Bible/Isaiah/47

Isaiah 47:2

47:1 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.
Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.

KJV

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

Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.

Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover your locks, make bore the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.

47:3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.

What does Isaiah 47:2 mean?

Isaiah 47:2 is a verse in the book of Isaiah, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include לָקַח (lâqach), רֵחֶה (rêcheh), טָחַן (ṭâchan).

Hebrew interlinear

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Takeלָקַחlâqach/law-kakh'/H3947to take (in the widest variety of applications)
the
millstones,רֵחֶהrêcheh/ray-kheh'/H7347a mill-stone
and
grindטָחַןṭâchan/taw-khan'/H2912to grind meal; hence, to be aconcubine (that being their employment)
meal:קֶמַחqemach/keh'-makh/H7058flour
uncoverגָּלָהgâlâh/gaw-law'/H1540to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense); by implication, to exile (captives being usually stripped); figuratively, to reveal
thy
locks,צַמָּהtsammâh/tsam-maw'/H6777a veil
make
bareחָשַׂףchâsaph/khaw-saf'/H2834to strip off, i.e. generally to make naked (for exertion or in disgrace), to drain away or bail up (a liquid)
the
leg,שֹׁבֶלshôbel/show'-bel/H7640a lady's train (as trailing after her)
uncoverגָּלָהgâlâh/gaw-law'/H1540to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense); by implication, to exile (captives being usually stripped); figuratively, to reveal
the
thigh,שׁוֹקshôwq/shoke/H7785the (lower) leg (as a runner)
pass
overעָבַרʻâbar/aw-bar'/H5674to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative); specifically, to cover (in copulation)
the
rivers.נָהָרnâhâr/naw-hawr'/H5104a stream (including the sea; expectation the Nile, Euphrates, etc.); figuratively, prosperity

Commentary on Isaiah 47:2

HENRY_FULL · Isaiah 47:2
at both young and old have their advantages, and therefore must each of them be, according to their capacities, serviceable to the public, and neither of them despise nor envy the other. 1. Let not old people despise the young, for they are strong and fit for action, able to go through business and break through difficulties, which the aged and weak cannot grapple with. The glory of young men is their strength, provided they use it well (in the service of God and their country, not of their lusts), and that they be not proud of it nor trust to it. 2. Let not young people despise the old, for they are grave, and fit for counsel, and, though they have not the strength that young men have, yet they have more wisdom and experience. Juniores ad labores, seniores ad honores — Labour is for the young, honour for the aged. God has put honour upon the old man; for his gray head is his beauty. See Dan. vii. 9 . 30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly. Note, 1. Many need severe rebukes.

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Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Isaiah 47:2.

Numbers 11:8

And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

Frequently asked questions

What does Isaiah 47:2 say?

Isaiah 47:2 (King James Version) reads: "Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers."

Is Isaiah 47:2 in the Old or New Testament?

Isaiah 47:2 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Isaiah.

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