Isaiah 47 | King James Version

King James Version

1 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. 2 Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. 3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. 4 As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. 5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. 6 I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke. 7 And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. 8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am , and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: 9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. 10 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am , and none else beside me. 11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. 12 Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. 13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. 14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. 15 Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.

New International Reader’s Version

Babylon will fall

1 ‘City of Babylon, go down and sit in the dust. Leave your throne and sit on the ground. Queen city of the Babylonians, your life will not be comfortable and easy anymore. 2 Get millstones and grind some flour like a female slave. Take off your veil. Lift up your skirts. Make your legs bare. Wade through the streams. 3 Everyone will see your naked body. Everyone will see your shame. I will pay you back for what you did. I will not spare any of your people.’ 4 The one who sets us free is the Holy One of Israel. His name is the LORD Who Rules Over All. 5 The LORD says, ‘Queen city of the Babylonians, go into a dark prison. Sit there quietly. You will not be called the queen of kingdoms anymore. 6 I was angry with my people. I treated them as if they did not belong to me. I handed them over to you. And you did not show them any pity. You even placed heavy loads on their old people. 7 You said, “I am queen for ever!” But you did not think about what you were doing. You did not consider how things might turn out. 8 ‘So listen, you who love pleasure. You think you are safe and secure. You say to yourself, “I am like a god. No one is greater than I am. I’ll never be a widow. And my children will never be taken away from me.” 9 But both of these things will happen to you in a moment. They will take place on a single day. You will lose your children. And you will become a widow. That is what will happen to you. All your evil magic and powerful spells will not save you. 10 You have felt secure in your evil ways. You have said, “No one sees what I’m doing.” Your wisdom and knowledge lead you astray. You say to yourself, “I am like a god. No one is greater than I am.” 11 So horrible trouble will come on you. You will not know how to use your evil magic to make it go away. Great trouble will fall on you. No amount of money can keep it away. Something terrible will happen to you all at once. You will not see it coming in advance. 12 ‘So keep on casting your magic spells. Keep on practising your evil magic. You have been doing those things ever since you were a child. Perhaps they will help you. Maybe they will scare your enemies away. 13 All the advice you have received has only worn you out! Let those who study the heavens come forward. They claim to know what is going to happen by watching the stars every month. So let them save you from the trouble that is coming on you. 14 They are just like straw. Fire will burn them up. They can’t even save themselves from the powerful flames. These are not like coals that can warm anyone. This is not like a fire to sit by. 15 They can’t do you any good. You have done business with them ever since you were a child. You have always asked them for advice. All of them are bewildered and continue in their own ways. None of them can save you.’