The Tanakh · JPS 1917 Translation

Isaiah 47

Jewish Publication Society 1917 · Nevi'im — the Prophets

Isaiah chapter 47 — part of the Nevi'im — the Prophets in the Jewish Bible. In the classic JPS 1917 translation it opens: “Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou…” — the complete text of all 15 verses is below, free to read online.

1Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

2Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove thy veil, strip off the train, uncover the leg, pass through the rivers.

3Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen; I will take vengeance, and will let no man intercede.

4Our Redeemer, HaShem 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 mistress of kingdoms.

6I was wroth with My people, I profaned Mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand; thou didst show them no mercy; upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

7And thou saidst: 'For ever shall I be mistress'; so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the end thereof.

8Now therefore hear this, thou that art given to pleasures, that sittest securely, that sayest in thy heart: 'I am, and there is 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 widow-hood; in their full measure shall they come upon thee, for the multitude of thy sorceries, and the great abundance of thine enchantments.

10And thou hast been secure in thy wickedness, thou hast said: 'None seeth me'; thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thy heart. 'I am, and there is none else beside me.'

11Yet shall evil came upon thee; thou shalt not know how to charm it away; and calamity shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it away; and ruin shall come upon thee suddenly, before thou knowest.

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 the 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; it shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before.

15Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured; they that have trafficked with thee from thy youth shall wander every one to his quarter; there shall be none to save thee.

15 verses · JPS 1917 (public domain)

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