Isaiah 47
Living Bible
47 “O Babylon, the unconquered, come sit in the dust; for your days of glory, pomp, and honor are ended. O daughter of Chaldea, never again will you be the lovely princess, tender and delicate. 2 Take heavy millstones and grind the corn; remove your veil;[a] strip off your robe; expose yourself to public view. 3 You shall be in nakedness and shame. I will take vengeance upon you and will not repent.”
4 So speaks our Redeemer, who will save Israel from Babylon’s mighty power; the Lord Almighty is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
5 Sit in darkness and silence, O Babylon; never again will you be called “The Queen of Kingdoms.” 6 For I was angry with my people Israel and began to punish them a little by letting them fall into your hands, O Babylon. But you showed them no mercy. You have made even the old folks carry heavy burdens. 7 You thought your reign would never end, Queen Kingdom of the world. You didn’t care a whit about my people or think about the fate of those who do them harm.
8 O pleasure-mad kingdom, living at ease, bragging as the greatest in the world—listen to the sentence of my court upon your sins. You say, “I alone am God! I’ll never be a widow; I’ll never lose my children.” 9 Well, those two things shall come upon you in one moment, in full measure in one day: widowhood and the loss of your children, despite all your witchcraft and magic.
10 You felt secure in all your wickedness. “No one sees me,” you said. Your “wisdom” and “knowledge” have caused you to turn away from me and claim that you yourself are Jehovah. 11 That is why disaster shall overtake you suddenly—so suddenly that you won’t know where it comes from. And there will be no atonement then to cleanse away your sins.
12 Call out the demon hordes you’ve worshiped all these years. Call on them to help you strike deep terror into many hearts again. 13 You have advisors by the ton—your astrologers and stargazers, who try to tell you what the future holds. 14 But they are as useless as dried grass burning in the fire. They cannot even deliver themselves! You’ll get no help from them at all. Theirs is no fire to sit beside to make you warm! 15 And all your friends of childhood days shall slip away and disappear, unable to help.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 47:2 remove your veil. In ancient Babylonia (and in many Eastern lands today) only harlots were permitted to go without veils.
Isaiah 47
English Standard Version
The Humiliation of Babylon
47 (A)Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin (B)daughter of Babylon;
(C)sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of (D)the Chaldeans!
(E)For you shall no more be called
tender and delicate.
2 Take the millstones and (F)grind flour,
(G)put off your veil,
strip off your robe, uncover your legs,
pass through the rivers.
3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
and your disgrace shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
and I will spare no one.
4 (H)Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—
is the Holy One of Israel.
5 (I)Sit in silence, and go into darkness,
O daughter of (J)the Chaldeans;
for you shall no more be called
(K)the mistress of kingdoms.
6 (L)I was angry with my people;
I profaned my heritage;
I gave them into your hand;
(M)you showed them no mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.
7 You said, “I shall be (N)mistress forever,”
so that you did not lay these things to heart
or remember their end.
8 Now therefore hear this, (O)you lover of pleasures,
(P)who sit securely,
who say in your heart,
(Q)“I am, and there is no one besides me;
(R)I shall not sit as a widow
or know the loss of children”:
9 (S)These two things shall come to you
in a moment, (T)in one day;
the loss of children and widowhood
shall come upon you in full measure,
(U)in spite of your many sorceries
and the great power of your enchantments.
10 You felt secure in your wickedness;
you said, “No one sees me”;
your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,
and you said in your heart,
(V)“I am, and there is no one besides me.”
11 But evil shall come upon you,
which you will not know how to charm away;
disaster shall fall upon you,
for which you will not be able to atone;
(W)and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,
of which you know nothing.
12 (X)Stand fast in your enchantments
and your many sorceries,
with which you have labored from your youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed;
perhaps you may inspire terror.
13 You are wearied with your many counsels;
let them stand forth and save you,
(Y)those who divide the heavens,
who gaze at the stars,
who at the new moons make known
what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, (Z)they are like stubble;
(AA)the fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
no fire to sit before!
15 Such to you are those with whom you have labored,
who have done business with you from your youth;
they wander about, each in his own direction;
there is no one to save you.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
