The Meaning of Isaiah 47:1 Explained

Isaiah 47:1

KJV: Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

YLT: Come down, and sit on the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, Sit on the earth, there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For no more do they cry to thee, 'O tender and delicate one.'

Darby: Come down and sit in the dust, virgin-daughter of Babylon! Sit on the ground, there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.

ASV: Come 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Come down,  and sit  in the dust,  O virgin  daughter  of Babylon,  sit  on the ground:  [there is] no throne,  O daughter  of the Chaldeans:  for thou shalt no more  be called  tender  and delicate. 

What does Isaiah 47:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God depicted Babylon here as a rather prissy virgin. The city, representing the kingdom of Babylon, had, like a virgin, thus far not experienced the breaching of her walls by invaders. The Lord summoned her to sit on the ground, rather than on the throne that she intended to occupy. Sitting in the dust was an act that depicted great mourning (cf. Jonah 3:6). She thought that she would be a queen, but in reality she would become a common, even a humiliated, beggar. Other peoples had regarded her as superior, but she would no longer be that. The Chaldeans were the residents of southern Mesopotamia, who had been the leaders in throwing off Assyrian dominance, and had provided the leadership for Neo-Babylonia.

Context Summary

Isaiah 47:1-15 - The Penalty Of Trusting In Wickedness
Babylon dwelt in careless security. She was given to pleasures, Isaiah 47:8; and said in her heart that her vast crowd of astrologers, magicians, and priests, would certainly warn her of impending evil and deliver her. But nothing could be more absolute than her fall. For centuries she has been buried under mounds of desolation, while the Hebrew people, whom she so cruelly oppressed, are the monument of God's preserving mercy. The fact is that Babylon exceeded her duty. She was used as Jehovah's chastising rod upon the Hebrews, but she was merciless in the extreme in her behavior and for this excess she suffered. Compare Isaiah 47:6 with Zechariah 1:15.
Notice Isaiah 47:4. The prophet turns from the overthrow of the proud city to remind his people that Babylon's tribulation is due to the redeeming arm of God; and we must never forget that in the midst of her overthrow there was a thread of golden mercy. The loved that brooded over Nineveh must have been there. See Jonah 4:10-11. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 47

1  God's judgment upon Babylon and Chaldea
6  For their unmercifulness
7  Pride
10  And over-boldness
11  Shall be irresistible

What do the individual words in Isaiah 47:1 mean?

Come down and sit in the dust virgin daughter of Babylon Sit on the ground without a throne of the Chaldeans for no more shall be called you Tender and delicate
רְדִ֣י ׀ וּשְׁבִ֣י עַל־ עָפָ֗ר בְּתוּלַת֙ בַּת־ בָּבֶ֔ל שְׁבִי־ לָאָ֥רֶץ אֵין־ כִּסֵּ֖א ! כַּשְׂדִּ֑ים כִּ֣י לֹ֤א תוֹסִ֙יפִי֙ יִקְרְאוּ־ לָ֔ךְ רַכָּ֖ה וַעֲנֻגָּֽה

רְדִ֣י ׀  Come  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
וּשְׁבִ֣י  and  sit 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
עָפָ֗ר  the  dust 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
בְּתוּלַת֙  virgin 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בְּתוּלָה  
Sense: virgin.
בַּת־  daughter 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
בָּבֶ֔ל  of  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
שְׁבִי־  Sit 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
לָאָ֥רֶץ  on  the  ground 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
אֵין־  without 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
כִּסֵּ֖א  a  throne 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: כִּסֵּא 
Sense: seat (of honour), throne, seat, stool.
! כַּשְׂדִּ֑ים  of  the  Chaldeans 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: כַּשְׂדִּים  
Sense: a territory in lower Mesopotamia bordering on the Persian Gulf.
לֹ֤א  no 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תוֹסִ֙יפִי֙  more 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, second person feminine singular
Root: יָסַף 
Sense: to add, increase, do again.
יִקְרְאוּ־  shall  be  called 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
רַכָּ֖ה  Tender 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: רַךְ  
Sense: tender, soft, delicate, weak.
וַעֲנֻגָּֽה  and  delicate 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: עָנׄג  
Sense: dainty, delicate.