Isaiah 47

1 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.

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

Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams.

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

Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”

4 Our Redeemer, Yahweh 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 in silence and go into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans; for you will no longer be called queen 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 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.

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 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.

You said, ‘I will be queen forever.’ You did not take these things to heart or consider their outcome.

8 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.”

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 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.

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 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.”

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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!

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 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.”

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.