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Babylon’s Fall

47 Go, sit in the dirt,
    virgin princess of Babylon!
    Sit on the ground, not on a throne,
    princess of the Babylonians!
        You will no longer be called soft and delicate.
Take millstones and grind flour.
    Remove your veil.
        Take off your skirt.
            Uncover your legs, and cross the river.
People will see you naked.
    People will see your shame.
    I will take revenge.
    I won’t spare anyone.

Our Go’el is Qedosh Yisrael.
    His name is Yahweh Tsebaoth.

Go into the dark, and sit in silence,
    princess of the Babylonians!
        You will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms.
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.
You said, “I will always be a queen.”
    You didn’t carefully consider these things
        or keep in mind how they would end.

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.”
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.
10 You feel safe in your wickedness
    and say, “No one can see me.”
    Your wisdom and knowledge have led you astray,
    so you say to yourself,
        “I’m the only one, and there’s no one else.”
11 But evil will happen to you.
    You won’t know how to keep it away.
    Disaster will strike you.
    You won’t be able to stop it.
    Destruction will overtake you suddenly.
    You won’t expect it.

12 Keep practicing your spells and your evil magic.
    You have practiced them ever since you were young.
        You may succeed.
        You may cause terror.
13 You are worn out by your many plans.
    Let your astrologers and your stargazers,
    who foretell the future month by month,
        come to you, rise up, and save you.
14 They are like straw.
    Fire burns them.
    They can’t rescue themselves from the flames.
    There are no glowing coals to keep them warm
    and no fire for them to sit by.
15 This is how it will be for those who have worked with you,
    for those who have been with you ever since you were young.
        They will go their own ways,
            and there will be no one to save you.

The Fall of Babylon

47 “Go down, sit in the dust,(A)
    Virgin Daughter(B) Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
    queen city of the Babylonians.[a](C)
No more will you be called
    tender or delicate.(D)
Take millstones(E) and grind(F) flour;
    take off your veil.(G)
Lift up your skirts,(H) bare your legs,
    and wade through the streams.
Your nakedness(I) will be exposed
    and your shame(J) uncovered.
I will take vengeance;(K)
    I will spare no one.(L)

Our Redeemer(M)—the Lord Almighty(N) is his name(O)
    is the Holy One(P) of Israel.

“Sit in silence,(Q) go into darkness,(R)
    queen city of the Babylonians;(S)
no more will you be called
    queen(T) of kingdoms.(U)
I was angry(V) with my people
    and desecrated my inheritance;(W)
I gave them into your hand,(X)
    and you showed them no mercy.(Y)
Even on the aged
    you laid a very heavy yoke.
You said, ‘I am forever(Z)
    the eternal queen!’(AA)
But you did not consider these things
    or reflect(AB) on what might happen.(AC)

“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security(AD)
and saying to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.(AE)
I will never be a widow(AF)
    or suffer the loss of children.’
Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment,(AG) on a single day:
    loss of children(AH) and widowhood.(AI)
They will come upon you in full measure,
    in spite of your many sorceries(AJ)
    and all your potent spells.(AK)
10 You have trusted(AL) in your wickedness
    and have said, ‘No one sees me.’(AM)
Your wisdom(AN) and knowledge mislead(AO) you
    when you say to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disaster(AP) 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(AQ) come upon you.

12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
    and with your many sorceries,(AR)
    which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
    perhaps you will cause terror.
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!(AS)
    Let your astrologers(AT) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
    let them save(AU) you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;(AV)
    the fire(AW) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
    from the power of the flame.(AX)
These are not coals for warmth;
    this is not a fire to sit by.
15 That is all they are to you—
    these you have dealt with
    and labored(AY) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
    there is not one that can save(AZ) you.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5