Bible Strands
Isaiah 47:8
So 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.’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses a female figure representing Babylon immediately after her claim of eternal queenship and before the announcement of sudden ruin. The speech occurs at the precise moment of her peak arrogance, just prior to the declaration of impending judgment.
The words — The address employs עֲדִינָה ('a.di.Nah), literally "O voluptuous [woman]," to identify the subject, and לָ/בֶ֔טַח (la./Ve.tach), meaning "to security," to describe her dwelling. Her self-deification is grounded in בִּ/לְבָ֔בָ/הּ (bi/l.Va.va/h), literally "in her heart."
The thread — The declaration "I am, and there is none besides me" parallels Zephaniah 2:15’s description of a carefree city, while the rebuke of complacency mirrors Isaiah 32:9. The motif of false security reappears in Isaiah 47:10, where wickedness produces the claim that "no one sees me."
Why it lands — The text records a direct statement of arrogant self-sufficiency before announcing sudden, inescapable loss. It requires the reader to acknowledge that claims of permanent safety and self-deification are directly contradicted by the text’s own trajectory toward judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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:
Cross-references
- Isaiah 32:9 Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Give ear to my word, you overconfident daughters.
- Zephaniah 2:15 This carefree city that dwells securely, that thinks to herself: “I am it, and there is none besides me,” what a ruin she has become, a resting place for beasts. Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.
- Isaiah 47:10 You 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.’
- Isaiah 45:6 so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
- Jeremiah 50:11 “Because you rejoice, because you sing in triumph—you who plunder My inheritance—because you frolic like a heifer treading grain and neigh like stallions,
- Revelation 18:3 All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”
- Judges 18:7 So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.
- Judges 18:27 After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.
- Psalms 10:5 He is secure in his ways at all times; Your lofty judgments are far from him; he sneers at all his foes.
- Isaiah 21:4 My heart falters; fear makes me tremble. The twilight I desired has turned to horror.