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.

Down—and sit in the dust, O virgin Daughter of Babylon, Sit on the ground—throneless, Daughter of the Chaldeans; For thou shalt no more be called Tender and Dainty.

2 Take the mill, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, lift up the train, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.

Take millstones, and grind meal, —Put back thy veil—tuck up thy train Bare the leg, wade through streams:

3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not regard any man.

Bared shall be thy shame, Yea seen thy reproach, —An avenging, will I take, And will accept no son of earth.

4 Our redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

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

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 silent, and get into darkness, Daughter of the Chaldeans! For thou shalt no more be called Mistress of Kingdoms.

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 had been provoked with my people, Had profaned mine inheritance, And given them into thy hand, …Thou shewedst them no compassion, Upon the elder, madest thou very heavy thy yoke.

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 thou saidst, Unto times age-abiding, shall I be Mistress, —Insomuch that thou laidst not these things to thy heart, Didst not keep in mind the issue thereof,

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:

Now, therefore hear this, Thou Lady of pleasure Who dwelleth securely, Who saith in her heart, —I, [am], and there is no one besides, I shall not sit a widow, Nor know loss of children.

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.

Yet shall there come to thee—both these, in a moment, in one day, Loss of children and widowhood, —To their full, have they come on thee, Spite of the mass of thine incantations, Spite of the great throng of thy spells.

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.

And so thou didst trust in thy wickedness, Thou saidst, no one, seeth me, Thy wisdom and knowledge, the same, seduced thee, —Therefore saidst thou in thy heart, I [am], and there is no one besides.

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.

Therefore shall come on thee—Mischief, Thou shalt not know how to charm it away Yea there shall fall on thee, Ruin, Thou shalt not be able to appease it, —And there shall come on thee suddenly. Desolation. Thou shalt 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.

Take thy stand, I pray thee, With thy spells. And with the throng of thine incantations wherein thou hast wearied thyself from thy youth, —Peradventure thou mayest be able to profit Peradventure thou mayest strike me with terror.

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.

Thou hast worn thyself out with the mass of thy consultations, —Let them take their stand I pray thee that they may save thee—The dividers of the heavens—The gazers at the stars, They who make known by new moons, Somewhat of the things which shall come upon thee.

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.

Lo! they have become as straw—a fire, hath burned them up, They shall not deliver their own soul from the grasp of the flame, —There is, no live coal to warm them, nor blaze to sit before.

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.

Such, have they become to thee, with whom thou hast wearied thyself, —Thy merchants—from thy youth, will every man stagger straight onwards—There is none to save thee.