Isaiah 47:3

3 People will see you naked; they will see you humbled and shamed. I will take vengeance, and no one will stop me."

Isaiah 47:3 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 47:3

Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen,
&c.] Not only stripped of their garments, and have nothing to cover their naked bodies, being spoiled of all by the soldiers; but should have nothing to cover those parts which women are most ashamed should be exposed to view, and which is often the case of such who fall into the hands of the conquerors. It is said of the whore of Rome, of mystical Babylon, that the kings of the earth should hate her, and make her desolate and naked, ( Revelation 17:16 ) : I will take vengeance;
for though the Medes and Persians were the instruments, the destruction was of the Lord, who took vengeance of the Chaldeans, for their ill usage of his people; as he will on mystical Babylon, ( Revelation 18:20 ) ( 19:2 ) : and I will not meet thee as a man;
in a humane way, with lenity, tenderness, and compassion, but with inflexible wrath and fury; not with human strength, which is but weakness, but with the strength of the mighty God; as is said of mystical Babylon, strong is the Lord God that judgeth her,
( Revelation 18:8 ) or it may be rendered, "I will not meet a man" F4; or a man shall not meet me, to stop or hinder me, by strength or might, or by prayers and entreaties. So some give the sense, "I will not receive the "intercession of any man for thee"; which is observed by Kimchi. The Targum is, "I will change "thy judgment from the children of men"; which agrees with the first sense.


FOOTNOTES:

F4 (Mda egpa alw) "et non occurram homini", Cocceius; so some in Vatablus; "neque feram obstare quenquam mihi", Junius & Tremellius. So Ben Melech, "I will not receive the request of a man, his supplication for them."

Isaiah 47:3 In-Context

1 The Lord says, "Babylon, come down from your throne, and sit in the dust on the ground. You were once like a virgin, a city unconquered, but you are soft and delicate no longer! You are now a slave!
2 Turn the millstone! Grind the flour! Off with your veil! Strip off your fine clothes! Lift up your skirts to cross the streams!
3 People will see you naked; they will see you humbled and shamed. I will take vengeance, and no one will stop me."
4 The holy God of Israel sets us free - his name is the Lord Almighty.
5 The Lord says to Babylon, "Sit in silence and darkness; no more will they call you the queen of nations!
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.