Isaiah 47

God speaks against proud Babylon, the empire that held His people captive. She sat like a queen, trusted her magic and stargazers, and thought she was untouchable. Now she is brought down to the dust and shame, and no false helper can save her. Our Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, is the one who rules the nations.

Isaiah 47:1

Babylon is pictured as a pampered young woman. She is pulled off her throne and made to sit in the dirt. The city that was never conquered and lived in ease will be humbled. God takes down those who exalt themselves.

BSA: Virgin (“untouched, private”): Babylon had never been taken by force, so she seemed safe and sheltered. throne (“seat of power, authority”): Losing the throne means losing all her power and standing.

See also: Isaiah 3:26; Revelation 18:7.

Isaiah 47:2-3

The queen is reduced to a slave girl. She grinds grain at the millstones, uncovers her face and legs, and wades through rivers like a captive being led away. Her shame is laid bare. God Himself says He will repay, and no one will be spared.

BSA: millstones (“heavy stones for grinding”): This was the hardest daily work of a female slave, a sharp contrast with her old luxury. vengeance (“revenge, punishment”): This is God’s just repayment for what Babylon did, not a petty grudge.

See also: Jeremiah 51:6.

Isaiah 47:4

In the middle of the judgment, the prophet breaks in with a short word of praise. The One who judges Babylon is the same One who redeems His people. He is the LORD of Hosts, and He is holy. His people can rest in that.

BSA: Redeemer (“the one who frees us, the Commander of the armies of angels”): He is both a rescuer of His family and a mighty commander who has the power to do it.

See also: Isaiah 41:14; Isaiah 54:5.

Isaiah 47:5

Babylon must now sit quiet and unseen. She who once gave orders to the world has nothing left to say. The title she loved, queen of kingdoms, will be taken from her. Darkness replaces her glory.

BSA: queen (“lady, mistress”): Babylon saw herself as the lady who ruled over other nations.

Isaiah 47:6

God explains why His people were in Babylon’s hands. He was angry with them and let them be taken. But Babylon went too far. She showed no mercy, even crushing the old with a heavy yoke. God uses nations to discipline, yet He still holds them responsible for their cruelty.

BSA: mercy (“compassion, tender love”): Babylon lacked even basic tenderness toward the weak. yoke (“a wooden beam”): The picture is of a wooden beam laid on the neck of an ox, a burden of forced labor.

See also: Zechariah 1:15.

Isaiah 47:7

Babylon’s trouble was her pride and her blindness. She said she would be queen forever. She never stopped to think about how it would all end. Pride lives for today and ignores the end of the road.

BSA: forever (“to the age, always”): She imagined her power would never end, though every earthly power does.

Isaiah 47:8

Babylon lives for pleasure and feels safe. She says, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’ These are words that belong to God alone. She also boasts that she will never lose a husband or children, the two deepest losses a woman could face.

BSA: securely (“in confidence, without fear”): Her calm was false, built on herself and not on God. I am (“I am self-sufficient”): She claims to need no one, taking a place that belongs only to God.

See also: Isaiah 45:5; Zephaniah 2:15.

Isaiah 47:9

The very things she swore would never happen will come together in one day. She will lose her children and be left a widow. All her magic and spells will not protect her. Her ruin will come fast and be complete.

BSA: sorceries (“magical practices, enchantments”): She trusted in occult practices to hold back harm, but they had no real power.

See also: Revelation 18:8.

Isaiah 47:10

She felt safe in doing evil because she thought no one saw. But God sees. Her cleverness fooled only herself and led her away from the truth. She repeated her proud claim that nothing stood beside her.

BSA: led you astray (“deceived, perverted”): Her wisdom did not guide her; it bent her thinking in the wrong direction.

See also: Proverbs 15:3.

Isaiah 47:11

Disaster is coming that her charms cannot turn aside. Three times the verse says it cannot be stopped or avoided. It will arrive suddenly and without warning. No human skill can hold back what God has decided.

BSA: ward off (“put it off, atone for”): She has no way to cover or pay for her guilt, so the disaster cannot be bought off.

Isaiah 47:12

God speaks with sharp irony. Let her go on standing with her spells and sorceries, which she has worked at since youth. Perhaps they will help. Perhaps they will frighten the enemy. The reader knows they will not.

BSA: wearied (“toiled, labored”): She spent a lifetime in hard effort on things that give nothing back.

See also: Deuteronomy 18:10-12.

Isaiah 47:13

Babylon was famous for its astrologers, who watched the sky and made monthly predictions. God dares them to step forward and save her. All that advice has only worn her out. Stargazers could read the sky, but they could not change what was coming.

BSA: astrologers (“stargazers, those who observe the heavens”): They worshiped and studied created things instead of the Creator. counselors (“advisers, guides”): She leaned on many human guides instead of the one true God.

See also: Daniel 2:27-28.

Isaiah 47:14

Her advisers are like dry stubble in a fire. They cannot even rescue themselves from the flame. This is not a gentle fire for warming hands. It is a fire that destroys, and nothing is left to sit beside.

BSA: stubble (“dry and worthless”): Stubble is the useless stalk left after harvest, quick to burn and leaving nothing behind.

See also: Malachi 4:1.

Isaiah 47:15

The people she worked and traded with since youth will not help her. Each one wanders off on his own path. When trouble comes, friends and partners in the world’s ways scatter. Only the Redeemer of verse 4 can truly save.

BSA: strays (“goes astray, wanders”): Each one leaves her and goes his own way, with no loyalty left.

See also: Revelation 18:11.