Isaiah 47

 

רְדִי וּשְׁבִי עַל־עָפָר בְּתוּלַת בַּת־בָּבֶל שְׁבִי־לָאָרֶץ אֵין־כִּסֵּא בַּת־כַּשְׂדִּים כִּי לֹא תֹוסִיפִי יִקְרְאוּ־לָךְ   47:1 רַכָּה וַעֲנֻגָּה׃

Isai. 47:1   Come down and sit upon the dust,

                              O virgin of a daughter, Babylon!

                    Return to the ground without a throne,

                              O daughter of the Chaldeans!

                    For no longer shall they call you soft and delicate.

As is true of some other of Isaiah’s chapters, all the verses of this one could be interpreted as the Lord’s words, as quoted by Isaiah.  I choose to differentiate between those I’m fairly certain about and those I suspect may be Isaiah’s words.  Thus in this chapter, I’ve enclosed only those words in quotes that are obviously (to me, at least) composed of God’s speech in Isaiah’s visions.  One of my recognition tools is to assume that if the thoughts of others are concerned, this tentatively identifies God’s words.  In my consideration, I imagine Isaiah freely and frequently moving between his own prophesying and using the words of the Lord.

קְחִי רֵחַיִם וְטַחֲנִי קָמַח גַּלִּי צַמָּתֵךְ חֶשְׂפִּי־שֹׁבֶל גַּלִּי־שֹׁוק עִבְרִי נְהָרֹות׃   47:2

Isai. 47:2   Take millstones and grind meal.

                              Remove your veil, strip off the train,

                    bare the leg, pass through the rivers.

תִּגָּל עֶרְוָתֵךְ גַּם תֵּרָאֶה חֶרְפָּתֵךְ נָקָם אֶקָּח וְלֹא אֶפְגַּע אָדָם׃   47:3

Isai. 47:3   “Your nakedness shall be uncovered,

                              also your shame shall be seen.

                    Vengeance will I take,

                              and I will not let any man intercede.”

גֹּאֲלֵנוּ יְהוָה צְבָאֹות שְׁמֹו קְדֹושׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל׃   47:4

Isai. 47:4   Our Redeemer!

                             The Lord of hosts is His name,

                     the Holy One of Israel.

שְׁבִי דוּםָם וּבֹאִי בַחֹשֶׁךְ בַּת־כַּשְׂדִּים כִּי לֹא תֹוסִיפִי יִקְרְאוּ־לָךְ גְּבֶרֶת מַמְלָכֹות׃  47:5

Isai. 47:5   Sit silently and depart into obscurity,

                             daughter of the Chaldeans!

                    For no longer will they call you

                             mistress of kingdoms.

קָצַפְתִּי עַל־עַמִּי חִלַּלְתִּי נַחֲלָתִי וָאֶתְּנֵם בְּיָדֵךְ לֹא־שַׂמְתְּ לָהֶם רַחֲמִים עַל־זָקֵן הִכְבַּדְתְּ עֻלֵּךְ מְאֹד׃   47:6

Isai. 47:6   “I was ‘displeased’ by My people;

                              I profaned My inheritance

                    and I gave them into your hand.

                             You did not show any mercies to them;

                    you laid your great yoke heavily upon the aged.”

וַתֹּאמְרִי לְעֹולָם אֶהְיֶה גְבָרֶת עַד לֹא־שַׂמְתְּ אֵלֶּה עַל־לִבֵּךְ לֹא זָכַרְתְּ אַחֲרִיתָהּ׃    47:7

Isai. 47:7   “And you said, ‘I shall be mistress forever.’

                              As long as you did not lay

                     these things on your heart,

                              you were not mindful of its consequence.”

וְעַתָּה שִׁמְעִי־זֹאת עֲדִינָה הַיֹּושֶׁבֶת לָבֶטַח הָאֹמְרָה בִּלְבָבָהּ אֲנִי וְאַפְסִי עֹוד לֹא אֵשֵׁב אַלְמָנָה וְלֹא   47:8 אֵדַע שְׁכֹול׃

Isai. 47:8   “So now hear this,

                              self-indulgent who sits securely,

                    who says in her heart,

                               ‘I am, and beside me there is none else;

                     I will not sit a widow

                               and I will not know the loss of children.’”

וְתָבֹאנָה לָּךְ שְׁתֵּי־אֵלֶּה רֶגַע בְּיֹום אֶחָד שְׁכֹול וְאַלְמֹן כְּתֻםָּם בָּאוּ עָלַיִךְ בְּרֹב כְּשָׁפַיִךְ בְּעָצְמַת   47:9

  חֲבָרַיִךְ מְאֹד׃

Isai. 47:9   “But these two things

                               shall come to you suddenly in one day,

                     loss of children and widowhood.

                               They will come upon you completely,

                     in the multitude of your sorceries,

                                in the great abundance of your enchantments.”

וַתִּבְטְחִי בְרָעָתֵךְ אָמַרְתְּ אֵין רֹאָנִי חָכְמָתֵךְ וְדַעְתֵּךְ הִיא שֹׁובְבָתֶךְ וַתֹּאמְרִי בְלִבֵּךְ אֲנִי וְאַפְסִי עֹוד׃   47:10

Isai. 47:10   “But you are secure in your wickedness;

                                you say, ‘No one sees me.’

                      Your wisdom and your knowledge, it perverts you,

                                so you say in your heart,

                       ‘I am, and beside me there is none else.’”

וּבָא עָלַיִךְ רָעָה לֹא תֵדְעִי שַׁחְרָהּ וְתִפֹּל עָלַיִךְ הֹוָה לֹא תוּכְלִי כַּפְּרָהּ וְתָבֹא עָלַיִךְ פִּתְאֹם שֹׁואָה   47:11

  לֹא תֵדָעִי׃

Isai. 47:11   But evil shall come upon you.

                                You will not recognize its meaning.

                      And calamity falls upon you.

                                You will not be able to purge it.

                      And suddenly ruin comes upon you

                                you will not know.

עִמְדִי־נָא בַחֲבָרַיִךְ וּבְרֹב כְּשָׁפַיִךְ בַּאֲשֶׁר יָגַעַתְּ מִנְּעוּרָיִךְ אוּלַי תּוּכְלִי הֹועִיל אוּלַי תַּעֲרֹוצִי׃   47:12

Isai. 47:12   Remain, now, with your enchantments,

                                and with the multitude of your sorceries,

                      with which you have labored from your youth,

                                supposing you would be able to profit,

                      supposing you would prevail.

נִלְאֵית בְּרֹב עֲצָתָיִךְ יַעַמְדוּ־נָא וְיֹושִׁיעֻךְ (הָבְרוּ) [הֹבְרֵי] שָׁמַיִם הַחֹזִים בַּכֹּוכָבִים מֹודִיעִם לֶחֳדָשִׁים   47:13 מֵאֲשֶׁר יָבֹאוּ עָלָיִךְ׃

Isai. 47:13   You are wearied by the multitude of your counsels.

                               Now let the astrologers of the heavens

                      stand up and save you,

                                the gazers at the stars,

                       the monthly prognosticators,

                                from what will come upon you.

The word in parentheses contains a vav suffix where a yad should be.  The correct spelling is in the brackets.

הִנֵּה הָיוּ כְקַשׁ אֵשׁ שְׂרָפָתַם לֹא־יַצִּילוּ אֶת־נַפְשָׁם מִיַּד לֶהָבָה אֵין־גַּחֶלֶת לַחְםָם אוּר לָשֶׁבֶת נֶגְדֹּו׃   47:14

Isai. 47:14   Behold, they are like stubble;

                                fire burns them.

                      They can not rescue themselves

                                from the power of the flame.

                      No coal for warming, light to sit before it.

כֵּן הָיוּ־לָךְ אֲשֶׁר יָגָעַתְּ סֹחֲרַיִךְ מִנְּעוּרַיִךְ אִישׁ לְעֶבְרֹו תָּעוּ אֵין מֹושִׁיעֵךְ׃   47:15

Isai. 47:15   Because they were yours

                               whom you made to labor,

                       your traffic from your youth!

                               Each to his quarter they stagger!

                       No one will be your savior.

 

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