APOCALYPTIC COMMENTARY
Isaiah Institute Translation
Isaiah 47
The Harlot Babylon, who rules as Mistress of Kingdoms, descends into the dust in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment.
1 Get down and sit in the dust,O Virgin Daughter of Babylon;squat on the ground, dethroned,O Daughter of the Chaldeans.You shall no more be spoken ofas delicate and refined.
2 Take two grindstones and grind flour;unveil, disrobe, bare your legs,wade through streams:
3 your nakedness shall be exposedand your shame uncovered.I will take vengeanceand not be entreated of men,
4 says our Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,whose name is Jehovah of Hosts.
5 Sit speechless; retire into obscurity,O Daughter of the Chaldeans.No longer shall you be called,Mistress of Kingdoms.
6 I was provoked by my people,so I let my inheritance be defiled.I gave them into your hand,and you showed them no mercy;even the aged you weighed down heavily with your yoke.
7 You thought, I, the Eternal Mistress, exist forever!and did not consider these,aor remember hera final destiny.
8 Now therefore hear this, O pampered lady,securely enthroned, thinking to herself,I exist, and other than me there is nothing;I shall not be widowed or bereaved of children:
9 Bereavement and widowhoodshall suddenly overtake you, both in one day.They shall come upon you in full,notwithstanding your many magical featsand exceedingly strong combinations.
10 Secure in your wickedness,you thought, No one discerns me.By your skill and science you were led astray,thinking to yourself, I exist,and there is none besides me!
11 Catastrophe shall overtake you,which you shall not know how to avert by bribes;bdisaster shall befall youfrom which you cannot ransom yourself:there shall come upon you sudden ruinsuch as you have not imagined.
12 Persist, then, with your combinationsand with your many magical feats,at which you have exerted yourself since your youth.It may still be of use to you;perhaps you can hinderc it.
13 But you are powerless, despite all your tactics.Now let those who unravel the heavens,who observe the starsand make predictions month by month,stand by you and save you!
14 See, as stubble they are burnt up in the fire,unable themselves to escape the hand of the flame.These are no embers to warm anyone;such is no fire to sit by!
15 This is what your procurersd have profited you—those for whom you have exerted yourselfsince your youth—each deviates his own way;none is there to save you.
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's fire that burns up the wicked of Babylon in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to burn up the unrepentant people of the world in his Day of Judgment.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's flame that burns up the wicked of Babylon in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15
- a7 For the subject of these terms, see verse 6.
- b11 Hebrew šaḥrāh (obscure) emended to šaḥdāh; contrast Israel to this verse, 43:3; 45:13.
- c12 Hebrew taᶜǎrôṣî, cause terror, emended to taᶜǎṣôrî; compare 66:9.
- d15 Or, merchants. Noun transposed; in the text it follows exerted yourself. Compare verse 12.
Comparative Translation
Isaiah 47
The Harlot Babylon, who rules as Mistress of Kingdoms, descends into the dust in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment.
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's fire that burns up the wicked of Babylon in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to burn up the unrepentant people of the world in his Day of Judgment.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's flame that burns up the wicked of Babylon in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
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King James Version
KJV
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Isaiah Institute Translation
IIT
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Masoretic Text
HEB
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| Come 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. | 1 | Get down and sit in the dust,O Virgin Daughter of Babylon;squat on the ground, dethroned,O Daughter of the Chaldeans.You shall no more be spoken ofas delicate and refined. | רְדִי וּשְׁבִי עַל־עָפָר בְּתוּלַת בַּת־בָּבֶל שְׁבִי־לָאָרֶץ אֵין־כִּסֵּא בַּת־כַּשְׂדִּים כִּי לֹא תוֹסִיפִי יִקְרְאוּ־לָךְ רַכָּה וַעֲנֻגָּה ׃ |
| Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. | 2 | Take two grindstones and grind flour;unveil, disrobe, bare your legs,wade through streams: | קְחִי רֵחַיִם וְטַחֲנִי קָמַח גַּלִּי צַמָּתֵךְ חֶשְׂפִּי־שֹׁבֶל גַּלִּי־שׁוֹק עִבְרִי נְהָרוֹת ׃ |
| Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. | 3 | your nakedness shall be exposedand your shame uncovered.I will take vengeanceand not be entreated of men, | תִּגָּל עֶרְוָתֵךְ גַּם תֵּרָאֶה חֶרְפָּתֵךְ נָקָם אֶקָּח וְלֹא אֶפְגַּע אָדָם ׃ |
| As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. | 4 | says our Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,whose name is Jehovah of Hosts. | גֹּאֲלֵנוּ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת שְׁמוֹ קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל ׃ |
| Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. | 5 | Sit speechless; retire into obscurity,O Daughter of the Chaldeans.No longer shall you be called,Mistress of Kingdoms. | שְׁבִי דוּמָם וּבֹאִי בַחֹשֶׁךְ בַּת־כַּשְׂדִּים כִּי לֹא תוֹסִיפִי יִקְרְאוּ־לָךְ גְּבֶרֶת מַמְלָכוֹת ׃ |
| I 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. | 6 | I was provoked by my people,so I let my inheritance be defiled.I gave them into your hand,and you showed them no mercy;even the aged you weighed down heavily with your yoke. | קָצַפְתִּי עַל־עַמִּי חִלַּלְתִּי נַחֲלָתִי וָאֶתְּנֵם בְּיָדֵךְ לֹא־שַׂמְתְּ לָהֶם רַחֲמִים עַל־זָקֵן הִכְבַּדְתְּ עֻלֵּךְ מְאֹד ׃ |
| And 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. | 7 | You thought, I, the Eternal Mistress, exist forever!and did not consider these,aor remember hera final destiny. | וַתֹּאמְרִי לְעוֹלָם אֶהְיֶה גְבָרֶת עַד לֹא־שַׂמְתְּ אֵלֶּה עַל־לִבֵּךְ לֹא זָכַרְתְּ אַחֲרִיתָהּ ׃ |
| Therefore 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: | 8 | Now therefore hear this, O pampered lady,securely enthroned, thinking to herself,I exist, and other than me there is nothing;I shall not be widowed or bereaved of children: | וְעַתָּה שִׁמְעִי־זֹאת עֲדִינָה הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת לָבֶטַח הָאֹמְרָה בִּלְבָבָהּ אֲנִי וְאַפְסִי עוֹד לֹא אֵשֵׁב אַלְמָנָה וְלֹא אֵדַע שְׁכוֹל ׃ |
| But 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. | 9 | Bereavement and widowhoodshall suddenly overtake you, both in one day.They shall come upon you in full,notwithstanding your many magical featsand exceedingly strong combinations. | וְתָבֹאנָה לָּךְ שְׁתֵּי־אֵלֶּה רֶגַע בְּיוֹם אֶחָד שְׁכוֹל וְאַלְמֹן כְּתֻמָּם בָּאוּ עָלַיִךְ בְּרֹב כְּשָׁפַיִךְ בְּעָצְמַת חֲבָרַיִךְ מְאֹד ׃ |
| For 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. | 10 | Secure in your wickedness,you thought, No one discerns me.By your skill and science you were led astray,thinking to yourself, I exist,and there is none besides me! | וַתִּבְטְחִי בְרָעָתֵךְ אָמַרְתְּ אֵין רֹאָנִי חָכְמָתֵךְ וְדַעְתֵּךְ הִיא שׁוֹבְבָתֶךְ וַתֹּאמְרִי בְלִבֵּךְ אֲנִי וְאַפְסִי עוֹד ׃ |
| Therefore 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. | 11 | Catastrophe shall overtake you,which you shall not know how to avert by bribes;bdisaster shall befall youfrom which you cannot ransom yourself:there shall come upon you sudden ruinsuch as you have not imagined. | וּבָא עָלַיִךְ רָעָה לֹא תֵדְעִי שַׁחְרָהּ וְתִפֹּל עָלַיִךְ הֹוָה לֹא תוּכְלִי כַּפְּרָהּ וְתָבֹא עָלַיִךְ פִּתְאֹם שׁוֹאָה לֹא תֵדָעִי ׃ |
| Stand 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. | 12 | Persist, then, with your combinationsand with your many magical feats,at which you have exerted yourself since your youth.It may still be of use to you;perhaps you can hinderc it. | עִמְדִי־נָא בַחֲבָרַיִךְ וּבְרֹב כְּשָׁפַיִךְ בַּאֲשֶׁר יָגַעַתְּ מִנְּעוּרָיִךְ אוּלַי תּוּכְלִי הוֹעִיל אוּלַי תַּעֲרוֹצִי ׃ |
| Thou 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. | 13 | But you are powerless, despite all your tactics.Now let those who unravel the heavens,who observe the starsand make predictions month by month,stand by you and save you! | נִלְאֵית בְּרֹב עֲצָתָיִךְ יַעַמְדוּ־נָא וְיוֹשִׁיעֻךְ הֹבְרֵו (הֹבְרֵי) שָׁמַיִם הַחֹזִים בַּכּוֹכָבִים מוֹדִיעִם לֶחֳדָשִׁים מֵאֲשֶׁר יָבֹאוּ עָלָיִךְ ׃ |
| Behold, 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. | 14 | See, as stubble they are burnt up in the fire,unable themselves to escape the hand of the flame.These are no embers to warm anyone;such is no fire to sit by! | הִנֵּה הָיוּ כְקַשׁ אֵשׁ שְׂרָפָתַם לֹא־יַצִּילוּ אֶת־נַפְשָׁם מִיַּד לֶהָבָה אֵין־גַּחֶלֶת לַחְמָם אוּר לָשֶׁבֶת נֶגְדּוֹ ׃ |
| Thus 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. | 15 | This is what your procurersd have profited you—those for whom you have exerted yourselfsince your youth—each deviates his own way;none is there to save you. | כֵּן הָיוּ־לָךְ אֲשֶׁר יָגָעַתְּ סֹחֲרַיִךְ מִנְּעוּרַיִךְ אִישׁ לְעֶבְרוֹ תָּעוּ אֵין מוֹשִׁיעֵךְ ׃ |
- a7 For the subject of these terms, see verse 6.
- b11 Hebrew šaḥrāh (obscure) emended to šaḥdāh; contrast Israel to this verse, 43:3; 45:13.
- c12 Hebrew taᶜǎrôṣî, cause terror, emended to taᶜǎṣôrî; compare 66:9.
- d15 Or, merchants. Noun transposed; in the text it follows exerted yourself. Compare verse 12.
Interactive Concordance
Isaiah 47
The Harlot Babylon, who rules as Mistress of Kingdoms, descends into the dust in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment.
1 Get down and sit in the dust,O Virgin Daughter of Babylon;squat on the ground, dethroned,O Daughter of the Chaldeans.You shall no more be spoken ofas delicate and refined.
2 Take two grindstones and grind flour;unveil, disrobe, bare your legs,wade through streams:
3 your nakedness shall be exposedand your shame uncovered.I will take vengeanceand not be entreated of men,
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
4 says our Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,whose name is Jehovah of Hosts.
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
5 Sit speechless; retire into obscurity,O Daughter of the Chaldeans.No longer shall you be called,Mistress of Kingdoms.
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
6 I was provoked by my people,so I let my inheritance be defiled.I gave them into your hand,and you showed them no mercy;even the aged you weighed down heavily with your yoke.
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
7 You thought, I, the Eternal Mistress, exist forever!and did not consider these,aor remember hera final destiny.
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
8 Now therefore hear this, O pampered lady,securely enthroned, thinking to herself,I exist, and other than me there is nothing;I shall not be widowed or bereaved of children:
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
9 Bereavement and widowhoodshall suddenly overtake you, both in one day.They shall come upon you in full,notwithstanding your many magical featsand exceedingly strong combinations.
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
10 Secure in your wickedness,you thought, No one discerns me.By your skill and science you were led astray,thinking to yourself, I exist,and there is none besides me!
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
11 Catastrophe shall overtake you,which you shall not know how to avert by bribes;bdisaster shall befall youfrom which you cannot ransom yourself:there shall come upon you sudden ruinsuch as you have not imagined.
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
12 Persist, then, with your combinationsand with your many magical feats,at which you have exerted yourself since your youth.It may still be of use to you;perhaps you can hinderc it.
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
13 But you are powerless, despite all your tactics.Now let those who unravel the heavens,who observe the starsand make predictions month by month,stand by you and save you!
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
14 See, as stubble they are burnt up in the fire,unable themselves to escape the hand of the flame.These are no embers to warm anyone;such is no fire to sit by!
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's fire that burns up the wicked of Babylon in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to burn up the unrepentant people of the world in his Day of Judgment.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's flame that burns up the wicked of Babylon in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
15 This is what your procurersd have profited you—those for whom you have exerted yourselfsince your youth—each deviates his own way;none is there to save you.
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's vengeance on the Harlot Babylon when Jehovah comes out in judgment against the wicked.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to subjugate his unrepentant people for their wickedness in his Day of Judgment.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who imposes bondage on Jehovah's people in Jehovah's Day of Judgment but from whom Jehovah's servant delivers those who repent.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's fire that burns up the wicked of Babylon in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
A pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, Jehovah's hand of punishment, whom Jehovah empowers to burn up the unrepentant people of the world in his Day of Judgment.
red
A chaos motif and pseudonym of the end-time king of Assyria/Babylon, who personifies Jehovah's flame that burns up the wicked of Babylon in a Sodom-and-Gomorrah type of holocaust.
red
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Apocalyptic Commentary
Isaiah 47
By paralleling chapters 13-23 with chapter 47, Part IV of Isaiah’s Seven-Part Structure (Isaiah 13-23; 47) establishes the concept of a composite entity identified as Babylon—a kind of Greater Babylon that resembles John’s “Babylon the Great” (Revelation 17:5). From being “Mistress of Kingdoms” (vv 5-8), who rules the nations of the world, her lot is now to be a slave girl. Her lording it over Jehovah’s people (v 6) has led to her descent into the dust. A chaos motif, “dust” signifies her final state as she is reduced to a nonentity in Jehovah’s Day of Judgment (Isaiah 13:19; 14:22-23; 21:9; 23:12-13).
Although the world touts her as “delicate and refined”—as she typifies the height of culture and sophistication—the idolatrous and oppressive establishment Babylon represents is the opposite of Zion’s. Isaiah’s Seven-Part Structure juxtaposes the two. This “Virgin Daughter of Babylon”—a new, end-time Babylon—is in reality a whore whose tyranny, like that of the evil stepmother of fairy tales, finally comes to an end: “And Babylon, the most splendid of kingdoms, the glory and pride of Chaldeans, shall be [thrown down] as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah” (Isaiah 13:19; cf. Revelation 18:2).
The Harlot Babylon’s humiliation—following her self-exaltation—is complete as she is stripped of her finery and assigned the lowest menial tasks. Zion’s humiliation at the hands of the Harlot Babylon, on the other hand, precedes Zion’s exaltation: Zion rises from the dust to sit on her throne clothed in beautiful robes at the time Jehovah—“our Redeemer”—redeems her (Isaiah 52:1-3). He who destroys Greater Babylon in Jehovah’s “day of vengeance” (Isaiah 34:8; 59:17-18; 61:2; 63:4) is the king of Assyria/Babylon (Isaiah 10:5-7, Isaiah 10:5-7, 23; 14:3-6, 20; 33:12; 37:18-19, 26; 14:3-6, 20; 33:12; 37:18-19, 26), a murderer who kills his own kind.
She who was never speechless when she ruled as “Mistress of Kingdoms” is silenced at last. The Harlot Babylon’s ceaseless din ends (Isaiah 22:2, 13; 24:8) when Jehovah reverses Babylon’s and Zion’s circumstances, blessing Zion but cursing Babylon. Although Jehovah permits the Harlot Babylon to oppress and humble his people—as a covenant curse for their breaking his covenant—when they repent, he redeems them and they become candidates for higher spiritual categories. In the end, the Harlot Babylon’s violation of Zion’s rights brings upon her the curses of Jehovah’s covenant with his people.
The terms hand and yoke designate the king of Assyria/Babylon, who punishes Jehovah’s people and takes them captive (Isaiah 5:25; 10:4-7; 51:17). From that captivity Jehovah releases those who repent after it has served its purpose (Isaiah 9:2-4; 10:24-27; 14:24-27). While the Harlot Babylon and her king assume they are invulnerable, they forget that Jehovah is in charge, that his purpose is to raise up an exalted people of God. The “Eternal Mistress” isn’t eternal. She should have considered “these” (’elleh)—Jehovah’s elect people—who inherit his everlasting salvation (Isaiah 45:17; 51:6-8; 60:14-21).
So pervasive has the Harlot Babylon’s lifestyle become that she assumes her self-indulgent way of life will never end. Her narcissism extends to her displacing God in the world just as her exemplar the king of Assyria/Babylon does (Isaiah 14:13-14). By thinking “I exist, and other than me there is nothing,” she blatantly seeks to appropriate Jehovah’s divinity (Isaiah 43:10-11; 45:5-6, 18, Isaiah 43:10-11; 45:5-6, 18, 22; 46:9; 46:9). In the end, her anti-God attitude leads to a full measure of covenant curses coming upon her and her ilk “in one day”—Jehovah’s Day of Judgment (Isaiah 2:12; 5:30; 7:17; 10:3; 13:6, 9; 34:8; 61:2; 63:4).
The Harlot Babylon’s “skill” or “wisdom” (hokmatek) and “science” or “knowledge” (da‘attek)—her sophisticated technology and human advancements—become “wickedness” or evil when used to promote her egocentric and self-serving agenda. So inured to her ways are people who grow up in her materialistic utopia that they fail to recognize its idolatrous nature. What characterizes the Harlot Babylon is that she and all who pertain to her are “led astray,” their preoccupation with the things of this world preventing them from discerning the fact that she embodies all that is destined to perish.
As Jehovah rewards evil for evil, so the “catastrophe” or “evil” (ra‘a) the Harlot Babylon causes in people’s lives comes back on herself. Although in her profligacy she could bribe her way out of trouble, she doesn’t succeed this time. Her flaws are incurable and her oppression of Zion has reached saturation point (Jeremiah 51:24-25). “Disaster” and “sudden ruin” beyond all imagining are the order of the day: “She has fallen; Babylon has fallen. All her idol gods he has razed to the ground” (Isaiah 21:9); “At evening time shall be the catastrophe, and before morning they shall be no more” (Isaiah 17:14).
In Babylon’s mind, her “combinations” or “unions” (habarayik) and “magical feats” or technological “miracles” (kesapayik) may yet save her. As they are all she has ever known, and as she answers to no one but herself, she resorts to them even when disaster stares her in the face. Failing that, her statisticians, forecasters of trends, or astrologers may have the solution to her plight. Her tactics or schemes have paid off in the past. Why shouldn’t they now? As she has always been a law unto herself—supplanting the true God with herself—who or what is left that she can turn to that might save her?
The Harlot Babylon’s “procurers,” “salesmen,” or “pimps” (soharaik)—everyone who profits from her business—meets the same fate she does. The archtyrant—Jehovah’s fire, hand, and flame—burns up those in her spiritual category, Jehovah’s unrepentant people and the nations alike (Isaiah 13:19; 37:18-19; 66:15-16). Those who reject the God of Israel, who “deviate” or “err” (ta‘u) from his covenant, can’t save the Harlot Babylon even as she can’t save them. De-created spiritually from what they once were, they are now reduced to “stubble” that feeds the fire (Isaiah 5:24; 9:18-19; 33:11-14).