Isaiah 47

Lovely Lady Babylon
Take a seat in the dirt.
Your dainty days are over.
Your throne is in the dust.[1]
2Grab the millstone, get to work.
Take off your veil and grind the grain.
Take off your robe, show your legs
As you wade across the rivers.[2]
3The world will see you naked,

And the shame of who you are.
I’ll pay you back for what you did. [3]
And nothing is going to stop me.
4The LORD of everyone is the Savior,
The Holy God of Israel.

Shut your mouth and sit in the corner
Lovely Lady Babylon.
Never again will your subjects call you
Queen of all the Nations.
6I got angry at my people.[4]
I let you take their land.
Then I let you take the people.
You showed no mercy.
Not even to the elderly.
You sentenced all to hard labor.
7“Lovey Lady Babylon”
You thought you’d always be.
You thought you’d get away with anything.
You never thought about the end.
8Dear pampered little lady
Living in your gated town.
You tell yourself,
“Of all important people,
I’m the most important of them all.
I’ll never be a widow,
I’ll never lose a child.”
9Suddenly, you’re going to suffer both.
You’re going to be a widow
You’re going to lose your kids.
Grief is going to hammer you full force.
Your royal charm and power
Is about to meet its match.
10You knew it wasn’t right.
But you thought no one was watching.
Your advisors and sages gave bad advice.
You convinced yourself you’re invincible.
And there’s no one stronger than you.
11Well, you’re about to get blindsided.
A force is coming that you can’t stop.
Not with regal charm or power.
12Trust your sorcerers and your magic spells,
Which you’ve practiced all your life.
Perhaps they’ll show you how to win.
And scare the enemies away.
13Sages advised you to exhaustion.
Let them save you with their skills.
Let them look for signs and power
In the sky lights of the night,
In the changes of the moon.
Then let them offer their predictions
Of what will happen to the Lady.

Hey, your advisors are worthless.
They’re like straw in a fire.
They can’t even save themselves.
This won’t be a coal fire,
Set to keep you warm.
15This is what they’ve been to you,
Worthless all your life.
Now they’ve run to save themselves,
And no one’s saving you.