Text -- Isaiah 47:1-9 (NET)

Babylon Will Fall

47:1 “Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called delicate and pampered. 47:2 Pick up millstones and grind flour! Remove your veil, strip off your skirt, expose your legs, cross the streams! 47:3 Let your private parts be exposed! Your genitals will be on display! I will get revenge; I will not have pity on anyone,” 47:4 says our protector– the Lord who commands armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel. 47:5 “Sit silently! Go to a hiding place, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, 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; you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. 47:7 You said, ‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’ You did not think about these things; you did not consider how it would turn out. 47:8 So now, listen to this, O one who lives so lavishly, who lives securely, who says to herself, ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! I will never have to live as a widow; I will never lose my children.’ 47:9 Both of these will come upon you suddenly, in one day! You will lose your children and be widowed. You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, despite your many incantations and your numerous amulets.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Isa 47:1

¹ tn בְּתוּלַה (bÿtulah) often refers to a virgin, but the phrase “virgin daughter” is apparently stylized (see also 23:12; 37:22). In the extended metaphor of this chapter, where Babylon is personified as a queen (vv. 5, 7), she is depicted as being both a wife and mother (vv. 8-9).

² tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).

NET Notes: Isa 47:3

¹ tn Heb “Your shame will be seen.” In this context “shame” is a euphemism referring to the genitals.

² tn Heb “I will not meet a man.” The verb פָּגַע (pagah) apparently carries the nuance “meet with kindness” here (cf. 64:5, and see BDB 803 s.v. Qal.2).

NET Notes: Isa 47:4

¹ tc The Hebrew text reads, “Our redeemer – the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] is his name, the Holy One of Israel.” The ancient Greek version adds “says” before “our redeemer.” אָמַר (’amar) may have accidentally dropped from the text by virtual haplography. Note that the preceding word אָדָם (’adam) is graphically similar.

sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

NET Notes: Isa 47:5

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

² tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).

NET Notes: Isa 47:6

¹ tn Or “compassion.”

² tn Heb “on the old you made very heavy your yoke.”

NET Notes: Isa 47:7

¹ tn Heb “Forever I [will be] permanent queen”; NIV “the eternal queen”; CEV “queen forever.”

² tn Heb “you did not set these things upon your heart [or “mind”].”

³ tn Heb “you did not remember its outcome”; NAB “you disregarded their outcome.”

NET Notes: Isa 47:8

¹ tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”

² tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

³ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.

⁴ tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”

NET Notes: Isa 47:9

¹ tn Heb “loss of children and widowhood.” In the Hebrew text the phrase is in apposition to “both of these” in line 1.

² tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”

³ tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.

⁴ sn Reference is made to incantations and amulets, both of which were important in Mesopotamian religion. They were used to ward off danger and demons.