1Come 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 . 2Take the millstones , and grind meal ; remove thy veil , strip off the train, uncover the leg , pass through the rivers . 3Thy nakedness shall be uncovered , yea , thy shame shall be seen : I will take vengeance , and will spare no man . 4Our Redeemer , Jehovah of hosts is his name , the Holy One of Israel . 5Sit thou silent , and get thee into darkness , O daughter of the Chaldeans ; for thou shalt no more be called The mistress of kingdoms .
The Reason for Judgment
6I was wroth with my people , I profaned mine inheritance , and gave them into thy hand : thou didst show them no mercy ; upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke . 7And thou saidst, I shall be mistress for ever ; so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart , neither didst remember the latter end thereof. 8Now therefore hear this , thou that art given to pleasures , that sittest securely, that sayest in thy heart , I am, and there is none else besides me ; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children : 9but these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day , the loss of children , and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come upon thee, in the multitude of thy sorceries , and the great abundance of thine enchantments . 10For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness ; thou hast said, None seeth me ; thy wisdom and thy knowledge , it hath perverted thee , and thou hast said in thy heart , I am, and there is none else besides me . 11Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know the dawning thereof: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it away : and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly , which thou knowest not .
The Sorcery and Idolatry of Babylon
12Stand now with thine enchantments , and with the multitude of thy sorceries , wherein thou hast labored from thy youth ; if so be thou shalt be able to profit , if so be thou mayest prevail . 13Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels : let now the astrologers , the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators , stand up , and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee . 14Behold , 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 warm at , nor a fire to sit before . 15Thus shall the things be unto thee wherein thou hast labored : they that have trafficked with thee from thy youth shall wander every one to his quarter ; there shall be none to save thee.