1“Come down and sit in the dust, virgin daughter Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans. For you will no longer be called tender and delicate.
2Take the millstones and grind flour. Take off your veil, lift up your skirt, uncover your legs, and wade through the rivers.
3Your nakedness will be exposed. Yes, your shame will be seen. I will take revenge, and I will not spare anyone.”
4Our Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies is his name, is the Holy One of Israel.
5“Sit in silence and go into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans. For you will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms.
6I was angry with my people. I let my inheritance be disgraced and gave them into your hand. You showed them no mercy. You placed a very heavy burden on the elderly.
7You said, ‘I will be a queen forever’; so you did not take these things to heart, nor did you remember the outcome.
8“Now therefore listen to this, you who love pleasures, who sit securely, who say to yourselves, ‘I am supreme, and there is no one else besides me. I will not live as a widow, nor will I know the loss of children.’
9But these two things will happen to you suddenly in one day: the loss of children and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, despite your many sorceries and your great amount of magic spells.
10For you trusted in your wickedness. You said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and your knowledge have led you astray. You have said to yourself, ‘I am supreme, and there is no one else besides me.’
11Therefore, disaster will come upon you. You won’t know when it will dawn. Trouble will fall on you. You won’t be able to get rid of it. Ruin will come upon you suddenly, which you don’t understand.
12Go ahead and stand with your spells and your many magic charms, which you’ve worked on since you were young. Maybe they’ll help you; maybe they’ll make you strong.
13You are tired from your many plans. Let your astrologers, stargazers, and those who predict the future each month stand up and save you from what is coming.
14Look, they're like straw. The fire will burn them up. They won't be able to save themselves from the power of the flames. It won't be a warm coal to sit by, nor a fire to enjoy.
15This is what will become of those you’ve worked with: those who have traded with you since you were young will all go their separate ways. No one will be left to save you.