רְדִי וּשְׁבִי עַל עָפָר בְּתוּלַת בַּת בָּבֶל שְׁבִי לָאָרֶץ אֵין כִּסֵּא בַּת כַּשְׂדִּים כִּי לֹא תוֹסִיפִי יִקְרְאוּ לָךְ רַכָּה וַעֲנֻגָּה

God addresses Babylon, which will suffer comprehensive destruction: Go down and sit on the dust, virgin daughter, nation, of Babylon; sit on the ground like a maidservant or a mourner, as you are without a chair, a monarchy, daughter of Chaldeans, the Babylonians; for you will no longer be called tender and delicate.

קְחִי רֵחַיִם וְטַחֲנִי קָמַח גַּלִּי צַמָּתֵךְ חֶשְׂפִּי שֹׁבֶל גַּלִּי שׁוֹק עִבְרִי נְהָרוֹת

Take a millstone and grind flour. Engage in the degrading, difficult duties of a maidservant. Reveal your braid, or your strand of hair that falls on your forehead or temples. Since this hair is generally kept covered, its exposure causes you public shame. Expose a hem of your garment, reveal a thigh, like one who wishes to walk through water, and cross rivers. Babylon is here depicted as a woman so poor that she cannot even dress appropriately, and accordingly her appearance is disgraceful.

תִּגָּל עֶרְוָתֵךְ גַּם תֵּרָאֶה חֶרְפָּתֵךְ נָקָם אֶקָּח וְלֹא אֶפְגַּע אָדָם

Your nakedness will thereby be revealed; also your shame will be seen; I will take vengeance and I will not harm any person. No blood will be spilled. Alternatively, I will encounter no person, or listen to anyone.

גֹּאֲלֵנוּ ה' צְבָאוֹת שְׁמוֹ קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל

In response to God’s statement about the destruction of Babylon, the prophet declares: Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, Holy One of Israel. He controls the battles between nations, and through the defeat of Babylon He redeems Israel.

שְׁבִי דוּמָם וּבֹאִי בַחֹשֶׁךְ בַּת כַּשְׂדִּים כִּי לֹא תוֹסִיפִי יִקְרְאוּ לָךְ גְּבֶרֶת מַמְלָכוֹת

The prophet continues to describe the fall of Babylon and the reasons for this important event from the perspective of Israel: Sit silent and come into the darkness, daughter of Chaldeans, for you will no longer be called mistress of kingdoms. You will cease to be a superpower, but will once again revert to the status of a small and neglected place.

קָצַפְתִּי עַל עַמִּי חִלַּלְתִּי נַחֲלָתִי וָאֶתְּנֵם בְּיָדֵךְ לֹא שַׂמְתְּ לָהֶם רַחֲמִים עַל זָקֵן הִכְבַּדְתְּ עֻלֵּךְ מְאֹד

I was angry with My people, Israel, I desecrated My inheritance and gave them into your hand. I delivered the land of Judah to your dominion, but for your part you did not show them any mercy; you set your yoke even upon the aged very heavily.

וַתֹּאמְרִי לְעוֹלָם אֶהְיֶה גְבָרֶת עַד לֹא שַׂמְתְּ אֵלֶּה עַל לִבֵּךְ לֹא זָכַרְתְּ אַחֲרִיתָהּ

You said: Forever I will be mistress, a kingdom that reigns over others, until you did not take these words to heart, you did not remember its, God’s punishment’s end.You disregarded the historical tendency for kingdoms to rise and fall.

וְעַתָּה שִׁמְעִי זֹאת עֲדִינָה הַיּוֹשֶׁבֶת לָבֶטַח הָאֹמְרָה בִּלְבָבָהּ אֲנִי וְאַפְסִי עוֹד לֹא אֵשֵׁב אַלְמָנָה וְלֹא אֵדַע שְׁכוֹל

And now, hear this, delicate one, who sits in security, who says in her heart: It is I, and there is none like me; therefore, I will not sit as a widow and I will not know bereavement. Like a noblewoman who lives in the lap of luxury and feels that the entire world is under her control, Babylon, the capital city of an empire steeped in a rich heritage, held itself in great esteem, so to speak, and was complacent, falsely assuming that no tragedy could befall it.

וְתָבֹאנָה לָּךְ שְׁתֵּי אֵלֶּה רֶגַע בְּיוֹם אֶחָד – שְׁכוֹל וְאַלְמֹן כְּתֻמָּם בָּאוּ עָלַיִךְ ברֹב כְּשָׁפַיִךְ בְּעָצְמַת חֲבָרַיִךְ מְאֹד

These two things will come to you in a moment on one day: bereavement and widowhood. When Cyrus came to Babylon, he was initially friendly and did not seek to destroy it, but Babylon ultimately forfeited everything: its political power, influence, and independence. In their completeness they will come to you, for, because of, the abundance of your sorceries and the great intensity of your enchantments, your reliance on sorcery.

וַתִּבְטְחִי בְרָעָתֵךְ אָמַרְתְּ אֵין רֹאָנִי חָכְמָתֵךְ וְדַעְתֵּךְ הִיא שׁוֹבְבָתֶךְ וַתֹּאמְרִי בְלִבֵּךְ אֲנִי וְאַפְסִי עוֹד

You relied on your evildoing; you said: No one sees me; your wisdom and your knowledge of idolatry and sorcery are your defiance, they made you defiant by giving you the impression that you have supernatural powers, and you said in your heart at the peak of your success: It is I, and there is none like me.

וּבָא עָלַיִךְ רָעָה לֹא תֵדְעִי שַׁחְרָהּ וְתִפֹּל עָלַיִךְ הֹוָה לֹא תוּכְלִי כַּפְּרָהּ וְתָבֹא עָלַיִךְ פִּתְאֹם שׁוֹאָה לֹא תֵדָעִי

Evil will come upon you, you will not know its meaning [shah·], how to explain it. Here in the verse, the term shaḥra, which would usually be translated as “its sunrise,” refers to clarity. Alternatively, it means: You will not know how to confront it. And calamity will befall you, you will not be able to remove it; ruin will come upon you suddenly, you will not know.You will be utterly unprepared for your downfall.

עִמְדִי נָא בחֲבָרַיִךְ וּבְרֹב כְּשָׁפַיִךְ בּאֲשֶׁר יָגַעַתְּ מִנְּעוּרָיִךְ אוּלַי תּוּכְלִי הוֹעִיל אוּלַי תַּעֲרוֹצִי

Try to stand now with your enchantments and with the abundance of your sorceries, with which you have labored from your youth, throughout your existence; perhaps they will be able to avail you, perhaps you will grow strong (see commentary on 29:20).

נִלְאֵית בְּרֹב עֲצָתָיִךְ יַעַמְדוּ נָא וְיוֹשִׁיעֻךְ הֹבְרֵי שָׁמַיִם הַחֹזִים בַּכּוֹכָבִים מוֹדִיעִם לֶחֳדָשִׁים מֵאֲשֶׁר יָבֹאוּ עָלָיִךְ

You are wearied in your many schemes. Many generations prior to Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon was a large and powerful city. Over the course of time it declined, then once again became an empire during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. The prophet mocks the Babylonians’ use of their generations-long knowledge of sorcery to regain world dominion. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, who pretend they can discern the future from the new moon, stand up and save you from that which will come upon you.

הִנֵּה הָיוּ כְקַשׁ אֵשׁ שְׂרָפָתַם לֹא יַצִּילוּ אֶת נַפְשָׁם מִיַּד לֶהָבָה אֵין גַּחֶלֶת לַחְמָם אוּר לָשֶׁבֶת נֶגְדּוֹ

Behold, they became like straw, fire burned them; they will not deliver themselves from the grasp of the flame. They will be unable to predict their own downfall. There is no ember to bake their bread or a fire to sit before it. The fire will burn itself out, leaving nothing behind.

כֵּן הָיוּ לָךְ אֲשֶׁר יָגָעַתְּ סֹחֲרַיִךְ מִנְּעוּרַיִךְ אִישׁ לְעֶבְרוֹ תָּעוּ אֵין מוֹשִׁיעֵךְ

So you had those, the peoples with whom you labored, to acquire their alliance or business partnership, the merchants from your youth; each has strayed in his own direction; each shall depart on his way; there is no one to save you.