Isaiah 47:3

3 Thy shame shall be showed, and thy shame shall be seen; I shall take vengeance, and no man shall against-stand 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.

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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 Thou virgin, the daughter of Babylon, go down, sit thou in (the) dust, sit thou in [the] earth; a king's seat is not to the daughter of [the] Chaldees, for thou shalt no more be called soft and tender. (Thou virgin daughter of Babylon, go down from off thy throne, and sit thou in the dust, yea, upon the ground; a king's throne is not for the daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called soft and tender.)

2 Take thou a quern-stone, and grind thou meal; make thou naked thy filth(hood), discover the shoulder, show the hips, pass thou [over the] floods. (Take thou a millstone, and grind thou some meal with it; make thou thyself naked, yea, uncover the shoulder, show the hips, and cross thou over the rivers.)

3 Thy shame shall be showed, and thy shame shall be seen; I shall take vengeance, and no man shall against-stand me.

4 Our again-buyer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy of Israel. (Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.)

5 Daughter of Chaldees, sit thou, be thou still, and enter into darknesses, for thou shalt no more be called the lady of realms. (Daughter of the Chaldeans, sit thou, be thou silent, and enter into the darkness, or into the shadows, for thou shalt no more be called the lady, or the queen, of many kingdoms.)