New Living Translation
Isaiah 47:8
8“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.’
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 King James Version (NKJV)“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’;
Context of Isaiah 47:8
6For I was angry with my chosen people and punished them by letting them fall into your hands. But you, Babylon, showed them no mercy. You oppressed even the elderly. 7You said, ‘I will reign forever as queen of the world!’ You did not reflect on your actions or think about their consequences. “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.’ 9Well, both these things will come upon you in a moment: widowhood and the loss of your children. Yes, these calamities will come upon you, despite all your witchcraft and magic. 10“You felt secure in your wickedness. ‘No one sees me,’ you said. But your ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ have led you astray, and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.’
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 mind reels and my heart races. I longed for evening to come, but now I am terrified of the dark.
- Isaiah 22:12At that time the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, called you to weep and mourn. He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse.
- Isaiah 32:9Listen, you women who lie around in ease. Listen to me, you who are so smug.
- Judges 18:7So the five men went on to the town of Laish, where they noticed the people living carefree lives, like the Sidonians; they were peaceful and secure. The people were also wealthy because their land was very fertile. And they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby.
- Jeremiah 50:11“You rejoice and are glad, you who plundered my chosen people. You frisk about like a calf in a meadow and neigh like a stallion.
- Daniel 5:1Many years later King Belshazzar gave a great feast for 1,000 of his nobles, and he drank wine with them.
- Zephaniah 2:15This is the boisterous city, once so secure. “I am the greatest!” it boasted. “No other city can compare with me!” But now, look how it has become an utter ruin, a haven for wild animals. Everyone passing by will laugh in derision and shake a defiant fist.
- Revelation 18:3For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of her passionate immorality. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her. Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich.”
- Isaiah 47:10“You felt secure in your wickedness. ‘No one sees me,’ you said. But your ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ have led you astray, and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.’
- Jeremiah 50:31“See, I am your enemy, you arrogant people,” says the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Your day of reckoning has arrived— the day when I will punish you.
- Jeremiah 51:53Though Babylon reaches as high as the heavens and makes her fortifications incredibly strong, I will still send enemies to plunder her. I, the Lord, have spoken!
- Daniel 4:22That tree, Your Majesty, is you. For you have grown strong and great; your greatness reaches up to heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth.
- Daniel 5:23For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!
- Daniel 11:36“The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place.
- Habakkuk 2:5Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself 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
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