Isaiah 47

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 thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

1Come down and sit in the dust, city of Babylon. Sit on the ground. Your throne is gone. People of Babylon, you were once called soft and spoiled. No one will call you that again.

2Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.

2Take the heavy grinding stones and make flour. Take off your veil. Pull up your skirt and show your legs. Wade across the streams.

NoteMillstones are heavy round stones used to crush grain into flour. Grinding flour was hard work, usually done by servants.

3Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.

3People will see you with no clothes on. Your shame will be seen by all. I will pay you back for what you did. I will not spare anyone.

NoteThe King James Version says, "I will not meet thee as a man." The words mean that God will not spare anyone.

4As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

4The one who buys us back and sets us free is the LORD of Hosts. That is his name. He is the Holy One of Israel, the leader of heaven's armies.

5Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.

5Sit still and say nothing. Go into the dark, people of Babylon. No one will call you queen of the kingdoms again.

6I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

6I was angry with my people, so I let you take them away. I let the people who belong to me be treated as nothing. But you showed them no kindness at all. You laid heavy loads even on old people.

7And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.

7You said, "I will be queen forever." You did not think about what you were doing. You never wondered how it would end.

8Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:

8So listen now. You love easy living and feel safe. You say to yourself, "I am the only one. There is no one else. I will never lose my husband. I will never lose my children."

9But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

9Both of these will happen to you in one day, all at once. You will lose your children. You will lose your husband. They will come in full, even with all your many magic spells.

10For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.

10You felt safe while doing wrong. You said, "Nobody sees me." Your cleverness and your learning led you the wrong way. You said to yourself, "I am the only one. There is no one else."

11Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.

11So trouble is coming to you. You will not know where it came from. Something bad will fall on you, and you cannot push it away. Ruin will come all at once, before you know it.

12Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.

12Go on then. Keep your spells and all your magic. You have worked at them since you were young. Maybe they will help you. Maybe they will frighten someone away.

13Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.

13All your advice has only worn you out. Let your star readers stand up now. Every month they look at the stars and say what will happen. Let them save you from what is coming.

NoteThe King James Version calls them "monthly prognosticators." These were people who watched the stars and guessed what each new month would bring.

14Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.

14Look, they are like dry straw. The fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the flames. No warm coals will be left, and no fire to sit beside.

15Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.

15That is all your helpers will do for you. You have worked and traded with them since you were young. Each one will wander off his own way. Not one of them will save you.