1 Come downe and sit in the dust: O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Caldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
2 Take the milstones and grinde meale, vncouer thy lockes: make bare the legge: vncouer the thigh, passe ouer the riuers.
3 Thy nakednes shalbe vncouered, yea thy shame shalbe seene: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
4 As for our redeemer, the Lord of hostes is his Name, the Holy one of Israel.
5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darknes, O daughter of the Caldeans: for thou shalt no more be called the Ladie of kingdomes.
6 ¶ I was wroth with my people: I haue polluted mine inheritance, and giuen them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; vpon the ancient hast thou very heauily layed the yoke.
7 ¶ And thou saydst, I shall bee a Ladie for euer: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the later end of it.
8 Therefore heare now this, thou that art giuen to pleasures, that dwellest carelesly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else besides mee, I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the losse of children.
9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day; the losse of children, and widowhood; they shall come vpon thee in their perfection, for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine inchantments.
10 ¶ For thou hast trusted in thy wickednesse: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisedome and thy knowledge, it hath peruerted thee, and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else besides me.
11 ¶ Therefore shall euill come vpon thee, thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischiefe shall fall vpon thee, thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come vpon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
12 Stand now with thine inchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profite, if so be thou mayest preuaile.
13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the astrologers, the starre-gazers, the monethly prognosticators stand vp, and saue thee from these things that shall come vpon thee.
14 Behold, they shall be as stubble: the fire shall burne them, they shall not deliuer themselues from the power of the flame: there shall not bee a coale to warme at, nor fire to sit before it.
15 Thus shal they be vnto thee with whom thou hast laboured, euen thy merchants from thy youth, they shall wander euery one to his quarter: none shall saue thee.
God's judgments on Babylon. (1-6) Carelessness and confidence shall not prevent the evil. (7-15)1-6 Babylon is represented under the emblem of a female in deep distress. She was to be degraded and endure sufferings; and is represented sitting on the ground, grinding at the handmill, the lowest and most laborious service. God was righteous in his vengeance, and none should interpose. The prophet exults in the Lord of hosts, as the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel. God often permits wicked men to prevail against his people; but those who cruelly oppress them will be punished.
7-15 Let us beware of acting and speaking as Babylon did; of trusting in tyranny and oppression; of boasting as to our abilities, relying on ourselves, and ascribing success to our own prudence and wisdom; lest we partake of her plagues. Those in the height of prosperity, are apt to fancy themselves out of the reach of adversity. It is also common for sinners to think they shall be safe, because they think to be secret in wicked ways. But their security shall be their ruin. Let us draw from such passages as the foregoing, those lessons of humility and trust in God which they convey. If we believe the word of God, we may know how it will be with the righteous and the wicked to all eternity. We may learn how to escape the wrath to come, to glorify God, to have peace through life, hope in death, and everlasting happiness. Let us then stand aloof from all delusions.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.