Babylon’s Idols and the True God

1 aBel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;

Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle.

The things 1that you carry are burdensome,

A load for the weary beast.

2 They stooped over, they have bowed down together;

They could not rescue the burden,

But 1have themselves agone into captivity.

3 “aListen to Me, O house of Jacob,

And all bthe remnant of the house of Israel,

You who have been cborne by Me from 1birth

And have been carried from the womb;

4 Even to your old age aI 1will be the same,

And even to your 2bgraying years I will bear you!

I have 3done it, and I will carry you;

And I will bear you and I will deliver you.

5 “aTo whom would you liken Me

And make Me equal and compare Me,

That we would be alike?

6 “Those who alavish gold from the purse

And weigh silver on the scale

Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

They bbow down, indeed they worship it.

7 “They alift it upon the shoulder and carry it;

They set it in its place and it stands there.

bIt does not move from its place.

Though one may cry to it, it ccannot answer;

It dcannot deliver him from his distress.

8 “aRemember this, and be 1assured;

bRecall it to 2mind, you ctransgressors.

9 “Remember the aformer things long past,

For I am God, and there is bno other;

I am God, and there is cno one like Me,

10 Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things which have not been done,

Saying, ‘aMy purpose will be established,

And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;

11 Calling a abird of prey from the beast,

The man of 1My purpose from a far country.

Truly I have cspoken; truly I will bring it to pass.

I have planned it, surely I will do it.

12 “aListen to Me, you bstubborn-minded,

Who are cfar from righteousness.

13 “I abring near My righteousness, it is not far off;

And My salvation will not delay.

And I will grant bsalvation in Zion,

And My cglory for Israel.

Chapter 47

Lament for Babylon

1 “aCome down and sit in the dust,

O bvirgin cdaughter of Babylon;

Sit on the ground without a throne,

O daughter of the Chaldeans!

For you shall no longer be called dtender and delicate.

2 “Take the amillstones and bgrind meal.

Remove your cveil, dstrip off the skirt,

Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.

3 “Your anakedness will be uncovered,

Your shame also will be exposed;

I will btake vengeance and will not 1spare a man.”

4 Our aRedeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name,

The Holy One of Israel.

5 “aSit silently, and go into bdarkness,

O daughter of the Chaldeans,

For you will no longer be called

The cqueen of dkingdoms.

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 aaged you made your yoke very heavy.

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

These things you did not bconsider

Nor remember the coutcome of 1them.

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

Who bdwells securely,

Who says in 1your heart,

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

I will dnot sit as a widow,

Nor know loss of children.’

9 “But these atwo things will come on you bsuddenly in one day:

Loss of children and widowhood.

They will come on you in full measure

In spite of your many csorceries,

In spite of the great power of your spells.

10 “You felt asecure in your wickedness and said,

‘bNo one sees me,’

Your cwisdom and your knowledge, 1they have deluded you;

For you have said in your heart,

‘dI am, and there is no one besides me.’

11 “But aevil will come on you

Which you will not know how to charm away;

And disaster will fall on you

For which you cannot atone;

And bdestruction about which you do not know

Will come on you csuddenly.

12 “Stand fast now in your aspells

And in your many sorceries

With which you have labored from your youth;

Perhaps you will be able to profit,

Perhaps you may cause trembling.

13 “You are awearied with your many counsels;

Let now the bastrologers,

Those who prophesy by the stars,

Those who predict by the new moons,

Stand up and csave you from what will come upon you.

14 “Behold, they have become alike stubble,

bFire burns them;

They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame;

There will be cno coal to warm by

Nor a fire to sit before!

15 “So have those become to you with whom you have labored,

Who have atrafficked with you from your youth;

Each has wandered in his own 1way;

There is bnone to save you.