Isaiah 47:9-10

47:9 Both of these will come upon you

suddenly, in one day!

You will lose your children and be widowed. ¹ 

You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, ² 

despite ³  your many incantations

and your numerous amulets. ⁴ 

47:10 You were complacent in your evil deeds; ⁵ 

you thought, ⁶  ‘No one sees me.’

Your self-professed ⁷  wisdom and knowledge lead you astray,

when you say, ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me!’ ⁸ 

[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.

[47:9]  ² tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”

[47:9]  ³ tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.

[47:9]  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.

[47:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “you trusted in your evil”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “wickedness.”

[47:10]  ⁶ tn Or “said”; NAB “said to yourself”’ NASB “said in your heart.”

[47:10]  ⁷ tn The words “self-professed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[47:10]  ⁸ tn See the note at v. 8.