Isaiah 47

The Humiliation of Babylon

⁴⁷Come down and sit in the dust,

virgin daughter Babylon!

Sit on the ground without a throne,

daughter Chaldea!

For you shall no more be called

tender and delicate.^*

²Take the millstones and grind meal;

remove your veil;

strip off your robe; uncover your legs;

pass through the rivers.

³Your nakedness shall be uncovered,

and your shame shall be seen.

I will take vengeance,

and I will spare no one.^o*

⁴Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—

is the Holy One of Israel.^*

⁵Sit in silence, and go into darkness,

daughter Chaldea!

For you shall no more be called

the mistress of kingdoms.^*

⁶I 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.^*

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

so that you did not lay these things to heart

or remember their end.^*

⁸Now 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”—^*

⁹both 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.^*

¹⁰You felt secure in your wickedness;

you said, “No one sees me.”

Your wisdom and your knowledge

led you astray,

and you said in your heart,

“I am, and there is no one besides me.”^*

¹¹But evil shall come upon you,

which you cannot charm away;

disaster shall fall upon you,

which you will not be able to ward off,

and ruin shall come on you suddenly,

of which you know nothing.^*

¹²Stand fast in your enchantments

and your many sorceries,

with which you have labored from your youth;

perhaps you may be able to succeed;

perhaps you may inspire terror.^*

¹³You are wearied with your many consultations;

let those who study^p the heavens

stand up and save you,

those who gaze at the stars

and at each new moon predict

what^q shall befall you.^*

¹⁴See, they are like stubble;

the fire consumes them;

they cannot deliver themselves

from the power of the flame.

No coal for warming oneself is this,

no fire to sit before!^*

¹⁵Such to you are those with whom you have labored,

who have trafficked with you from your youth;

they all wander about in their own paths;

there is no one to save you.^*