Isaiah 47:7 kjv
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.
Isaiah 47:7 nkjv
And you said, 'I shall be a lady forever,' So that you did not take these things to heart, Nor remember the latter end of them.
Isaiah 47:7 niv
You said, 'I am forever? the eternal queen!' But you did not consider these things or reflect on what might happen.
Isaiah 47:7 esv
You said, "I shall be mistress forever," so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end.
Isaiah 47:7 nlt
You said, 'I will reign forever as queen of the world!'
You did not reflect on your actions
or think about their consequences.
Isaiah 47 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 47:7 | "Yet you said, ‘I am like a free woman’ / or ‘I shall be mistress’." | Isa 47:8 |
| Proverbs 1:26 | "I will laugh when disaster strikes you; / I will exult when terror overtakes you," | Prov 1:26, Matt 25:10, Rev 18:7 |
| Luke 16:25 | "But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.'" | Luke 16:25 |
| Revelation 18:7 | "To the same degree as she glorified herself and played the sensual wanton, to the same degree give her torment and mourning." | Rev 18:7, Isa 47:7-8 |
| Ezekiel 28:2 | "‘Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: / “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, / I sit on the throne of God,’ in the midst of the seas..." | Ezek 28:2 |
| 2 Timothy 3:2 | "For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive..." | 2 Tim 3:2 |
| Romans 12:3 | "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." | Rom 12:3 |
| 1 Corinthians 4:7 | "For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?" | 1 Cor 4:7, 1 Pet 4:10 |
| James 4:6 | "But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”" | Jas 4:6, 1 Pet 5:5 |
| Jeremiah 13:12 | "“Say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Every wineskin shall be filled with wine.’ And when they say to you, ‘Do we not indeed drink until the wineskin is heavy?'" | Jer 13:12 |
| Jeremiah 48:11 | "“‘Moab has been at ease from his youth, / and he has settled down on his dregs; / he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, / nor has he gone into exile." | Jer 48:11, Jer 49:31, Amos 8:9 |
| Isaiah 14:13 | "You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; / above the stars of God I will set my throne on high...’" | Isa 14:13 |
| Jeremiah 17:9 | "The heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" | Jer 17:9 |
| Psalm 73:6 | "Therefore pride is their necklace; / violence is the garment they clothe themselves with." | Ps 73:6 |
| Psalm 36:2 | "For he flattereth himself in his own iniquity, until his iniquity be found to be hateful." | Ps 36:2 |
| Isaiah 23:8 | "Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honored of the earth?" | Isa 23:8 |
| Isaiah 47:1 | "“Come down and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground, no throne, daughter of the Chaldeans..." | Isa 47:1 |
| Jeremiah 50:45 | "And by their spoil they have gotten wealth. Each has become a prey, though none pursued. For what reason did they remain?” (Babylon) | Jer 50:45 |
| Ezekiel 16:49 | "“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy," | Ezek 16:49 |
| Proverbs 16:18 | "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before the fall." | Prov 16:18 |
| Isaiah 10:12 | "When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the presumption of the king of Assyria and his haughty brow,”" | Isa 10:12 |
Isaiah 47 verses
Isaiah 47 7 Meaning
The verse describes a deep-seated and enduring inner disposition of pride and self-reliance, specifically a refusal to mourn or show compassion, stemming from a profound and unrepentant arrogance. It highlights a spirit that is unmoved by distress, even personal calamity, and thus is characterized by a persistent lack of empathy and remorse.
Isaiah 47 7 Context
This verse is part of Isaiah's prophecy against Babylon. The prophet is pronouncing judgment on Babylon for its pride, arrogance, and cruelty towards God's people. Babylon, once a glorious empire, had been characterized by its self-exaltation and its belief in its own invincibility and permanence. The prophet illustrates this by quoting Babylon's own confident, boastful declarations. This specific verse follows God's decree that Babylon would be humbled and subjected to hardship, stripped of its glory. Babylon's response to this impending doom, or rather its defiant posture against it, is described here as a complete refusal to acknowledge any wrongdoing or to show any remorse, remaining unrepentant in its pride.
Isaiah 47 7 Word Analysis
- וְאַתְּ (v'att): "And you" (Hebrew: וְ və meaning "and"; אַתְּ at meaning "you," feminine singular). This conjunction and pronoun introduce the subject, Babylon, directly addressing her in the feminine gender, a common personification of cities and nations.
- אָמַרְתְּ (amart): "you said" (Hebrew: אָמַר amar meaning "to say," Qal past tense, second person feminine singular). This verb denotes the utterance of words, specifically the spoken affirmations of the subject.
- כִּי־ (ki-): "that" or "for" (Hebrew: כִּי ki). This particle introduces a subordinate clause, indicating the content of what was said.
- לֹא־ (lo-): "not" (Hebrew: לֹא lo). This is a direct negation.
- אָבֹק (avok): "I shall mourn" or "I will grieve" (Hebrew: אָבַד avad, archaic root with sense of being lost, sorrowing, perishing. Possible connection to Hebrew אָבַל aval meaning to mourn. However, most commentaries link this to an unused root implying solitude or singularity, meaning "I am free," "I am alone," or "I shall be sole," often interpreted as free from dependence or restraint). Scholars note the difficulty of this precise verb, with interpretations ranging from "to mourn" (linking to a similar sound and thematic opposite of unconcern) to "to be free" or "alone" (from an unused root, suggesting independence and self-sufficiency, thus proud autonomy). This latter meaning strongly fits the context of unrepentant arrogance.
- אֵין־ (ein-): "there is not" or "is not" (Hebrew: אֵין ein). Another form of negation.
- בֹּשֶׁת (boshet): "shame" or "shamefacedness" (Hebrew: בֹּשֶׁת boshet meaning shame, disgrace, confusion). This noun denotes a state of humiliation or a refusal to be ashamed, which in this context means refusing to acknowledge guilt or disgrace.
- לָהּ (lah): "for her" or "to her" (Hebrew: לָהּ lah, third person feminine singular pronoun). Referring back to the subject, Babylon.
- כִּי־ (ki-): "that" or "for".
- וְאַתְּ (v'att): "and you".
- אָמַרְתְּ (amart): "you said".
- אֲשֶׁר־ (asher-): "that" or "who" or "which" (Hebrew: אֲשֶׁר asher). This relative pronoun introduces the following clause, which describes the nature of her future state.
- לְעוֹלָם (l'olam): "forever" or "eternally" (Hebrew: לְ lə meaning "to" or "for"; עוֹלָם olam meaning "eternity," "world," "long duration"). Indicates an unending or perpetual state.
- אֶֽהְיֶה (ehyeh): "I shall be" (Hebrew: הָיָה hayah meaning "to be" or "to become," imperfect tense, first person common singular). Signifies a future state of existence or being.
- גְּבִירָה (gevira): "mistress" or "queen" or "lady" (Hebrew: גְּבִירָה gevira meaning mistress, lady, queen). Denotes supreme authority, power, and elevated status.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "Yet you said, ‘I am like a free woman’": This phrase captures Babylon’s proud declaration of self-sufficiency and independence. The refusal to "mourn" (if avok has that sense) or the claim of being "free" or "alone" (from the alternate reading) highlights a spiritual state of being unburdened by consequences or divine oversight. It's an assertion of autonomy that rejects accountability and humility.
- "or ‘I shall be mistress’": This second declaration reinforces the theme of prideful ambition and self-exaltation. Babylon sought not merely to be independent, but to dominate, to hold absolute authority, akin to a sovereign queen. This reflects a complete absence of self-abasing grief or even the acceptance of limitations, preferring instead the position of ultimate power.
Isaiah 47 7 Bonus Section
The concept of Babylon’s unrepentant pride and self-proclaimed eternal security has broader theological implications. It stands in contrast to the Christian call for humility, repentance, and dependence on God. The self-sufficiency declared here is precisely what God opposes, as noted in James 4:6, where it states God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. The prophet’s words serve as a timeless warning against a similar mindset of autonomy and self-exaltation that seeks to divorce actions from accountability, whether personal, societal, or spiritual. The linguistic difficulty with avok is instructive; whether it means refusing to mourn or declaring ultimate freedom, both point to an unbroken spirit of defiance and self-reliance, antithetical to the broken and contrite heart valued by God.
Isaiah 47 7 Commentary
This verse vividly portrays the ingrained arrogance of Babylon. It's a spiritual stubbornness that refuses to acknowledge vulnerability or the consequences of its actions. The repeated assertion "I said..." signifies a deeply held belief system rooted in pride, where Babylon sees itself as entirely independent and inherently superior. This attitude prevented genuine repentance. Instead of feeling shame for its sins and considering the afflictions brought by God, Babylon declared its freedom from constraints and its intent to remain in a position of ultimate authority. This internal disposition makes it impervious to the judgments that were to befall it, sealing its doom because it embraced its unrighteousness. The "mistress" status Babylon craved is ultimately the very position from which it would be violently cast down.