The Fall of Babylon Predicted
1Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
2Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
3Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
4As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
5Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
6I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
7And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.
8Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:
9But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
10For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
11Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
12Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
13Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
14Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
15Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Humiliation of Babylon
1 “Come down, and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans: for you shall no more be called tender and delicate.
2 Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove your veil, strip off the train, uncover the leg, pass through the rivers.
3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered, yes, your shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and will spare no man.”
4 Our Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
5 “Sit in silence, and go into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people, I profaned my inheritance, and gave them into your hand: you showed them no mercy; on the aged you have very heavily laid your yoke.
7 You said, ‘I shall be a mistress forever;’ so that you did not lay these things to your heart, nor did you remember the latter end of it.
8 “Now therefore hear this, you who are given to pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is none else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:’
9 but these two things shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come on you, in the multitude of your sorceries, and the great abundance of your enchantments.
10 For you have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, No one sees me; your wisdom and your knowledge, it has perverted you, and you have said in your heart, I am, and there is none else besides me.
11 Therefore evil will come on you; you won’t know when it dawns: and mischief will fall on you; you will not be able to put it away: and desolation shall come on you suddenly, which you don’t know.
12 “Stand now with your enchantments, and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth; if so be you shall be able to profit, if so be you may prevail.
13 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels: let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save you from the things that shall come on you.
14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: it shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before.
15 Thus shall the things be to you in which you have labored: those who have trafficked with you from your youth shall wander everyone to his quarter; there shall be none to save you.
The Humiliation of Babylon
1 “Go down and sit in the dust,
O Virgin Daughter of Babylon.
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O Daughter of Chaldea! a
For you will no longer be called
tender or delicate.
2 Take millstones and grind flour;
remove your veil;
strip off your skirt, bare your thigh,
and wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness will be uncovered
and your shame will be exposed.
I will take vengeance;
I will spare no one.”
4 Our Redeemer—the LORD of Hosts is His name—
is the Holy One of Israel.
5 “Sit in silence and go into darkness,
O Daughter of Chaldea.
For you will no longer be called
the queen of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with My people;
I profaned My heritage,
and I placed them under your control.
You showed them no mercy;
even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.
7 You said, ‘I will be queen forever.’
You did not take these things to heart
or consider their outcome.
8 So now hear this,
O lover of luxury who sits securely,
who says to herself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.
I will never be a widow
or know the loss of children.’
9 These two things will overtake you in a moment,
in a single day:
loss of children, and widowhood.
They will come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries
and the potency of your spells.
10 You were secure in your wickedness;
you said, ‘No one sees me.’
Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray;
you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 But disaster will come upon you;
you will not know how to charm it away.
A calamity will befall you
that you will be unable to ward off.
Devastation will happen to you
suddenly and unexpectedly.
12 So take your stand with your spells
and with your many sorceries,
with which you have wearied yourself
from your youth.
Perhaps you will succeed;
perhaps you will inspire terror!
13 You are wearied by your many counselors;
let them come forward now and save you—
your astrologers who observe the stars,
who monthly predict your fate.
14 Surely they are like stubble;
the fire will burn them up.
They cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
There will be no coals to warm them
or fire to sit beside.
15 This is what they are to you—
those with whom you have labored and traded from youth—
each one strays in his own direction;
not one of them can save you.
Footnotes:
1 a That is, Babylon; also in verse 5
The Fall of Babylon Predicted
1Come down, and sit on the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, Sit on the earth, there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For no more do they cry to thee, 'O tender and delicate one.'
2Take millstones, and grind flour, Remove thy veil, draw up the skirt, Uncover the leg, pass over the floods.
3Revealed is thy nakedness, yea, seen is thy reproach, Vengeance I take, and I meet not a man.
4Our redeemer is Jehovah of Hosts, His name is the Holy One of Israel.
5Sit silent, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For no more do they cry to thee, 'Mistress of kingdoms.'
6I have been wroth against My people, I have polluted Mine inheritance And I give them into thy hand, Thou hast not appointed for them mercies, On the aged thou hast made thy yoke very heavy,
7And thou sayest, 'To the age I am mistress,' While thou hast not laid these things to thy heart, Thou hast not remembered the latter end of it.
8And now, hear this, O luxurious one, Who is sitting confidently -- Who is saying in her heart, 'I am, and none else, I sit not a widow, nor know bereavement.'
9And come in to thee do these two things, In a moment, in one day, childlessness and widowhood, According to their perfection they have come upon thee, In the multitude of thy sorceries, In the exceeding might of thy charms.
10And thou art confident in thy wickedness, Thou hast said, 'There is none seeing me,' Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, It is turning thee back, And thou sayest in thy heart, 'I am, and none else.'
11And come in on thee hath evil, Thou knowest not its rising, And fall on thee doth mischief, Thou art not able to pacify it, And come on thee suddenly doth desolation, Thou knowest not.
12Stand, I pray thee, in thy charms, And in the multitude of thy sorceries, In which thou hast laboured from thy youth, It may be thou art able to profit, It may be thou dost terrify!
13Thou hast been wearied in the multitude of thy counsels, Stand up, I pray thee, and save thee, Let the charmers of the heavens, Those looking on the stars, Those teaching concerning the months, From those things that come on thee!
14Lo, they have been as stubble! Fire hath burned them, They deliver not themselves from the power of the flame, There is not a coal to warm them, a light to sit before it.
15So have they been to thee with whom thou hast laboured, Thy merchants from thy youth, Each to his passage they have wandered, Thy saviour is not!
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