Isaiah 47:1-15

47:1-3 | Babylon is called the virgin daughter, meaning that she was still unconquered. But, the prophet warned, she would be removed from her throne and made to sit in the dust. The language here – stripping her down and revealing her nakedness – depicts great shame to come (Jer. 50-51).

47:8 | There is no one else besides me was an arrogant and blasphemous remark made by Babylon in a claim of divine status. Only God can speak these words.

47:13 | Astrologers believed that the heavens were divided into 12 sections (signs of the zodiac), and that the movement of the heavenly bodies determined the destinies and welfare of people and nations. But the Babylonians’ attempts to read and manipulate the future to their advantage would be thwarted by God. This pseudoscience is as antithetical to biblical faith today as it was then.