Isaiah 47:5-9

Context

47:5 “Sit silently! Go to a hiding place,¹

O daughter of the Babylonians!

Indeed,² you will no longer be called ‘Queen of kingdoms.’

47:6 I was angry at my people;

I defiled my special possession

and handed them over to you.

You showed them no mercy;³

you even placed a very heavy burden on old people.⁴

47:7 You said,

‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’⁵

You did not think about these things;⁶

you did not consider how it would turn out.⁷

47:8 So now, listen to this,

O one who lives so lavishly,⁸

who lives securely,

who says to herself,⁹

‘I am unique! No one can compare to me!¹⁰

I will never have to live as a widow;

I will never lose my children.’¹¹

47:9 Both of these will come upon you

suddenly, in one day!

You will lose your children and be widowed.¹²

You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies,¹³

despite¹⁴ your many incantations

and your numerous amulets.¹⁵

[47:5] ¹tn Heb “darkness,” which may indicate a place of hiding where a fugitive would seek shelter and protection.

[47:5] ²tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).

[47:6] ³tn Or “compassion.”

[47:6] ⁴tn Heb “on the old you made very heavy your yoke.”

[47:7] ⁵tn Heb “Forever I [will be] permanent queen”; NIV “the eternal queen”; CEV “queen forever.”

[47:7] ⁶tn Heb “you did not set these things upon your heart [or “mind”].”

[47:7] ⁷tn Heb “you did not remember its outcome”; NAB “you disregarded their outcome.”

[47:8] ⁸tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”

[47:8] ⁹tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[47:8] ¹⁰tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.

[47:8] ¹¹tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”

[47:9] ¹²tn Heb “loss of children and widowhood.” In the Hebrew text the phrase is in apposition to “both of these” in line 1.

[47:9] ¹³tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”

[47:9] ¹⁴tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.

[47:9] ¹⁵sn Reference is made to incantations and amulets, both of which were important in Mesopotamian religion. They were used to ward off danger and demons.