Isaiah 47:9-12

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 

47:11 Disaster will overtake you;

you will not know how to charm it away. ⁹ 

Destruction will fall on you;

you will not be able to appease it.

Calamity will strike you suddenly,

before you recognize it. ¹⁰ 

47:12 Persist ¹¹  in trusting ¹²  your amulets

and your many incantations,

which you have faithfully recited ¹³  since your youth!

Maybe you will be successful ¹⁴  –

maybe you will scare away disaster. ¹⁵ 

[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.

[47:11]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text has שַׁחְרָהּ (shakhrah), which is either a suffixed noun (“its dawning,” i.e., origin) or infinitive (“to look early for it”). Some have suggested an emendation to שַׁחֲדָהּ (shakhadah), a suffixed infinitive from שָׁחַד (shakhad, “[how] to buy it off”; see BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחַד). This forms a nice parallel with the following couplet. The above translation is based on a different etymology of the verb in question. HALOT 1466 s.v. III שׁחר references a verbal root with these letters (שׁחד) that refers to magical activity.

[47:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you will not know”; NIV “you cannot foresee.”

[47:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “stand” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “Stand fast.”

[47:12]  ¹² tn The word “trusting” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See v. 9.

[47:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “in that which you have toiled.”

[47:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “maybe you will be able to profit.”

[47:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “maybe you will cause to tremble.” The object “disaster” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See the note at v. 9.