hosts, the Holy One of Israel is his name.
5 Sit thou silent, and enter into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for men shall never more call thee, The mistress of kingdoms.
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.
6 I was wroth over my people, I defiled my inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: [yet] thou didst grant them no mercy; upon the aged hast thou laid very heavily thy yoke.
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,
7 And thou saidst, For ever shall I be mistress; until that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, thou didst not call to mind the result thereof.
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.
8 And now hear this, luxurious one, that dwellest in security, that sayest in thy heart, I am, and there is nothing else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:
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.
9 Yet both these things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come upon thee, despite of the multitude of thy sorceries, despite of the very great abundance of thy enchantments.
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,
10 And thou didst trust in thy wickedness: thou saidst, No one seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, —these were they that seduced thee; and thou saidst in thy heart, I am, and there is nothing else beside me.
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.
11 And there shall come upon thee an evil, which thou shalt not know how to remove it by prayer; and there shall fall upon thee mischief, which thou shalt not be able to atone for; and there shall come upon thee suddenly desolation, which thou shalt not know.
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.
12 Stand now with thy enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth; peradventure thou mayest be able to profit, peradventure thou mayest withstand.
Stand now with your enchantments, and with the abundance of your sorcery, which you have learnt from your youth; if you can be profited.
13 Thou art wearied with the multitude of thy counsels. Do let now those that divide off the heavens, that look at the stars, that announce [coming] events at new moons, stand up, and save thee from the things that are to come over thee.
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.
14 Behold, they are become as stubble; the fire burneth them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: not a coal shall be left to warm at, no blaze to sit before it.
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;
15 Thus are they become unto thee with whom thou hast labored; those that had commerce with thee from thy youth, wander away every one on his road: there is no one to save thee.
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.