Isaiah 47

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 47:7

And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever ,.... That her monarchy would continue in a succession of kings, that should rule over all nations to the end of the world. So mystical Babylon, when near her ruin, will say, "I sit a queen----and shall see no sorrow", Revelation 18:7 , so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart ; neither the sins she had been guilty of, particularly in acting the cruel part towards the people of God; nor the evils foretold should come upon her;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 47:8

Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures ,.... To carnal lusts and pleasures; gratifying her sensual appetite; indulging herself in everything that was agreeable to the senses; abounding in delicacies, and living deliciously; as is said of mystical Babylon, Revelation 18:4 , particularly given to venereal pleasures. Curtius says F7 Hist. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 1. , "no city was more corrupt in its manners, or furnished to irritate or allure to immoderate pleasures.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 47:9

But these two things shall come to thee in a moment on one day ,.... Suddenly, at once, at one and the same time. The destruction of Babylon was very sudden; the city was taken by surprise, before the inhabitants were aware of it, while the king and his nobles were regaling themselves at a feast; that very night Belshazzar was slain, and Darius the Mede took the kingdom, Daniel 5:30 and so those two things she boasted of would never be her lot came upon her together and at once: "the loss... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 47:10

For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness ,.... In wealth and power wickedly obtained; in political schemes wickedly contrived; in her ambition and pride, tyranny and cruelty; and especially in her wicked arts of astrology, divination, and magic: thou hast said, none seeth me ; lay her schemes of policy, which she thought so deeply laid, as not to be discovered; perform her magic arts, which were secretly done, and other her wicked actions done in the dark; but nothing can be hid from the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 47:11

Therefore shall evil come upon thee ,.... The evil of punishment, a great calamity; so Nebuchadnezzar foretold, as Abydenus relates F15 Ib. c. 41. p. 456. , that συμφορη , a calamity, should come upon the Babylonians; a day of evil, because of the above sins Babylon was guilty of: thou shall not know from whence it riseth ; from what quarter it will come, little dreaming of Cyrus, with whom the Chaldeans had had no quarrel. So mystical Babylon will not know from whence her ruin... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 47:12

Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries ,.... An ironic expression, deriding those evil arts, bidding defiance to them, calling upon the masters of them to do their utmost by them: wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth ; from the infancy of their state; as soon as their monarchy was founded, or they became a people, they were given to these practices, and were famous for them; and in which, no doubt, many among them were brought up from their youth;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 47:13

Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels ,.... Taken of astrologers, diviners, and soothsayers; who were never able to give any satisfactory answers to questions put to them, or to give good advice in cases of emergency; as appears from Nebuchadnezzar's consultation with them about his dream; and Belshazzar's about the handwriting upon the wall, which was the very night that the city was taken, Daniel 2:2 , let now the astrologers ; or, "viewers of the heavens" F19 הוברי ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 47:14

Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them ,.... That is, these astrologers and diviners shall be like stubble; weak as that, as the Targum; they shall be no more able to stand before the fire of divine wrath, or before the judgments of God, by the hands of the Medes and Persians, than stubble can stand before a consuming fire: they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame ; from those dreadful calamities that shall come upon them like flames of fire; and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 47:15

Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured ,.... In training them up in those arts, and in consulting with them in cases of difficulty; in which they were of no service, and now in time of danger as useless as stubble, or a blaze of straw: even thy merchants from thy youth ; either the above astrologers and diviners, who had been with them from the beginning of their state; and who had made merchandise of them, and were become rich as merchants by telling fortunes, and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 47

The destruction of Babylon is denounced by a beautiful selection of circumstances, in which her prosperous is contrasted with her adverse condition. She is represented as a tender and delicate female reduced to the work and abject condition of a slave, and bereaved of every consolation, Isaiah 47:1-4 . And that on account of her cruelty, particularly to God's people, her pride, voluptuousness, sorceries, and incantations, Isaiah 47:5-11 . The folly of these last practices elegantly exposed... read more

Group of Brands