Isaiah 47
47
1Go down and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of Babylonia!#47:1. “Babylonia”: literally, “Chaldea,” another name for Babylonia. Also verse 5, and 48:14. No longer will people call you gentle and delicate. 2Go to work grinding flour with millstones. Remove your veil. Strip off your skirt, bare your legs, wade through rivers. 3You will be seen naked; what should be kept private will be shamefully exposed. I will take vengeance—I won't spare anyone.
4Our Redeemer—his name is the Lord Almighty—is the Holy One of Israel.
5Sit quietly, and go into the darkness, daughter of Babylonia. Never again will you be called queen of all kingdoms. 6I was angry with my people, and I abandoned those who belonged to me.#47:6. “I abandoned those who belonged to me”: literally, “I profaned my inheritance.” I handed them over to you. But you didn't show them mercy—you even mistreated old people. 7You said, “I will reign forever as the eternal queen.” But you didn't think about what was coming; you didn't remember what would happen to you in the end.
8Now listen to this, you sensual woman,#47:8. Though the image of a woman continues, the subject is the kingdom of Babylon. sitting there so sure of yourself, saying to yourself, “I am supreme#47:8. “I am supreme”: the Hebrew simply has the emphatic “I.”—there's nobody besides me. I shall never be a widow or experience the loss of my children.”
9But both these things will happen to you in quick succession! In just one day you will lose your children and become a widow. You will have this experience in its totality, in spite of all your witchcraft, in spite of all your magic spells. 10You put your trust in your evil actions, saying, “No one can see what I'm doing.” Your wisdom and knowledge seduced you, and you told yourself, “I am supreme—there's nobody besides me.” 11Evil#47:11. The same word is used here as in verse 10. is going to strike you, and you won't be able to magic it away. Disaster will fall on you that you can't stop by paying a ransom. Destruction will suddenly hit you that you weren't expecting.
12So keep going with your magic spells and all your witchcraft, which you have worked at since you were young. Maybe you'll be successful, maybe you'll terrify people! 13All the advice you've received has worn you out! Where are your astrologers, those who look to the stars for guidance, who give you their predictions every month? Let them stand up and save you from what's coming down on you! 14But look at them! They're like stubble that fire burns up completely—they can't even save their own lives from the flames. This is no fire to sit beside and grow warm! 15All those people you've worked with, all those you've traded with from when you were young—they will all go their own way, nobody will come and save you.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 47
47
Babylon Will Fall
The Lord said:
1 #
Is 13.1—14.23; Jr 50.1—51.64. City of Babylon,
You are delicate
and untouched,
but that will change.
Surrender your royal power
and sit in the dirt.
2Start grinding grain!
Take off your veil.
Strip off your fancy clothes
and wade across rivers.#47.2 Strip … rivers: This may be a command to get ready for work that requires wading in the river, or it may be a warning that they are going to be taken away as slaves.
3You will suffer the shame
of going naked,
because I will take revenge,
and no one can escape.#47.3 escape: Or “oppose me.”
4I am the Lord All-Powerful,
the holy God of Israel.
I am their Savior.
5Babylon, be silent!
Sit in the dark.
No longer will nations
accept you as their queen.
6I was angry with my people.
So I let you take their land
and bring disgrace on them.
You showed them no mercy,
but were especially cruel
to those who were old.
7You thought that you
would be queen forever.
You didn't care what you did;
it never entered your mind
that you might get caught.
8 #
Rev 18.7,8. You think that you alone
are all-powerful,
that you won't be a widow
or lose your children.
All you care about is pleasure,
but listen to what I say.
9Your magic powers and charms
will suddenly fail,
then you will be a widow
and lose your children.
10You hid behind evil
like a shield and said,
“No one can see me!”
You were fooled by your wisdom
and your knowledge;
you felt sure that you alone
were in full control.
11But without warning,
disaster will strike—
and your magic charms
won't help at all.
12Keep using your magic powers
and your charms
as you have always done.
Maybe—just maybe—
you will frighten somebody!
13You have worn yourself out,
asking for advice
from those who study the stars
and tell the future
month after month.
Go ask them how to be saved
from what will happen.
14People who trust the stars
are as helpless as straw
in a flaming fire.
No one can even keep warm,#47.14 keep warm: Or “cook food.”
sitting by a fire
that feeds only on straw.
15These are the fortunetellers
you have done business with
all of your life.
But they don't know
where they are going,
and they can't save you.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.