Isaiah 47:2 kjv
Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
Isaiah 47:2 nkjv
Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, Take off the skirt, Uncover the thigh, Pass through the rivers.
Isaiah 47:2 niv
Take millstones and grind flour; take off your veil. Lift up your skirts, bare your legs, and wade through the streams.
Isaiah 47:2 esv
Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers.
Isaiah 47:2 nlt
Take heavy millstones and grind flour.
Remove your veil, and strip off your robe.
Expose yourself to public view.
Isaiah 47 2 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 3:16 | But the LORD says, "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, displaying nakedness with their eyes, ..." | God's judgment on the pride of Israel's women, paralleling Babylon's downfall. |
| Isa 23:12 | And he says, "You shall no more exult, O oppressed virgin, daughter of Sidon; arise, flee to Cyprus; even there you shall have no rest." | Judgment on another proud city (Sidon). |
| Jer 13:26 | Therefore I will treat them as dung heaps. I myself will do this, declares the LORD of hosts. | God's casting away of rebellious people. |
| Jer 48:18 | "Come down from your glory and sit on the thirsty ground, O inhabitant daughter of Moab, for the wall of Moab shall fall; your forts shall be demolished." | Prophecy against Moab with similar imagery of descent and loss of security. |
| Jer 50:30 | "The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting; they remain in their strongholds. Their might has failed; they have become like women. They have burned her dwelling places; her waters are cut off." | Babylon's warriors losing strength, becoming like women (a state of weakness and disgrace). |
| Jer 51:33 | "For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor when it is already trodden like a threshing floor in the season of threshing. The time to reap her will come." | Babylon as a threshing floor, ready for destruction. |
| Lam 1:1 | How the city full of people sits solitary, once a great nation, now a widow! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal. | Jerusalem's state of widowhood and reduced status, similar to Babylon's fall. |
| Lam 2:10 | The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground and are silent; they throw dust on their heads and wear sackcloth; the young women of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground. | Humiliation of Jerusalem's leaders and people. |
| Ezek 16:15-16 | "But you relied on your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your promiscuity on any passerby; you became his." | Babylon's reliance on her perceived strength and beauty leading to downfall. |
| Ezek 21:30-32 | "Shall the sword ever cease its ravages? The holy oil has been taken from your prophets. Shall I be silent? God has decreed your doom, to strike them in the cities of Israel." (context of prophecy against Ammon, but theme of judgment applicable). | Divine decree of destruction. |
| Rev 17:5 | Also in her forehead was written this name: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. | Identifying Babylon as a center of sin and opposition to God. |
| Rev 18:7-8 | Since the day that she has glorified herself and lived deliciously, so measure out to her torment and sorrow. Because she says in her heart, "I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and I will never see sorrow," therefore her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the LORD God, who judges her, is strong. | Babylon's self-exaltation and impending judgment, echoing the sentiments of Isaiah. |
| Gal 5:6 | For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. | Faith as the true source of value, not earthly status. |
| Phil 3:7-8 | But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. | True value found in Christ, not worldly positions. |
| 1 Pet 5:5-6 | Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Be humble, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. | The importance of humility in God's sight. |
| Prov 11:2 | When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. | The inseparable link between pride and disgrace. |
| Prov 16:18 | Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. | The direct consequence of pride. |
| Jer 17:1-2 | "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of a diamond it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, by the green trees on the high hills, over the mountains in the open country. Your mountain in the field shall be a place for plunder, for all your ventures. | Judah's sin being deeply ingrained, leading to ruin. |
| Zech 2:7 | "Up, Zion! Escape, you who live in the daughter of Babylon!" | God's call for His people to escape Babylon. |
| Jer 50:38 | A drought on her waters, and they shall be dried up! For it is a land of idols, and by terrifying forms they are mad. | Babylon's idols leading to divine judgment. |
| Jer 51:7 | Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, making the whole earth drunk; the nations drank of her wine, and so the nations went mad. | Babylon as a tool of God's judgment on other nations. |
Isaiah 47 verses
Isaiah 47 2 Meaning
"Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called tender and delicate." This verse vividly portrays the fall and humiliation of Babylon, a powerful and proud city, reducing it to a state of shame and powerlessness. The divine judgment is pronounced, stripping away its status, luxury, and perceived security.
Isaiah 47 2 Context
Isaiah chapter 47 is a prophetic oracle delivered against Babylon. The preceding context in Isaiah 46 speaks of the defeat of Babylonian idols, Bel and Nebo, which underscores the ultimate powerlessness of Babylonian gods and rulers. This chapter continues the theme of judgment, presenting Babylon as a proud and decadent empire that will be brought low. Specifically, verse 2 declares the fall from her lofty position, symbolizing the stripping away of her regal status and pampered life. The historical context is likely the impending or recent fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians, marking a significant shift in the geopolitical landscape of the ancient Near East. The message serves as a warning and a declaration of God's sovereignty over all nations.
Isaiah 47 2 Word Analysis
- Come down (ירד) - (yarad) meaning to descend, go down. This signifies a loss of status and elevation.
- sit (שבי) - (sh'vi) a Piel imperative from ישׁב (yashav), meaning to cause to sit, settle. It implies an enforced, unchosen resting.
- dust (עפר) - (aphar) meaning dust, dry earth, soil. It represents lowliness, mourning, and insignificance.
- virgin (בת) - (bath) literally "daughter." Here, "virgin daughter" is an idiomatic expression denoting purity, virginity, or an unmarried daughter. In this context, it personifies Babylon as a pure entity before its corruption and fall. It can also imply that Babylon is being treated as someone unprotected or defenseless, like a maiden.
- Babylon (בבל) - (Bavel) refers to the ancient Mesopotamian city and empire, a major power opposing God's people.
- sit on the ground (ישבי על־ארץ) - (yoshvi al-aretz) an emphatic position of lowliness and mourning, contrasted with a throne.
- without a throne (בלי־כסא) - (beli-kis'eh) signifies the loss of royalty, power, and authority.
- O daughter of the Chaldeans (בת־כשדים) - (bath-Kashdim) a further identification of Babylon, referring to its people or the region they inhabited. The Chaldeans were the dominant ethnic group in later Babylonian empires.
- for you shall no more be called (כי לא־יוסף לך) - (ki lo-yosef lakh) meaning "for it will not add to you," or "you will not continue to have." This emphasizes the finality of the loss.
- tender and delicate (רכה ועדינה) - (rakah ve'adinah) describing a state of luxury, gentleness, softness, and refined beauty. These qualities are being revoked due to her transgressions. The plural "tender and delicate ones" (or soft and delicate ones) can also be implied by the adjective use, referring to the citizens or even the general refined lifestyle of Babylon.
Isaiah 47 2 Bonus Section
The imagery of "sitting in the dust" and "without a throne" is common in biblical prophecy for the downfall of great cities or nations (e.g., Isaiah 3:26, Lamentations 2:10). This verse portrays Babylon not just as defeated, but as stripped of its identity of regal pride and self-reliance. The terms "tender" and "delicate" were often associated with the royal lifestyle and the perceived untouchable nature of the ruling class. Their removal signifies a total unmaking of Babylon's exalted status. This is not merely a political defeat but a judgment on a spiritual and moral level, implying Babylon’s reliance on its own strength and possibly its idolatrous practices (as indicated in the broader context of Isaiah 40-47) rather than on God. The emphasis on the "virgin daughter" evokes a sense of defilement and shame upon that which was once considered pure or exalted.
Isaiah 47 2 Commentary
This verse announces a radical reversal of fortune for Babylon. Once seated on a throne, exuding power and delicate luxury, Babylon is commanded to descend and sit in the dust, a place of ultimate humiliation and powerlessness. The epithet "virgin daughter" is tragically ironic, as this symbol of former pride and perceived undefiled status is now associated with absolute degradation. The prophecy is a stark reminder that God judges pride and luxury that leads to oppression, stripping away all earthly glory and leaving behind only shame and ruin.