New King James Version
Isaiah 47:8
8“Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, Who dwell securely, Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children’;
Isaiah 47:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:
- New International Version (NIV)“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children":
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Listen to this, you pleasure-loving kingdom, living at ease and feeling secure. You say, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other. I will never be a widow or lose my children.’
Context of Isaiah 47:8
6I was angry with My people; I have profaned My inheritance, And given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily. 7And 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. “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, Who dwell securely, Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children’; 9But these two things shall come to you In a moment, in one day: The loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness Because of the multitude of your sorceries, For the great abundance of your enchantments. 10“For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one sees me’; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’
Read all of Isaiah 47Isaiah 47:8 word by word
וְעַתָּ֞ה שִׁמְעִי־זֹ֤את עֲדִינָה֙ הַיּוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת לָבֶ֔טַח הָאֹֽמְרָה֙ בִּלְבָ֔בָהּ אֲנִ֖י וְאַפְסִ֣י ע֑וֹד לֹ֤א אֵשֵׁב֙ אַלְמָנָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א אֵדַ֖ע שְׁכֽוֹל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Therefore hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- given to pleasuresעָדִין‛âdîyn · voluptuousH5719
- that dwellestיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- carelesslyבֶּ֫טַחbeţach · securityH983
- that sayestאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- in thine heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
- and none elseאֶ֫פֶס'ephes · endH657
- a widowאַלְמָנָה'almânâh · widowH490
- neither shall I knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- the loss of childrenשְׁכוֹלshekôl · bereavementH7908
Cross-references for Isaiah 47:8
- Isaiah 21:4My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me; The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
- Isaiah 22:12And in that day the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
- Isaiah 32:9Rise up, you women who are at ease, Hear my voice; You complacent daughters, Give ear to my speech.
- Judges 18:7So the five men departed and went to Laish. They saw the people who were there, how they dwelt safely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure. There were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything. They were far from the Sidonians, and they had no ties with anyone.
- Jeremiah 50:11“Because you were glad, because you rejoiced, You destroyers of My heritage, Because you have grown fat like a heifer threshing grain, And you bellow like bulls,
- Daniel 5:1Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand.
- Zephaniah 2:15This is the rejoicing city That dwelt securely, That said in her heart, “I am it, and there is none besides me.” How has she become a desolation, A place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her Shall hiss and shake his fist.
- Revelation 18:3For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”
- Isaiah 47:10“For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one sees me’; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’
- Jeremiah 50:31“Behold, I am against you, O most haughty one!” says the Lord God of hosts; “For your day has come, The time that I will punish you.
- Jeremiah 51:53Though Babylon were to mount up to heaven, And though she were to fortify the height of her strength, Yet from Me plunderers would come to her,” says the Lord.
- Daniel 4:22it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth.
- Daniel 5:23And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.
- Daniel 11:36“Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.
- Habakkuk 2:5“Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, He is a proud man, And he does not stay at home. Because he enlarges his desire as hell, And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, He gathers to himself all nations And heaps up for himself all peoples.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Commentaries on Isaiah 47:8
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Therefore hear now this - The prophet proceeds, in this verse and the following, to detail more particularly the sins of Babylon, and to state the certainty of the punishment which would come upon her. In the previous verses, the denunciation of punishment had been figurative. It had been represented under the image of a lady delicately trained and nurtured, doomed to the lowest condition of life, and compelled to stoop to the most menial offices. Here…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-15Verses 7-15 Let us beware of acting and speaking as Babylon did; of trusting in tyranny and oppression; of boasting as to our abilities, relying on ourselves, and ascribing success to our own prudence and wisdom; lest we partake of her plagues. Those in the height of prosperity, are apt to fancy themselves out of the reach of adversity. It is also common for sinners to think they shall be safe, because they think to be secret in wicked ways. But their…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8I am, and there is none besides me: This was a claim to divinity (compare Isaiah 45:5; 47:10). Only the Lord can make such a claim. It is extremely arrogant for any created thing, including a nation, to say this. Being a widow or losing one's children was considered a disgrace.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. given to pleasures--(See on Is 47:1). In no city were there so many incentives to licentiousness. I am ... none ... beside me--(Is 47:10). Language of arrogance in man's mouth; fitting for God alone (Is 45:6). See Is 5:8, latter part. widow ... loss of children--A state, represented as a female, when it has fallen is called a widow, because its king is no more; and childless, because it has no inhabitants; they having been carried off as captives (Is…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 47:8
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries