Isaiah 47

1Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

1Come down and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans. You will no longer be called soft and delicate.

2Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove thy veil, strip off the train, uncover the leg, pass through the rivers.

2Take the millstones and grind flour. Remove your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, and wade through the rivers.

3Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and will spare no man.

3Your nakedness will be exposed, and your shame will be seen. I will take revenge, and I will show no one any mercy.

4Our Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

4Our Redeemer—the LORD of Armies is his name—is the Holy One of Israel.

5Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called The mistress of kingdoms.

5Sit in silence and go into the darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans; for you will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms.

6I was wroth with my people, I profaned mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

6I was angry with my people and I treated my own inheritance as something unholy. I handed them over to you, but you showed them no mercy. You made even the elderly carry a very heavy burden.

7And thou saidst, I shall be mistress for ever; so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end thereof.

7You said, 'I will be the queen forever.' You didn't think about these things or consider how it would all end.

8Now therefore hear this, thou that art given to pleasures, that sittest securely, that sayest in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:

8Now listen to this, you lover of pleasure, who sits there feeling secure. You say to yourself, 'I am the one, and there is no one else besides me; I will never be a widow or lose my children.'

9but these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come upon thee, in the multitude of thy sorceries, and the great abundance of thine enchantments.

9But both of these things will happen to you in a single moment, on the same day: the loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in full force, in spite of your many sorceries and all your powerful magic spells.

10For 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 thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me.

10You felt safe in your wickedness and said, 'No one sees me.' Your own wisdom and knowledge led you astray when you said to yourself, 'I am the one, and there is no one else besides me.'

11Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know the dawning thereof: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it away: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou knowest not.

11Disaster will come upon you, and you won't know how to charm it away. Calamity will fall on you that you cannot turn aside. Destruction you didn't see coming will suddenly overwhelm you.

12Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.

12Keep on then with your magic spells and your many sorceries, which you have worked at since your youth. Perhaps you can succeed; perhaps you can scare someone.

13Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee.

13You are worn out by all the advice you have received! Let your astrologers come forward now—those who stare at the stars and make predictions month by month—let them save you from what is coming.

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 warm at, nor a fire to sit before.

14Look, they are like straw; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. This is not a charcoal fire to keep someone warm, or a fire to sit beside.

15Thus shall the things be unto thee wherein thou hast labored: they that have trafficked with thee from thy youth shall wander every one to his quarter; there shall be none to save thee.

15This is all your magicians will be to you—those you have worked with since your youth. Each of them wanders off his own way; there is no one left to save you.