Isaiah 47:8
in Isaiah 47So now hear this, O lover of luxury who sits securely, who says to herself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or know the loss of children.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now therefore hear this, thou that art given to pleasures, that sittest securely, that sayest in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:
KJV
Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:
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This verse in Isaiah 47
Commentary
12 notes on this verseTherefore 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, Rev 18:4, particularly given to venereal pleasures. Curtius says (g), "no city was more corrupt in its manners, or furnished to irritate or allure to immoderate pleasures.
This site's exposition
O lover of luxury who sits securely
on Isaiah 47:8-11
Twice she claims what the LORD says in the chapters around it, “I am, and there is none besides me”. The two losses, “loss of children, and widowhood”, come “in a moment, in a single day”. Verse 10 names the cause, “Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 8, onwards) And now listen to this, you delicate and confident one, who says in your heart: I am, and there is no one besides me; I will not sit as a widow, nor will I know the loss of children. But suddenly these two things will come upon you in one day: widowhood and loss of children. They have come upon you in their entirety because of the multitude of your sorceries and the great abundance of your enchantments. And you have trusted in your wickedness, and you have said: There is no one who sees me.
Thinking that you would prove to be better than the Persians, you said, "I am and there is no other," and you were encouraged by the oracles of demons and astrologers. And you called on a hope that was fornication and that was far removed …
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he sets out the frustration of their hope: and now hear; I shall not sit as a widow, through the deprivation of my kingdom; barrenness, that is, the loss of the people who were born in me.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is presumption to say of any creature, "It is, and there is not its like, there is none besides it" (for creatures stand very nearly upon a level with one another); but it is insufferable arrogance for any to say so of themselves, and an evidence of their self-ignorance.
Virgin - So, called, because she was tender and delicate. The empire is taken from thee, and translated to the Persians. Millstones - Thou shalt be brought to the basest slavery, which grinding at the mill was esteemed.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
I am - Independent, and self-sufficient. None - Which is not either subject to me, or far inferior to me in power and glory. Shall not sit - I shall never want either a king or people to defend me.
It was the ruin of Jerusalem ( Lam. i. 9 ) that she remembered not her last end, therefore she came down wonderfully; and it was Babylon's ruin too. The children of men are easy, and think themselves safe, in their sinful ways, only because they never think of death, and judgment, and their future state.
She was as confident of the continuance of the numbers of her people as of the dignity of her prince, and had no fear of being either deposed or depopulated. Those that are in the height of prosperity are apt to fancy themselves out of the reach of adverse fate. (3.) " No one sees me when I do amiss, and therefore there will be none to call me to an account,"
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Therefore hear now this - The prophet proceeds, in this verse and the following, to detail more particularly the sins of Babylon, and to state the certainty of the punishment which would come upon her. In the previous verses, the denunciation of punishment had been figurative. It had been represented under the image of a lady delicately trained and nurtured, doomed to the lowest condition of life, and compelled to stoop to the most menial offices. Here the prophet uses language without figure, and states directly her crimes, and her doom.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
I am . . . none . . . beside me-- (Isa 47:10). Language of arrogance in man's mouth; fitting for God alone (Isa 45:6). See Isa 5:8, latter part. widow . . . loss of children--A state, represented as a female, when it has fallen is called a widow, because its king is no more; and childless, because it has no inhabitants; they having been carried off as captives (Isa 23:4;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֞ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| שִׁמְעִי־ | shimi- | listen to | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| זֹ֤את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| עֲדִינָה֙ | ʾadinah | O voluptuous [woman] | H5719 → | |
| הַיּוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת | haiyoshevet | who dwells | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| לָבֶ֔טַח | lavetach | to security | H983 → | 42 times |
| הָאֹֽמְרָה֙ | haomerah | who says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בִּלְבָ֔בָהּ | bilvavah | in heart her | H3824 → | 252 times |
| אֲנִ֖י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| וְאַפְסִ֣י | veafsi | and only I | H657 → | 44 times |
| ע֑וֹד | od | [am] yet | H5750 → | 490 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֵשֵׁב֙ | ʾeshev | I will live | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אַלְמָנָ֔ה | ʾalmanah | a widow | H490 → | 56 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֵדַ֖ע | ʾeda' | I will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| שְׁכֽוֹל׃ | shekhol | childlessness | H7908 → |
וְעַתָּ֞הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
שִׁמְעִי־listen to
shimi-H8085 →1159 times
זֹ֤אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
עֲדִינָה֙O voluptuous [woman]
ʾadinahH5719 →
הַיּוֹשֶׁ֣בֶתwho dwells
haiyoshevetH3427 →1079 times
לָבֶ֔טַחto security
lavetachH983 →42 times
הָאֹֽמְרָה֙who says
haomerahH559 →5305 times
בִּלְבָ֔בָהּin heart her
bilvavahH3824 →252 times
אֲנִ֖יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
וְאַפְסִ֣יand only I
veafsiH657 →44 times
ע֑וֹד[am] yet
odH5750 →490 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֵשֵׁב֙I will live
ʾeshevH3427 →1079 times
אַלְמָנָ֔הa widow
ʾalmanahH490 →56 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
אֵדַ֖עI will know
ʾeda'H3045 →945 times
שְׁכֽוֹל׃childlessness
shekholH7908 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 47:10You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray; you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:21
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
- Romans 1:22
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,
- Isaiah 29:15
Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
- Psalms 52:7
“Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
- Ezekiel 8:12
“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are…
- Isaiah 5:21
Through
Isaiah 32:9Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Give ear to my word, you overconfident daughters.
it leads to
- Matthew 13:9
He who has ears, let him hear.”
- Isaiah 3:16
The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles—
- Isaiah 28:23
Listen and hear my voice. Pay attention and hear what I say.
- Matthew 13:9
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Procopius of Gaza, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 47:1-15 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.