Isaiah chapter 47
English Standard Version
1 Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate. 2Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers. 3Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one. 4 Our Redeemer — the Lord of hosts is his name — is the Holy One of Israel. 5 Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms. 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. 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": 9 These two things shall come to 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 will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing. 12 Stand 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 counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you. 14Behold, 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 done business with you from your youth; they wander about, each in his own direction; there is no one to save you.
New International Version
1"Go down, sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, queen city of the Babylonians. No more will you be called tender or delicate. 2Take millstones and grind flour; take off your veil. Lift up your skirts, bare your legs, and wade through the streams.
4Our Redeemer—the Lord Almighty is his name— is the Holy One of Israel. 5"Sit in silence, go into darkness, queen city of the Babylonians; no more will you be called queen of kingdoms. 6I 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.
7You 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.’ 9Both 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. 10You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away. A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you. 12"Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror. 13All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. 14Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. These are not coals for warmth; this is not a fire to sit by. 15That is all they are to you— these you have dealt with and labored with since childhood. All of them go on in their error; there is not one that can save you.
New American Standard Bible
1'Come down and sit in the dust, Virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, Daughter of the Chaldeans! For you will no longer be called tender and delicate. 2Take the millstones and grind flour. Remove your veil, strip off the skirt, Uncover the leg, cross the rivers. 3Your nakedness will be uncovered, Your shame will also be exposed; I will take vengeance and will not spare anyone.' 4Our Redeemer, the Lord of armies is His name, The Holy One of Israel. 5'Sit silently, and go into darkness, Daughter of the Chaldeans; For you will no longer be called The queen of kingdoms. 6I was angry with My people, I profaned My heritage And handed them over to you. You did not show mercy to them, On the aged you made your yoke very heavy. 7Yet 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 luxuriant one, Who lives securely, Who says in her heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow, Nor know the loss of children.’ 9But 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. 10You felt secure in your wickedness and said, ‘No one sees me,’ Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have led you astray; For you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’ 11But evil 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 destruction about which you do not know Will come on you suddenly. 12'Persist now in your spells And in your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to benefit, Perhaps you may cause trembling. 13You are wearied with your many counsels; Let now the astrologers, Those who prophesy by the stars, Those who predict by the new moons, Stand up and save you from what will come upon you. 14Behold, they have become like stubble, Fire burns them; They cannot save themselves from the power of the flame; There will be no coal to warm by Nor a fire to sit before! 15So have those become to you with whom you have labored, Those who have done business with you from your youth; Each has wandered in his own way; There is no one to save you.
Christian Standard Bible
1"Go down and sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, Daughter Chaldea! For you will no longer be called pampered and spoiled. 2Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil, strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, wade through the streams. 3Your nakedness will be uncovered, and your disgrace will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one."
4The Holy One of Israel is our Redeemer; The Lord of Armies is his name. 5"Daughter Chaldea, sit in silence and go into darkness. For you will no longer be called mistress of kingdoms. 6I was angry with my people; I profaned my possession, and I handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; you made your yoke very heavy on the elderly.
7You said, ‘I will be the queen 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 am, and there is no one else. I will never be a widow or know the loss of children.’ 9These 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. 10You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray. You said to yourself, ‘I am, and there is no one else.’
11But disaster will happen to you; you will not know how to avert it. And it will fall on you, but you will be unable to ward it off. Devastation will happen to you suddenly and unexpectedly. 12So take your stand with your spells and your many sorceries, which you have wearied yourself with from your youth. Perhaps you will be able to succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror! 13You are worn out with your many consultations. So let the astrologers stand and save you— those who observe the stars, those who predict monthly what will happen to you. 14Look, they are like stubble; fire burns them. They cannot rescue themselves from the power of the flame. This is not a coal for warming themselves, or a fire to sit beside! 15This is what they are to you— those who have wearied you and have traded with you from your youth— each wanders on his own way; no one can save you.
New Living Translation
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, 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. 3You will be naked and burdened with shame. I will take vengeance against you without pity.'
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.
King James Version
New King James Version
1“Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called Tender and delicate. 2 Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, Take off the skirt, Uncover the thigh, Pass through the rivers. 3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered, Yes, your shame will be seen; I will take vengeance, And I will not arbitrate with a man.” 4 As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel. 5“Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; For you shall no longer be called The Lady of Kingdoms. 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. 7And 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’; 9But 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. 10“For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one sees me’; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’ 11Therefore evil shall come upon you; You shall not know from where it arises. And trouble shall fall upon you; You will not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, 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 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, And the monthly prognosticators Stand up and save you From what shall come upon you. 14Behold, they shall be as stubble, The fire shall burn 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! 15Thus shall they be to you With whom you have labored, Your merchants from your youth; They shall wander each one to his quarter. No one shall save you.