Isaiah 47:1-7

Lament for Babylon

1 "¹Come down and sit in the dust, O ²virgin ³daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no longer be called ⁴tender and delicate.

2 "Take the ⁵millstones and ⁶grind meal. Remove your ⁷veil, ⁸strip off the skirt, Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.

3 "Your ⁹nakedness will be uncovered, Your shame also will be exposed; I will ¹⁰take vengeance and will not spare a man."

4 Our ¹¹Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel.

5 "¹²Sit silently, and go into ¹³darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For you will no longer be called The ¹⁴queen of ¹⁵kingdoms.

6 "I was angry with My people, I profaned My heritage And gave them into your hand. You did not show mercy to them, On the ¹⁶aged you made your yoke very heavy.

7 "Yet you said, 'I will be a ¹⁷queen forever *.' These things you did not ¹⁸consider * * Nor remember the ¹⁹outcome of them.

Isaiah 47:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 47

This chapter is a prophecy of the destruction of Babylon, and of the Chaldeans, and declares the causes of it. The mean, low, ignominious, and miserable condition Babylon and the Chaldeans should be brought into by the Lord, the Redeemer of his people, is described, Isa 47:1-5, the causes of it are their cruelty to the Jews, Isa 47:6, their pride, voluptuousness, and carnal security, Isa 47:7,8 their sorceries and enchantments, and trust in their own wisdom, Isa 47:9,10, wherefore their destruction should come suddenly upon them, and they should not be able to put it off, Isa 47:11, their magic art, and judiciary astrology, which they boasted of, by them they could neither foresee nor withstand their ruin, which would be of no avail unto them, Isa 47:12-14, nor their merchants either, Isa 47:15.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 3:26; Jeremiah 48:18
• 2. Isaiah 23:12; Isaiah 37:22; Jeremiah 46:11
• 3. Psalms 137:8; Jeremiah 50:42; Jeremiah 51:33; Zechariah 2:7
• 4. Deuteronomy 28:56
• 5. Exodus 11:5; Jeremiah 25:10
• 6. Job 31:10; Ecclesiastes 12:4; Matthew 24:41
• 7. Genesis 24:65; Isaiah 3:23; 1 Corinthians 11:5
• 8. Isaiah 32:11
• 9. Ezekiel 16:37; Nahum 3:5
• 10. Isaiah 34:8; Isaiah 63:4
• 11. Isaiah 41:14
• 12. Isaiah 23:2; Jeremiah 8:14; Lamentations 2:10
• 13. Isaiah 13:10
• 14. Isaiah 47:7
• 15. Isaiah 13:19; Daniel 2:37
• 16. Deuteronomy 28:50
• 17. Isaiah 47:5
• 18. Isaiah 42:25; Isaiah 57:11
• 19. Deuteronomy 32:29; Jeremiah 5:31; Ezekiel 7:2, 3

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "meet"
• [b]. Lit "it"