The Queen of Babylon Brought Low
Study note
Babylon is described as a 'virgin daughter,' meaning a city that had never been conquered. She was the proud queen of kingdoms. But God commands her to come down from her throne, sit in the dust, and do the hard work of a slave, like grinding grain with millstones. The 'daughter of the Chaldeans' is another name for Babylon. God, who is Israel's Redeemer, the Lord of Armies, will take away all of Babylon's pride and power.
1 Come down from your throne and sit in the dirt, pampered daughter of Babylon. Sit on the bare ground — no throne for you anymore, daughter of the Chaldeans. Nobody will ever call you soft and delicate again. 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.
2 Pick up the millstones and grind flour like a servant. Pull off your veil, hike up your skirts, and wade through the rivers. Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
3 You will be stripped bare and your shame exposed for all to see. I will take revenge, and nobody will be able to talk me out of it. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
4 Our Redeemer — the Lord who commands all of heaven's armies — his name is the Holy One of Israel. As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
5 Sit down in silence and disappear into the darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans. Never again will anyone call you the queen of kingdoms. Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
Babylon's Cruelty and Arrogance
Study note
God explains why Babylon will be punished. When God allowed Babylon to conquer Israel as discipline for their sins, Babylon went too far and showed no mercy, especially to the elderly. Babylon boasted that she would be a queen forever and never face loss. She claimed to be unique and untouchable, using the same words that God uses to describe himself: 'I am, and there is no one besides me.' This arrogance sealed her doom. Both widowhood and the loss of children, the two worst disasters for a woman in the ancient world, would strike Babylon in a single day.
6 "I was angry with my people, so I allowed my treasured people to be dishonored. I handed them over to you. But you showed them zero mercy. You crushed the elderly under an especially heavy load." 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.
7 You told yourself, "I will reign as queen forever." You never stopped to consider these things or think about what might happen to you in the end. 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.
8 So pay attention, you who love luxury and live without a worry in the world. You tell yourself, "I am number one, and there is nobody else. I will never become a widow, and I will never lose my children." 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:
9 But both those things are going to hit you all at once, in a single day — losing your children and becoming a widow. It will happen in full force, despite all your sorcery and all your powerful magic spells. 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.
10 You felt safe in your wickedness and told yourself, "Nobody can see what I am doing." Your so-called wisdom and knowledge twisted you around. You said in your heart, "I am the only one that matters. Nobody else comes close." 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.
11 But disaster is heading straight for you, and you will not know how to stop it. Trouble will crash down on you, and you will not be able to push it away. Destruction will blindside you before you even realize what is happening. 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.
Sorcery Cannot Save Babylon
Study note
Babylon was famous for its astrologers, stargazers, and fortune-tellers. God challenges Babylon to call on all the magic and sorcery it has practiced since its youth. But none of it will help. These advisers will be like dry straw burned up by fire, not even useful for warming oneself. The merchants and counselors Babylon relied on will scatter in every direction, and no one will be able to save the city.
12 Go right ahead with your magic spells and all the sorcery you have been practicing since you were young. Maybe you will manage to pull something off. Maybe you will scare your enemies away. 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.
13 You are worn out from all the consultants you have been listening to. Let your star-readers and monthly fortune-tellers stand up and rescue you from what is coming. 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.
14 Look at them — they are like straw that the fire swallows up. They cannot even save themselves from the blaze. This is not a nice warm fire to cozy up beside. 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.
15 That is what will become of all the people you have done business with your whole life. Every one of them will wander off in their own direction, and not a single one will be left to help you. 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.