1 “ 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.

“Come down and sit in the dust, O pure daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O people of the Babylonians. For you will no longer be called soft and gentle.

2 T ake the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, Take off the skirt, Uncover the thigh, Pass through the rivers.

Take the heavy stones and grind grain. Take off your face-covering and your clothing. Take the covering off your legs, and cross the rivers.

3 Y our nakedness shall be uncovered, Yes, your shame will be seen; I will take vengeance, And I will not arbitrate with a man.”

Your body will not be covered, and your shame will be seen. I will punish, and will not show pity to any man.”

4 A s for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel.

The One Who bought us and saves us, the Lord of All is His name, the Holy One of Israel.

5 “ Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; For you shall no longer be called The Lady of Kingdoms.

“Sit and be quiet, and go into darkness, O people of the Babylonians. For you will no more be called the queen of nations.

6 I 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.

I was angry with My people. I made My chosen nation unclean, and gave them into your hand. You did not show loving-kindness to them. On the older people you made your load very heavy.

7 A nd 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.

You said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’ So you did not think about these things, or remember what might happen.

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’;

“So now hear this, you who love the desires of the body, who live without fear of danger. You say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a woman whose husband has died, and I will not lose my children.’

9 B ut 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.

But these two things will come upon you all at once in one day. You will lose your children and your husband. All this trouble will come to you, even with all your witchcraft and the strong power of your sinful secret ways.

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.’

You trusted in your sin and said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and learning have led you the wrong way, for you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’

11 T herefore evil shall come upon you; You shall not know from where it arises. And trouble shall fall upon you; You will not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, Which you shall not know.

Much trouble will come upon you, and you will not know how to get away from it. Trouble will fall on you, and there will be no way for you to pay that it might go away. You will not know it but all at once you will be destroyed.

12 “ Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, In which you have labored from your youth— Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you will prevail.

“Keep on with your sinful secret ways and all your witchcraft that you have used since you were young. It might be that you will get something from it. Maybe you can cause fear.

13 Y ou are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, And the monthly prognosticators Stand up and save you From what shall come upon you.

You are tired with your many wise men. Now call the star watchers, those who tell by the stars what will happen in the future, those who tell the future by the new moons. Have them stand up and save you from what will come upon you.

14 B ehold, they shall be as stubble, The fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves From the power of the flame; It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, Nor a fire to sit before!

See, they have become like dry grass. Fire burns them. They cannot take themselves away from the power of the fire. This is no fire for making one warm, or fire to sit by!

15 T hus shall they be to you With whom you have labored, Your merchants from your youth; They shall wander each one to his quarter. No one shall save you.

This is how those are to you, with whom you have worked since you were young. Each one has gone on in his own wrong way. There is no one who can save you.