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
Prediction of Babylon’s Fall
1“Come down, virgin daughter of Babylon, and sit in the dust.
For your days of sitting on a throne have ended.
O daughter of Babylonia,#47:1 Or Chaldea; also in 47:5. never again will you be
the lovely princess, tender and delicate.
2Take heavy millstones and grind flour.
Remove your veil, and strip off your robe.
Expose yourself to public view.#47:2 Hebrew Bare your legs; pass through the rivers.
3You will be naked and burdened with shame.
I will take vengeance against you without pity.”
4Our Redeemer, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
is the Holy One of Israel.
5“O beautiful Babylon, sit now in darkness and silence.
Never again will you be known as the queen of kingdoms.
6For I was angry with my chosen people
and punished them by letting them fall into your hands.
But you, Babylon, showed them no mercy.
You oppressed even the elderly.
7You said, ‘I will reign forever as queen of the world!’
You did not reflect on your actions
or think about their consequences.
8“Listen to this, you pleasure-loving kingdom,
living at ease and feeling secure.
You say, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.
I will never be a widow or lose my children.’
9Well, both these things will come upon you in a moment:
widowhood and the loss of your children.
Yes, these calamities will come upon you,
despite all your witchcraft and magic.
10“You felt secure in your wickedness.
‘No one sees me,’ you said.
But your ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ have led you astray,
and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.’
11So disaster will overtake you,
and you won’t be able to charm it away.
Calamity will fall upon you,
and you won’t be able to buy your way out.
A catastrophe will strike you suddenly,
one for which you are not prepared.
12“Now use your magical charms!
Use the spells you have worked at all these years!
Maybe they will do you some good.
Maybe they can make someone afraid of you.
13All the advice you receive has made you tired.
Where are all your astrologers,
those stargazers who make predictions each month?
Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds.
14But they are like straw burning in a fire;
they cannot save themselves from the flame.
You will get no help from them at all;
their hearth is no place to sit for warmth.
15And all your friends,
those with whom you’ve done business since childhood,
will go their own ways,
turning a deaf ear to your cries.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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