Isaiah 47

47:1–48:22 Two conclusions can be drawn from the preceding evidence that the Lord alone is God: (1) Babylon’s great pride is foolishness (47:1-15); (2) Israel needs to pay attention to the word of the Lord (48:1-22).47:1-4 In this taunt against Babylon, the queen of nations is humiliated, forced to work as a servant girl.47:1 To sit in the dust was a way of expressing humiliation.

47:3 God’s vengeance against those who oppose him and those who oppress his people (see 34:8) will bring justice to the world by purging it of wickedness.

47:5-11 Babylon’s confidence and arrogance were well known (see 14:13-17; Dan 4:30). All of this nation’s charms, magic, and wisdom were useless against the disaster decreed for it.

47:6 The people of Israel had provoked God’s wrath, prompting him to use Babylon to punish them. Now wicked Babylon itself would be punished.

47:8 I am the only one, and there is no other: This was a claim to divinity (cp. 45:5; 47:10). Only the Lord can make such a claim. For any created thing, including a nation, to utter this is the height of hubris. • To be a widow or to lose one’s children was a disgrace.

47:9 Witchcraft and magic were commonly used in an attempt to ward off evil and to secure a happy future.

47:10 In this context, ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ probably refer sarcastically to the pseudo-knowledge gained through occult practices, which actually led Babylon away from the truth and into disaster (47:11).

47:12-15 In the face of calamity, Babylon would turn to occult practices for help, but it would not find help.

47:13 Babylon was advanced in astronomy, which the astrologers and stargazers used as a form of divination (see Dan 2:2, 10; 5:7).