New International Version
Isaiah 47:1
1“Go down, sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, queen city of the Babylonians. No more will you be called tender or delicate.
Isaiah 47:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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 Standard Version (ESV)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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Come down, virgin daughter of Babylon, and sit in the dust. For your days of sitting on a throne have ended. O daughter of Babylonia, never again will you be the lovely princess, tender and delicate.
Context of Isaiah 47:1
“Go down, sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, queen city of the Babylonians. No more will you be called tender or delicate. 2Take millstones and grind flour; take off your veil. Lift up your skirts, bare your legs, and wade through the streams. 3Your nakedness will be exposed and your shame uncovered. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”
Read all of Isaiah 47Isaiah 47:1 word by word
רְדִ֣י׀ וּשְׁבִ֣י עַל־עָפָ֗ר בְּתוּלַת֙ בַּת־בָּבֶ֔ל שְׁבִי־לָאָ֥רֶץ אֵין־כִּסֵּ֖א בַּת־כַּשְׂדִּ֑ים כִּ֣י לֹ֤א תוֹסִ֙יפִי֙ יִקְרְאוּ־לָ֔ךְ רַכָּ֖ה וַעֲנֻגָּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Come downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
- and sitיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- in the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
- O virginבְּתוּלָהbethûlâh · virginH1330
- daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- of Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶלbâbel · BabylonH894
- on the groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
- no throneכִּסֵּאkissê' kissêh · throneH3678
- of the Chaldeansכַּשְׂדִּיםkaώdîy kaώdîymâh · ChaldeaH3778
- for thou shalt no moreיָסַףyâsaph · to add: againH3254
- be calledקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121
- tenderרַךְrak · tenderH7390
- and delicateעָנֹג‛ânôg · daintyH6028
Cross-references for Isaiah 47:1
- Isaiah 3:26The gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.
- Isaiah 26:5He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust.
- Isaiah 52:2Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive.
- Job 2:8Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
- Psalms 18:27You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
- Jeremiah 13:18Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Come down from your thrones, for your glorious crowns will fall from your heads.”
- Jeremiah 48:18“Come down from your glory and sit on the parched ground, you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon, for the one who destroys Moab will come up against you and ruin your fortified cities.
- Lamentations 2:10The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have sprinkled dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.
- Ezekiel 26:16Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you.
- Ezekiel 28:17Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.
- Jonah 3:6When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.
- Isaiah 37:22this is the word the Lord has spoken against him: “Virgin Daughter Zion despises and mocks you. Daughter Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee.
- Jeremiah 46:11“Go up to Gilead and get balm, Virgin Daughter Egypt. But you try many medicines in vain; there is no healing for you.
- Psalms 137:8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us.
- Jeremiah 50:42They are armed with bows and spears; they are cruel and without mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Babylon.
- Jeremiah 51:33This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled; the time to harvest her will soon come.”
Commentaries on Isaiah 47:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Come down, and set in the dust "Descend, and sit on the dust" - See note on Isaiah 3:26, and on Isaiah 52:2; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Come down - Descend from the throne; or from the seat of magnificence and power. The design of this verse has already been stated in the analysis. It is to foretell that Babylon would be humbled, and that she would be reduced from her magnificence and pride to a condition of abject wretchedness. She is therefore represented as a proud female accustomed to luxury and ease, suddenly brought to the lowest condition, and compelled to perform the most menial…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1God's judgments on Babylon. (Is. 47:1-6) Carelessness and confidence shall not prevent the evil. (Is. 47:7-15) Verses 1-6 Babylon is represented under the emblem of a female in deep distress. She was to be degraded and endure sufferings; and is represented sitting on the ground, grinding at the handmill, the lowest and most laborious service. God was righteous in his vengeance, and none should interpose. The prophet exults in the Lord of hosts, as the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1To sit in the dust was a way of expressing humiliation.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-151. in the dust--(See on Is 3:26; Job 2:13; La 2:10). virgin--that is, heretofore uncaptured [Herodotus, 1.191]. daughter of Babylon--Babylon and its inhabitants (see on Is 1:8; Is 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…Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 47
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries