Isaiah 47
47
Babylon Will Fall
1“City of Babylon,
go down and sit in the dust.
Leave your throne and sit on the ground.
Queen city of the Babylonians,
your life will not be comfortable
and easy anymore.
2Get millstones and grind some flour like a female slave.
Take off your veil.
Lift up your skirts. Make your legs bare.
Wade through the streams.
3Everyone will see your naked body.
Everyone will see your shame.
I will pay you back for what you did.
I will not spare any of your people.”
4The one who sets us free is the Holy One of Israel.
His name is the Lord Who Rules Over All.
5The Lord says, “Queen city of the Babylonians,
go into a dark prison. Sit there quietly.
You will not be called
the queen of kingdoms anymore.
6I was angry with my people.
I treated them as if they did not belong to me.
I handed them over to you.
And you did not show them any pity.
You even placed heavy loads on their old people.
7You said, ‘I am queen forever!’
But you did not think about what you were doing.
You did not consider how things might turn out.
8“So listen, you who love pleasure.
You think you are safe and secure.
You say to yourself,
‘I am like a god.
No one is greater than I am.
I’ll never be a widow.
And my children will never be taken away from me.’
9But both of these things will happen to you in a moment.
They will take place on a single day.
You will lose your children.
And you will become a widow.
That is what will happen to you.
All your evil magic
and powerful spells will not save you.
10You have felt secure in your evil ways.
You have said, ‘No one sees what I’m doing.’
Your wisdom and knowledge lead you astray.
You say to yourself,
‘I am like a god. No one is greater than I am.’
11So horrible trouble will come on you.
You will not know how to use your evil magic to make it go away.
Great trouble will fall on you.
No amount of money can keep it away.
Something terrible will happen to you all at once.
You will not see it coming ahead of time.
12“So keep on casting your magic spells.
Keep on practicing your evil magic.
You have been doing those things ever since you were a child.
Perhaps they will help you.
Maybe they will scare your enemies away.
13All the advice you have received
has only worn you out!
Let those who study the heavens come forward.
They claim to know what is going to happen
by watching the stars every month.
So let them save you from the trouble
that is coming on you.
14They are just like straw.
Fire will burn them up.
They can’t even save themselves
from the powerful flames.
These are not like coals that can warm anyone.
This is not like a fire to sit by.
15They can’t do you any good.
You have done business with them ever since you were a child.
You have always asked them for advice.
All of them are bewildered and continue in their own ways.
None of them can save you.”
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Isaiah 47: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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Isaiah 47
47
The Fall of Babylon
1“Go down and sit in the dust,#Is 3:26; Jr 48:18
Virgin Daughter Babylon.#Ps 137:8; Jr 50:42; 51:33; Zch 2:7
Sit on the ground without a throne,
Daughter Chaldea!
For you will no longer be called pampered and spoiled.
2Take millstones and grind flour;#Ex 11:5; Jb 31:10; Mt 24:41
remove your veil,
strip off your skirt, bare your thigh,
wade through the streams.
3Your nakedness will be uncovered,
and your disgrace will be exposed.#Jr 13:26; Lm 1:8; Ezk 16:37; Nah 3:5
I will take vengeance;
I will spare no one.”#47:3 Hb obscure
4The Holy One of Israel is our Redeemer;#Is 41:14; 43:14
The Lord of Armies is his name.
5“Daughter Chaldea,
sit in silence#Is 23:2; Jr 8:14; Lm 2:10; 3:2,28 and go into darkness.
For you will no longer be called mistress of kingdoms.
6I was angry with my people;
I profaned my possession,
and I handed them over to you.
You showed them no mercy;
you made your yoke very heavy on the elderly.
7You said, ‘I will be the queen forever.’
You did not take these things to heart
or think about their outcome.
8“So now hear this, lover of luxury,
who sits securely,#Zph 2:15
who says to herself,
‘I am, and there is no one else.
I will never be a widow
or know the loss of children.’#Rv 18:7
9These two things will happen to you
suddenly, in one day:
loss of children and widowhood.
They will happen to you in their entirety,
in spite of your many sorceries#Is 47:13; Nah 3:4; Rv 18:23
and the potency of your spells.
10You were secure in your wickedness;
you said, ‘No one sees me.’#Ps 139:3,11
Your wisdom and knowledge
led you astray.
You said to yourself,
‘I am, and there is no one else.’
11But disaster will happen to you;
you will not know how to avert it.
And it will fall on you,
but you will be unable to ward it off.#47:11 Or to atone for it
Devastation will happen to you suddenly
and unexpectedly.#Is 13:6; Jr 51:8,43; Lk 17:27; 1Th 5:3
12So take your stand with your spells
and your many sorceries,
which you have wearied yourself with from your youth.
Perhaps you will be able to succeed;
perhaps you will inspire terror!
13You are worn out with your many consultations.
So let the astrologers stand and save you —
those who observe the stars,#Is 8:19; 44:25; 47:9; Dn 2:2,10
those who predict monthly
what will happen to you.
14Look, they are like stubble;#Is 5:24; Nah 1:10; Mal 4:1
fire burns them.#Is 10:17; Jr 51:30–32,58
They cannot rescue themselves
from the power of the flame.
This is not a coal for warming themselves,
or a fire to sit beside!
15This is what they are to you —
those who have wearied you
and have traded with you from your youth —
each wanders on his own way;
no one can save you.
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