Isaiah 47:3

"Take the millstones and grind flour. Remove your veil, lift up your skirt, uncover your legs, and wade through the rivers."

Key Reflection

In the context of Isaiah 47:3, the prophet is issuing a vivid oracle against Babylon, challenging its queen to prepare for destruction by adopting the laborious and humiliating tasks typically done by captives or slaves. By instructing her to grind flour with millstones, remove her veil, lift up her skirt, uncover her legs, and wade through rivers, Isaiah depicts a scene of degrading servitude that Babylon would experience as divine retribution for its arrogance and oppression. This imagery contrasts sharply with the queen's former opulence and power, illustrating the devastating impact of divine judgment in a way that would be both shocking and memorable to the original audience.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Thy nakedness -This denotes the abject condition to which the city would be reduced. All its pride would be taken away; and it would be brought to such a state as to fill its inhabitants with the deepest mortification and shame. Vitringa supposes that it means, that all the imbecility and weakness; the vileness; the real poverty; the cruelty and injustice of Babylon, would be exposed. But it more probably means, that it would be reduced to the deepest ignominy. No language could more forcibly express the depths of its shame and disgrace than that which the prophet here uses. I will take vengeance -This expresses literally what had been before expressed in a figurative manner.

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