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Isaiah 47:1

New American Standard Bible (NASB ©1995) [2]
— “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 longer be called tender and delicate.
King James Version (KJV 1769) [2]
— 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.
English Revised Version (ERV 1885)
— 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 thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
American Standard Version (ASV 1901) [2]
— 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 thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
Webster's Revision of the KJB (WEB 1833)
— 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.
Darby's Translation (DBY 1890)
— Come down and sit in the dust, 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.
Rotherham's Emphasized Bible (EBR 1902)
— Down—and sit in the dust, O virgin, Daughter of Babylon, Sit on the ground—throneless, Daughter of the Chaldeans; For thou shalt no more be called, Tender and Dainty.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT 1898)
— Come down, and sit on the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, Sit on the earth, there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For no more do they cry to thee, 'O tender and delicate one.'
Douay-Rheims Challoner Revision (DR 1750)
— Come down, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called delicate and tender.
Geneva Bible (GNV 1560)
— Come downe and sit in the dust: O virgine, daughter Babel, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, Tender and delicate.
Original King James Bible (AV 1611) [2]
— Come downe and sit in the dust: O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: [there is] no throne, O daughter of the Caldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
Lamsa Bible (1957)
— 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 you shall no more be called tender and delicate.
Brenton Greek Septuagint (LXX, Restored Names)
— Come down, sit on the ground, O virgin daughter of Babylon: sit on the ground, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and luxurious.
Full Hebrew Names / Holy Name KJV (2008) [2] [3]
— Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Bavel, sit on the ground: [there is] no throne, O daughter of the Kasdim: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

Strong's Numbers & Hebrew NamesHebrew Old TestamentColor-Code/Key Word Studies
Come down, 3381
{3381} Prime
יָרַד
yarad
{yaw-rad'}
A primitive root; to descend (literally to go downwards; or conventionally to a lower region, as the shore, a boundary, the enemy, etc.; or figuratively to fall); causatively to bring down (in all the above applications).
z8798
<8798> Grammar
Stem - Qal (See H8851)
Mood - Imperative (See H8810)
Count - 2847
and sit 3427
{3427} Prime
יָשַׁב
yashab
{yaw-shab'}
A primitive root; properly to sit down (specifically as judge, in ambush, in quiet); by implication to dwell, to remain; causatively to settle, to marry.
z8798
<8798> Grammar
Stem - Qal (See H8851)
Mood - Imperative (See H8810)
Count - 2847
in x5921
(5921) Complement
עַל
`al
{al}
Properly the same as H5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural, often with prefix, or as conjugation with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications.
the dust, 6083
{6083} Prime
עָפָר
`aphar
{aw-fawr'}
From H6080; dust (as powdered or gray); hence clay, earth, mud.
O virgin 1330
{1330} Prime
בְּתוּלָה
b@thuwlah
{beth-oo-law'}
Feminine passive participle of an unused root meaning to separate; a virgin (from her privacy); sometimes (by continuation) a bride; also (figuratively) a city or state.
daughter 1323
{1323} Prime
בַּת
bath
{bath}
From H1129 (as feminine of H1121); a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively).
of Bävel בָּבֶל, 894
{0894} Prime
בָּבֶל
Babel
{baw-bel'}
From H1101; confusion; Babel (that is, Babylon), including Babylonia and the Babylonian empire.
sit 3427
{3427} Prime
יָשַׁב
yashab
{yaw-shab'}
A primitive root; properly to sit down (specifically as judge, in ambush, in quiet); by implication to dwell, to remain; causatively to settle, to marry.
z8798
<8798> Grammar
Stem - Qal (See H8851)
Mood - Imperative (See H8810)
Count - 2847
on the ground: 776
{0776} Prime
אֶרֶץ
'erets
{eh'-rets}
From an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land).
[there is] no x369
(0369) Complement
אַיִן
'ayin
{ah'-yin}
As if from a primitive root meaning to be nothing or not exist; a non-entity; generally used as a negative particle.
throne, 3678
{3678} Prime
כִּסֵּא
kicce'
{kis-say'}
From H3680; properly covered, that is, a throne (as canopied).
O daughter 1323
{1323} Prime
בַּת
bath
{bath}
From H1129 (as feminine of H1121); a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively).
of the Caŝdîm כַּשׂדִּים: 3778
{3778} Prime
כַּשְׂדִי
Kasdiy
{kas-dee'}
(Occasionally shown as the second form with enclitic; meaning towards the Kasdites); patronymic from H3777 (only in the plural); a Kasdite, or descendant of Kesed; by implication a Chaldaean (as if so descended); also an astrologer (as if proverbial of that people).
for x3588
(3588) Complement
כִּי
kiy
{kee}
A primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent; (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjugation or adverb; often largely modified by other particles annexed.
thou shalt no x3808
(3808) Complement
לֹא
lo'
{lo}
lo; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abstract negation); by implication no; often used with other particles.
more 3254
{3254} Prime
יָסַף
yacaph
{yaw-saf'}
A primitive root; to add or augment (often adverbially to continue to do a thing).
z8686
<8686> Grammar
Stem - Hiphil (See H8818)
Mood - Imperfect (See H8811)
Count - 4046
be called 7121
{7121} Prime
קָרָא
qara'
{kaw-raw'}
A primitive root (rather identical with H7122 through the idea of accosting a person met); to call out to (that is, properly address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications).
z8799
<8799> Grammar
Stem - Qal (See H8851)
Mood - Imperfect (See H8811)
Count - 19885
tender 7390
{7390} Prime
רַךְ
rak
{rak}
From H7401; tender (literally or figuratively); by implication weak.
and delicate. 6028
{6028} Prime
עָנֹג
`anog
{aw-nogue'}
From H6026; luxurious.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary

Isaiah 47:1

_ _ Isaiah 47:1-15. The destruction of Babylon is represented under the image of a royal virgin brought down in a moment from her magnificent throne to the extreme of degradation.

_ _ in the dust — (See on Isaiah 3:26; Job 2:13; Lamentations 2:10).

_ _ virgin — that is, heretofore uncaptured [Herodotus, 1.191].

_ _ daughter of Babylon — Babylon and its inhabitants (see on Isaiah 1:8; see on Isaiah 37:22).

_ _ no throne — The seat of empire was transferred to Shushan. Alexander intended to have made Babylon his seat of empire, but Providence defeated his design. He soon died; and Seleucia, being built near, robbed it of its inhabitants, and even of its name, which was applied to Seleucia.

_ _ delicate — alluding to the effeminate debauchery and prostitution of all classes at banquets and religious rites [Curtius, 5.1; Herodotus, 1.199; Baruch, 6.43].

Matthew Henry's Commentary

Isaiah 47:1-6

_ _ In these verses God by the prophet sends a messenger even to Babylon, like that of Jonah to Nineveh: “The time is at hand when Babylon shall be destroyed.” Fair warning is thus given her, that she may by repentance prevent the ruin and there may be a lengthening of her tranquility. We may observe here,

_ _ I. God's controversy with Babylon. We will begin with that, for there all the calamity begins; she has made God her enemy, and then who can befriend her: Let her know that the righteous Judge, to whom vengeance belongs, has said (Isaiah 47:3), I will take vengeance. She has provoked God, and shall be reckoned with for it when the measure of her iniquities is full. Woe to those on whom God comes to take vengeance; for who knows the power of his anger and what a fearful thing it is to fall into his hands? Were it a man like ourselves who would be revenged on us, we might hope to be a match for him, either to make our escape from him or to make our part good with him. But he says, “I will not meet thee as a man, not with the compassions of a man, but I will be to the as a lion, and a young lion” (Hosea 5:14); or, rather, not with the strength of a man, which is easily resisted, but with the power of a God, which cannot be resisted. Not with the justice of a man, which may be bribed, or biassed, or mollified by a foolish pity, but with the justice of a God, which is strict and severe, and can never be evaded. As in pardoning the penitent, so in punishing the impenitent, he is God and not man, Hosea 11:9.

_ _ II. The particular ground of this controversy. We are sure that there is cause for it, and it is a just cause; it is the vengeance of his temple (Jeremiah 50:28); it is for violence done to Zion, Jeremiah 51:35. God will plead his people's cause against them. It is acknowledged (Isaiah 47:6) that God had, in wrath, delivered his people into the hands of the Babylonians, had made use of them for the correction of his children, and had by their means polluted his inheritance, had left his peculiar people exposed to suffer in common with the rest of the nations, had suffered the heathen, who should have been kept at a distance, to come into his sanctuary and defile his temple, Psalms 79:1. Herein God was righteous; but the Babylonians carried the matter too far, and, when they had them in their hands (triumphing to see a people that had been so much in reputation for wisdom, holiness, and honour, brought thus low), with a base and servile spirit they trampled upon them, and showed them no mercy, no, not the common instances of humanity which the miserable are entitled to purely by their misery. They used them barbarously, and with an air of contempt, nay, and of complacency in their calamities. They were brought under the yoke; but, as if that were not enough, they laid the yoke on very heavily, adding affliction to the afflicted. Nay, they laid it on the ancient — the elders in years, who were past their labour, and must sink under a yoke which those in their youthful strength would easily bear — the elders in office, those that had been judges and magistrates, and persons of the first rank. They took a pride in putting these to the meanest hardest drudgery. Jeremiah laments this, that the faces of elders were not honoured, Lamentations 5:12. Nothing brings a surer or a sorer ruin upon any people than cruelty, especially to God's Israel.

_ _ III. The terror of this controversy. She has reason to tremble when she is told who it is that has this quarrel with her (Isaiah 47:4): “As for our Redeemer, our Goel, that undertakes to plead our cause as the avenger of our blood, he has two names which speak not only comfort to us, but terror to our adversaries.” 1. “He is the Lord of hosts, that has all the creatures at his command, and therefore has all power both in heaven and in earth.” Woe to those against whom the Lord fights, for the whole creation is at war with them. 2. “He is the Holy One of Israel, a God in covenant with us, who has his residence among us, and will faithfully perform all the promises he has made to us.” God's power and holiness are engaged against Babylon and for Zion. This may fitly be applied to Christ, our great Redeemer. He is both Lord of hosts and the Holy One of Israel.

_ _ IV. The consequences of it to Babylon. She is called a virgin, because so she thought herself, though she was the mother of harlots. She was beautiful as a virgin, and courted by all about her; she had been called tender and delicate (Isaiah 47:1), and the lady of kingdoms (Isaiah 47:5); but now the case is altered. 1. Her honour is gone, and she must bid farewell to all her dignity. She that had sat at the upper end of the world, sat in state and sat at ease, must now come down and sit in the dust, as very mean and a deep mourner, must sit on the ground, for she shall be so emptied and impoverished that she shall not have a seat left her to sit upon. 2. Her power is gone, and she must bid farewell to all her dominion. She shall rule no more as she has done, nor give law as she has done to her neighbours: There is no throne, none for thee, O daughter of the Chaldeans! Note, Those that abuse their honour or power provoke God to deprive them of it, and to make them come down and sit in the dust. 3. Her ease and pleasure are gone: “She shall no more be called tender and delicate as she has been, for she shall not only be deprived of all those things with which she pampered herself, but shall be put to hard service and made to feel both want and pain, which will be more than doubly grievous to her who formerly would not venture to setcreation is at war with them. 2. “He is the Holy One of Israel, a God in covenant with us, who has his residence among us, and will faithfully perform all the promises he has made to us.” God's power and holiness are engaged against Babylon and for Zion. This may fitly be applied to Christ, our great Redeemer. He is both Lord of hosts and the Holy One of Israel.

_ _ IV. The consequences of it to Babylon. She is called a virgin, because so she thought herself, though she was the mother of harlots. She was beautiful as a virgin, and courted by all about her; she had been called tender and delicate (Isaiah 47:1), and the lady of kingdoms (Isaiah 47:5); but now the case is altered. 1. Her honour is gone, and she must bid farewell to all her dignity. She that had sat at the upper end of the world, sat in state and sat at ease, must now come down and sit in the dust, as very mean and a deep mourner, must sit on the ground, for she shall be so emptied and impoverished that she shall not have a seat left her to sit upon. 2. Her power is gone, and she must bid farewell to all her dominion. She shall rule no more as she has done, nor give law as she has done to her neighbours: There is no throne, none for thee, O daughter of the Chaldeans! Note, Those that abuse their honour or power provoke God to deprive them of it, and to make them come down and sit in the dust. 3. Her ease and pleasure are gone: “She shall no more be called tender and delicate as she has been, for she shall not only be deprived of all those things with which she pampered herself, but shall be put to hard service and made to feel both want and pain, which will be more than doubly grievous to her who formerly would not venture to set so much as the sole of her foot to the ground for tenderness and for delicacy,Deuteronomy 28:56. It is our wisdom not to use ourselves to be tender and delicate, because we know not how hardly others may use us before we die not what straits we may be reduced to. 4. Her liberty is gone, and she is brought into a state of servitude and as sore a bondage as she in her prosperity had brought others to. Even the great men of Babylon must now receive the same law from the conquerors that they used to give to the conquered: “Take the mill-stones and grind meal (Isaiah 47:2), set to work, to hard labour” (like beating hemp in Bridewell), “which will make thee sweat so that thou must throw off all thy head-dresses, and uncover thy locks.” When they were driven from one place to another, at the capricious humours of their masters, they must be forced to wade up to the middle through the waters, to make bare the leg and uncover the thigh, that they might pass over the rivers, which would be a great mortification to those that used to ride in state. But let them not complain, for just thus they had formerly used their captives; and with what measure they then meted it is now measured to them again. Let those that have power use it with temper and moderation, considering that the spoke which is uppermost will be under. 5. All her glory, and all her glorying, are gone. Instead of glory, she has ignominy (Isaiah 47:3): Thy nakedness shall be uncovered and thy shame shall be seen, according to the base and barbarous usage they commonly gave their captives, to whom, for covetousness of their clothes, they did not leave rags sufficient to cover their nakedness, so void were they of the modesty as well as of the pity due to the human nature. Instead of glorying she sits silently, and gets into darkness (Isaiah 47:5), ashamed to show her face, for she has quite lost her credit and shall no more be called the lady of kingdoms. Note, God can make those sit silently that used to make the greatest noise in the world, and send those into darkness that used to make the greatest figure. Let him that glories, therefore, glory in a God that changes not, and not in any worldly wealth, pleasure, or honour, which are subject to change.

John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

Isaiah 47:1

Down — From thy throne. Virgin — So, called, because she was tender and delicate. No throne — For thee. The empire is taken from thee, and translated to the Persians. Called — Be so.

Geneva Bible Translation Notes

Isaiah 47:1

Come down, and sit in the dust, O (a) virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: [there is] no (b) throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

(a) Which has lived in wealth and wantonness and has not yet been overcome by any enemies.

(b) Your government will be taken from you.

Cross-Reference Topical ResearchStrong's Concordance
down:

Isaiah 3:26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she [being] desolate shall sit upon the ground.
Isaiah 26:5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, [even] to the ground; he bringeth it [even] to the dust.
Isaiah 52:2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, [and] sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
Job 2:8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
Job 2:13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that [his] grief was very great.
Psalms 18:27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
Jeremiah 13:18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, [even] the crown of your glory.
Jeremiah 48:18 Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from [thy] glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, [and] he shall destroy thy strong holds.
Lamentations 2:10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, [and] keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.
Lamentations 2:21 The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain [them] in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, [and] not pitied.
Ezekiel 26:16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at [every] moment, and be astonished at thee.
Ezekiel 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Obadiah 1:3-4 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation [is] high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? ... Though thou exalt [thyself] as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
Jonah 3:6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered [him] with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

O virgin:

Isaiah 37:22 This [is] the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, [and] laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
Jeremiah 46:11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; [for] thou shalt not be cured.

daughter:

Psalms 137:8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy [shall he be], that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
Jeremiah 50:42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they [are] cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, [every one] put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:33 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon [is] like a threshingfloor, [it is] time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
Zechariah 2:7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest [with] the daughter of Babylon.

there is:

Isaiah 14:13-14 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: ... I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Psalms 89:44 Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.
Haggai 2:22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

thou shalt:

Isaiah 47:7-9 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. ... 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.
Isaiah 32:9-11 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. ... Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird [sackcloth] upon [your] loins.
Deuteronomy 28:56-57 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, ... And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all [things] secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
Lamentations 4:5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.
Revelation 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
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Chain-Reference Bible SearchCross References with Concordance

Dt 28:56. Jb 2:8, 13. Ps 18:27; 89:44; 137:8. Is 3:26; 14:13; 26:5; 32:9; 37:22; 47:7; 52:2. Jr 13:18; 46:11; 48:18; 50:42; 51:33. Lm 2:10, 21; 4:5. Ezk 26:16; 28:17. Ob 1:3. Jna 3:6. Hg 2:22. Zc 2:7. Rv 18:7.

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