The Humiliation of Babylon

47 “Come adown and bsit in the dust,

O virgin daughter of cBabylon;

Sit on the ground without a throne,

O daughter of the Chaldeans!

For you shall no more be called

Tender and 1delicate.

2 dTake the millstones and grind meal.

Remove your veil,

Take off the skirt,

Uncover the thigh,

Pass through the rivers.

3 eYour nakedness shall be uncovered,

Yes, your shame will be seen;

fI will take vengeance,

And I will not arbitrate with a man.”

4 As for gour Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name,

The Holy One of Israel.

5 “Sit in hsilence, and go into darkness,

O daughter of the Chaldeans;

iFor you shall no longer be called

The Lady of Kingdoms.

6 jI was angry with My people;

kI have profaned My inheritance,

And given them into your hand.

You showed them no mercy;

lOn the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily.

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

So that you did not ntake these things to heart,

oNor 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

pIn 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.

10 “For you have trusted in your wickedness;

You have said, ‘No one qsees me’;

Your wisdom and your knowledge have 2warped you;

And you have said in your heart,

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

11 Therefore evil shall come upon you;

You shall not know from where it arises.

And trouble shall fall upon you;

You will not be able 3to put it off.

And rdesolation shall come upon you ssuddenly,

Which you shall not know.

12 “Stand now with your enchantments

And the multitude of your sorceries,

In which you have labored from your youth—

Perhaps you will be able to profit,

Perhaps you will prevail.

13 tYou are wearied in the multitude of your counsels;

Let now uthe 4astrologers, the stargazers,

And 5the monthly prognosticators

Stand up and save you

From what shall come upon you.

14 Behold, they shall be vas stubble,

The fire shall wburn them;

They shall not deliver themselves

From the power of the flame;

It shall not be a coal to be warmed by,

Nor a fire to sit before!

15 Thus shall they be to you

With whom you have labored,

xYour merchants from your youth;

They shall wander each one to his 6quarter.

No one shall save you.