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Isaiah 47
Lexham English Bible
Isaiah 47
Lexham English Bible
Babylon’s Fall
47 Come down and sit on the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon!
Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of Chaldea!
For they shall no longer call[a] you tender and delicate.
2 Take the pair of mill stones and grind flour!
Uncover your veil,
strip off your skirt,
uncover your thigh,
pass through the rivers!
3 Your nakedness shall be exposed;
indeed, your shame shall become visible.
I will take vengeance
and I will not spare[b] a person.
4 Our redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is his name, the holy one of Israel.
5 Sit silently and go into the darkness, daughter of Chaldea,
for they shall no longer call[c] you mistress of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people;
I profaned my inheritance,
and I gave them into your hand.
You did not give[d] them mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke very heavy.
7 And you said, “I shall be an eternal mistress forever!”
You did not set these things upon your heart;
you did not remember its end.
8 Therefore now hear this, luxuriant one who sits[e] in security,
who says[f] in her heart, “I am, and besides me there is no one.
I shall not sit as a widow,
and I shall not know the loss of children.”
9 And these two shall come to you in a moment, in one day:
the loss of children and widowhood shall come on you completely,[g]
in spite of your many sorceries,
in spite of the power of your great enchantments.
10 And you felt secure in your wickedness;
you said, “No one[h] sees[i] me.”
Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,
and you said in your heart, “I am, and besides me there is no one.”
11 And evil shall come upon you, you will not know;
it will be on the lookout for her.
And disaster shall fall upon you; you will not be able to avert[j] it.
And ruin shall come on you suddenly; you do not know.
12 Stand, now, in your enchantments,
and in your many sorceries with which you have labored from your youth.
Perhaps you may be able to benefit;
perhaps you may scare away.[k]
13 You struggle with your many consultations;[l]
let them stand, now, and save you—
those who see the stars, divide the celestial sphere,[m]
who inform by new moons—
from those things that are coming upon you.
14 Look! They are like stubble;
the fire burns them completely.
They cannot deliver themselves[n] from the power[o] of the flame;
there is no coal for warming oneself,[p]
no fire before which to sit.
15 So are to you those with whom you have labored,
your traders from your youth.
They wander, each to his side;
there is no one who can save you.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 47:1 Literally “you shall not add they shall call to”
- Isaiah 47:3 Literally “plead with”
- Isaiah 47:5 Literally “you shall not add they shall call to”
- Isaiah 47:6 Literally “set up”
- Isaiah 47:8 Or “sitting”
- Isaiah 47:8 Or “saying”
- Isaiah 47:9 Literally “as their fullness”
- Isaiah 47:10 Literally “none”
- Isaiah 47:10 Or “is seeing”
- Isaiah 47:11 Literally “make amends”
- Isaiah 47:12 Literally “terrify”
- Isaiah 47:13 Or “advice”
- Isaiah 47:13 Literally “heavens,” that is, for astrology
- Isaiah 47:14 Literally “their lives”
- Isaiah 47:14 Literally “hand”
- Isaiah 47:14 Literally “to grow warm”
Isaiah 47
New International Version
Isaiah 47
New International Version
The Fall of Babylon
47 “Go down, sit in the dust,(A)
Virgin Daughter(B) Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
queen city of the Babylonians.[a](C)
No more will you be called
tender or delicate.(D)
2 Take millstones(E) and grind(F) flour;
take off your veil.(G)
Lift up your skirts,(H) bare your legs,
and wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness(I) will be exposed
and your shame(J) uncovered.
I will take vengeance;(K)
I will spare no one.(L)”
5 “Sit in silence,(Q) go into darkness,(R)
queen city of the Babylonians;(S)
no more will you be called
queen(T) of kingdoms.(U)
6 I was angry(V) with my people
and desecrated my inheritance;(W)
I gave them into your hand,(X)
and you showed them no mercy.(Y)
Even on the aged
you laid a very heavy yoke.
7 You said, ‘I am forever(Z)—
the eternal queen!’(AA)
But you did not consider these things
or reflect(AB) on what might happen.(AC)
8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
lounging in your security(AD)
and saying to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.(AE)
I will never be a widow(AF)
or suffer the loss of children.’
9 Both of these will overtake you
in a moment,(AG) on a single day:
loss of children(AH) and widowhood.(AI)
They will come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries(AJ)
and all your potent spells.(AK)
10 You have trusted(AL) in your wickedness
and have said, ‘No one sees me.’(AM)
Your wisdom(AN) and knowledge mislead(AO) you
when you say to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disaster(AP) will come upon you,
and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
will suddenly(AQ) come upon you.
12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
and with your many sorceries,(AR)
which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
perhaps you will cause terror.
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!(AS)
Let your astrologers(AT) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
let them save(AU) you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;(AV)
the fire(AW) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
from the power of the flame.(AX)
These are not coals for warmth;
this is not a fire to sit by.
15 That is all they are to you—
these you have dealt with
and labored(AY) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
there is not one that can save(AZ) you.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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