47
Prediction of the destruction of Babylon
1 Yahweh says, “You people of Babylon,
you should go and sit in the dust/dirt,
because your time to rule other countries is almost ended.
People will never again talk about Babylonia and say it is beautiful
like a very attractive young woman.
2 You will be slaves, so take heavy stones
and grind grain as slave women do.
Take off your beautiful veil
and take off your robe as you prepare to cross streams to go where you will be exiled.
3 You will be naked and very ashamed.
I will get vengeance on you and not pity you.”
4 The one who frees us, whom we call our Supreme Commander,
is the Holy One of Israel.
5 “You people of Babylon,
sit silently in the darkness,
because people will never again say that your city is like a queen that rules many kingdoms.
6 I was angry with the people whom I chose to belong to me,
and I punished them.
I allowed you to conquer them.
But you did not act mercifully toward them.
You oppressed even the old people.
7 “You said, ‘We will rule other nations forever,
as though our city was the eternal queen of the world!’
But you did not think about the things that you were doing,
or think about what would result.
8 You people who enjoy pleasure and sex,
listen to this:
You enjoy a luxurious life and feel secure.
You say, ‘We are like gods,
and there are no others like us.
Our women will never become widows,
and our children will never die in wars’.
9 But both of those things will happen to you suddenly:
many of your women will become widows
and many of your children will die,
even though you perform much sorcery and all kinds of magic,
10 even though you were doing many wicked things,
and you said ‘No one will see us!’
You thought that you were very wise and knew many things,
and said, ‘We are gods, and there are no others like us’,
but you deceived yourselves.
11 So you will experience terrible things,
and you will not be able to prevent them by working magic.
You will experience disasters,
but you will not be able to pay anyone to avoid those things.
◄A catastrophe/Something terrible► will happen to you suddenly,
something that you will not realize is about to happen.
12 So continue to use all your magic spells [IRO]!
Perform the many kinds of sorcery that you have practiced for many years!
Perhaps you will be successful;
perhaps you will be able to cause your enemies to be afraid of you!
13 But the truth is that doing all the things that the magicians have told you to do has only caused you to become tired.
Why were your ◄astrologers/men who studied the stars► unable to help you [RHQ]?
Those men who looked at the stars every month and predicted what would happen
should come forward and rescue you from the disasters that you are about to experience.
14 But they cannot do that, because they are like [SIM] straw that is burning in a fire;
they cannot save themselves from being burned up in the flames.
They are unable to help you [MET];
they are as useless as stubble that burns quickly and produces no heat for you.
15 The people whom you have associated with and worked with since you were young
will not help you;
they will just continue doing their own foolish things,
without paying any attention to you
when you cry out for help.
Note: The Old Testament in this translation is still being worked on, and is in draft form. Updates will be posted at eBible.org/t4t/.