Isaiah 47
47
Judgement on Babylon
1 #
Is 13.1—14.23; Jer 50.1; 51.64 The LORD says,
“Babylon, come down from your throne,
and sit in the dust on the ground.
You were once like a virgin, a city unconquered,
but you are soft and delicate no longer!
You are now a slave!
2Turn the millstone! Grind the flour!
Off with your veil! Strip off your fine clothes!
Lift up your skirts to cross the streams!#47.2 cross the streams: This probably refers to going into exile.
3People will see you naked;
they will see you humbled and shamed.
I will take vengeance, and no one will stop me.”
4The holy God of Israel sets us free —
his name is the LORD Almighty.
5The LORD says to Babylon,
“Sit in silence and darkness;
no more will they call you the queen of nations!
6I was angry with my people;
I treated them as no longer mine:
I put them in your power,
and you showed them no mercy;
even the aged you treated harshly.
7You thought you would always be a queen,
and did not take these things to heart
or think how it all would end.
8 #
Rev 18.7–8
“Listen to this, you lover of pleasure,
you that think you are safe and secure.
You claim you are as great as God —
that there is no one else like you.
You thought that you would never be a widow
or suffer the loss of your children.
9But in a moment, in a single day,
both of these things will happen.
In spite of all the magic you use,
you will lose your husband and children.
10“You felt sure of yourself in your evil;
you thought that no one could see you.
Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray,
and you said to yourself, ‘I am God —
there is no one else like me.’
11Disaster will come upon you,
and none of your magic can stop it.
Ruin will come on you suddenly —
ruin you never dreamt of!
12Keep all your magic spells and charms;
you have used them since you were young.
Perhaps they will be of some help to you;
perhaps you can frighten your enemies.
13You are powerless in spite of the advice you get.
Let your astrologers come forward and save you —
those people who study the stars,
who map out the zones of the heavens
and tell you from month to month
what#47.13 Some ancient translations what; Hebrew from what. is going to happen to you.
14“They will be like bits of straw,
and a fire will burn them up!
They will not even be able to save themselves —
the flames will be too hot for them,
not a cosy fire to warm themselves by.
15That is all the good they will do you —
those astrologers you've consulted all your life.
They all will leave you and go their own way,
and none will be left to save you.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
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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