The Book of the Prophet Isaiah 47 The Fall of Babylon

 The Book of the Prophet Isaiah 47

The Fall of Babylon

1 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground; there is no throne anymore, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for you will never again be called tender or delicate.

2 Take the millstone, and grind flour; uncover your head, take off your sandals, uncover your legs, and cross the rivers.

3 Your shame will be uncovered, and your disgrace will be seen; I will take vengeance, and I will not show partiality to any man.

4 The name of our redeemer is the Lord of hosts, the Holy One of Israel.

5 Sit in silence and enter into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for you will never again be called mistress of kingdoms.

6 I was very angry with my people; I defiled my inheritance and gave them into your hand. You showed them no mercy, and even on the elderly you made your yoke very heavy.

7 You said, “I will be mistress forever.” Until now you have not considered these things in your heart or remembered their end.

8 Now therefore hear this, 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 will not be a widow, nor will I know the loss of children.”

9 But both these things will come upon you in a moment, in a single day: the loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in all their force because of the multitude of your sorceries and the abundance of your enchantments.

10 Because you trusted in your wickedness and said, “No one can see me”; Your wisdom and your knowledge—these have led you astray. You have said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.”

11 Therefore, disaster will come upon you, the origin of which you will not know, and such destruction will fall upon you that you will not be able to avert it. For sudden and overwhelming desolation will come upon you, which you will not be able to recognize.

12 Stand still with your enchantments and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth. See if you can profit or perhaps strengthen yourself.

13 You have wearied yourself with the multitude of your counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up and save you from what is coming upon you.

14 Behold, they shall be like stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not be able to deliver themselves from the power of the flame. It will not be a fire to warm themselves by, nor a fire to sit by.

15 So will those with whom you have worked, your merchants from your youth, be toward you: each will wander off on his own path; no one will save you.