Isaiah, 47

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.

1. Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon! No more throne! Sit on the ground, O daughter of the Chaldeans. No longer will you be called dainty and delicate.

2. Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.

2. Take the millstone and grind meal; uncover your hair, bare your legs; strip to the thighs and 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.

3. Your nakedness will be exposed, your shame will be uncovered. I will take revenge on you and no one will save you,

4. [As for] our redeemer, the LORD of hosts [is] his name, the Holy One of Israel.

4. says our Redeemer, Yahweh Sabaoth. His name is 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.

5. Go creep into the shadows and sit in silence, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for no more will you be called sovereign lady of the 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.

6. Angry with my people, I had left my inheritance; I gave them into your hands, but you showed them no mercy. You laid a heavy yoke on the aged.

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.

7. You said, "I will reign forever"; but you did not take this to heart or ponder on what would ensue.

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:

8. Listen, therefore, you wanton woman, lounging in security and deluding yourself, "I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer 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.

9. But these two things will come to you in a moment, on a single day - loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of all your witchcraft, in spite of the power of your spells.

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.

10. You have trusted in your wickedness, saying, "Nobody sees me." Your intelligence and knowledge have perverted you, for you have said: "I am, and there is none besides 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.

11. Evil, suddenly, will come your way though you do not know it. Disaster will fall upon you, and no ransom will ward it off; a catastrophe you cannot foresee will come upon you suddenly.

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.

12. Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with the multitude of your sorceries, which you have labored at since your youth. Do you think they will help you now? Do you think they will cause terror around you?

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.

13. Yet you are wearied with so many advisers. Let your astrologers stand up, your stargazers who foretell what will happen each month; let them save you from what is to come upon you.

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.

14. Look, they will be like stubble and the fire will burn them. They cannot even save themselves from the power of consuming flames. These are no embers to warm anyone, no fireside to sit by.

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.

15. This is your lot and of your wizards with whom you have labored from your youth. Now each will go his own way - powerless to save you.