Isaiah 47:6–9

6 I was angry with my people

and desecrated my inheritance;

I gave them into your hand,

and you showed them no mercy.

Even on the aged

you laid a very heavy yoke.

7 You said, ‘I am forever—

the eternal queen!’

But you did not consider these things

or reflect on what might happen.

8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,

lounging in your security

and saying to yourself,

‘I am, and there is none besides me.

I will never be a widow

or suffer the loss of children.’

9 Both of these will overtake you

in a moment, on a single day:

loss of children and widowhood.

They will come upon you in full measure,

in spite of your many sorceries

and all your potent spells.

6 I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance,

And given them into thine hand:

Thou didst shew them no mercy;

Upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

7 And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever:

So that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart,

Neither didst remember the latter end of it.

8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly,

That sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me;

I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:

9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day,

The loss of children, and widowhood:

They shall come upon thee in their perfection

For the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

6 For 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.

7 You 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.’

9 Well, 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.

6 I was angry with My people;

I have profaned My inheritance,

And given them into your hand.

You showed them no mercy;

On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily.

7 And you said, ‘I shall be a lady forever,’

So that you did not take these things to heart,

Nor remember the latter end of them.

8 “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures,

Who dwell securely,

Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me;

I shall not sit as a widow,

Nor shall I know the loss of children’;

9 But these two things shall come to you

In a moment, in one day:

The loss of children, and widowhood.

They shall come upon you in their fullness

Because of the multitude of your sorceries,

For the great abundance of your enchantments.

6 I was angry with my people,

so I rejected those who belonged to me.

I gave them to you,

but you showed them no mercy.

You even made the old people

work very hard.

7 You said, ‘I will live forever

as the queen.’

But you did not think about these things

or consider what would happen.

8 “Now, listen, you lover of pleasure.

You think you are safe.

You tell yourself,

‘I am the only important person.

I will never be a widow

or lose my children.’

9 Two things will happen to you suddenly, in a single day.

You will lose your children and your husband.

These things will truly happen to you,

in spite of all your magic,

in spite of your powerful tricks.

6 I was wroth with my people, I profaned mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke. 7 And thou saidst, I shall be mistress for ever; so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end thereof.

8 Now therefore hear this, thou that art given to pleasures, that sittest securely, that sayest in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: 9 but these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come upon thee, in the multitude of thy sorceries, and the great abundance of thine enchantments.

6 I was wroth with my people, I polluted mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the aged didst thou very heavily lay thy yoke;

7 and thou saidst, I shall be a mistress for ever; so that thou didst not take these things to heart, thou didst not remember the end thereof. 8 And now hear this, thou voluptuous one, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thy heart, It is I, and there is none but me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know loss of children: 9 yet these two things shall come upon thee in a moment, in one day, loss of children and widowhood; they shall come upon thee in full measure for the multitude of thy sorceries, for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

6 I was angry with my people. 

I dishonored those who belong to me. 

I put them under your control. 

You showed them no mercy. 

You placed a heavy burden on old people. 

7 You said, “I will always be a queen.” 

You didn’t carefully consider these things 

or keep in mind how they would end. 

8 Now then, listen to this, you lover of pleasure. 

You live securely and say to yourself, 

“I’m the only one, and there’s no one else. 

I won’t live as a widow. 

I won’t suffer the loss of children.” 

9 In one day both of these will happen to you instantly: 

the loss of your children and your husband. 

All this will happen to you in spite of 

your evil magic and your many spells. 

6 I was angry with My people;

I profaned My possession,

and I placed them under your control.

You showed them no mercy;

you made your yoke very heavy on the elderly.

7 You said, ‘I will be the mistress 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,

who says to herself,

‘I exist, and there is no one else.

I will never be a widow

or know the loss of children.’

9 These 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

and the potency of your spells.

6 I was angry with my people;

I profaned my heritage;

I gave them into your hand;

you showed them no mercy;

on the aged you made your yoke

exceedingly heavy.

7 You said, “I shall be mistress forever,”

so that you did not lay these things to heart

or remember their end.

8 Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures,

who sit securely,

who say in your heart,

“I am, and there is no one besides me;

I shall not sit as a widow

or know the loss of children”—

9 both these things shall come upon you

in a moment, in one day:

the loss of children and widowhood

shall come upon you in full measure,

in spite of your many sorceries

and the great power of your enchantments.

6 I was angry with my people;

I profaned my inheritance,

and I gave them into your hand.

You did not give them mercy;

on the aged you made your yoke very heavy.

7 And you said, “I shall be an eternal mistress forever!”

You did not set these things upon your heart;

you did not remember its end.

8 Therefore now hear this, luxuriant one who sits in security,

who says in her heart, “I am, and besides me there is no one.

I shall not sit as a widow,

and I shall not know the loss of children.”

9 And these two shall come to you in a moment, in one day:

the loss of children and widowhood shall come on you completely,

in spite of your many sorceries,

in spite of the power of your great enchantments.

6 I 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.

7 You said, ‘I will continue to be 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.’

9 But both of those 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 of your evil magic

and powerful spells will not save you.

6 “I was angry with My people,

I profaned My heritage

And gave them into your hand.

You did not show mercy to them,

On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.

7 “Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’

These things you did not consider

Nor remember the outcome of them.

8 “Now, then, hear this, you sensual one,

Who dwells securely,

Who says in your heart,

‘I am, and there is no one besides me.

I will not sit as a widow,

Nor know loss of children.’

9 “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day:

Loss of children and widowhood.

They will come on you in full measure

In spite of your many sorceries,

In spite of the great power of your spells.