Isaiah 47:2-3
Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers. Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
The vivid imagery of stripping away veils and robes, and baring legs to pass through rivers, isn't just about physical hardship; it's about an utter loss of dignity and identity, a public undoing of all that Babylon held dear and represented as a powerful, perhaps even divine, entity. This is a profound reversal, turning a proud queen into a desperate, exposed figure reduced to the most basic, shameful survival.
God pronounces judgment on Babylon, which had become arrogant and cruel, even towards His people. The prophet vividly describes Babylon's coming fall, not as a military defeat, but as a personal humiliation for the city, personified as a once-proud woman stripped of her dignity and forced into the lowest forms of labor. This complete reversal of fortune signifies the end of her power and pride.
Imagine being stripped of everything – your status, your comfort, your dignity. This verse paints a stark picture of such a fall.
The command to 'take the millstones and grind flour' isn't just about hard work; it's about being reduced to the lowest rung of society. In ancient Near Eastern culture, grinding grain was one of the most menial and laborious tasks, typically performed by female slaves or even as a punishment.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about Isaiah 47:2-3 is available in the Sola app.
Beyond physical labor, there's a deep emotional and social degradation described here. What does it mean to have your 'veil' removed and 'legs' bared?
The commands to 'uncover your locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh' go beyond mere dress code; they speak to a profound violation of modesty and status, especially for a woman in that culture.
The final command, 'pass through the rivers,' seals the picture of Babylon's downfall. What does this journey signify?
The act of 'passing over the rivers' is the culmination of Babylon's humiliation, marking the end of her reign and the beginning of her exile and servitude.
Understand the original words
rechayim · Hebrew Noun
The heavy stone tools used to grind grain; being commanded to use them symbolizes a transition from a life of royal ease to one of manual, servile labor and servitude.
galah · Hebrew Verb
An act of removing clothing and protective layers, symbolizing the loss of dignity, authority, and public honor, exposing one's helplessness before the world.
naqam · Hebrew Noun
The retributive justice of God, whereby He acts to vindicate His holiness and honor by punishing the wicked and those who have oppressed His people.
This prophecy depicts the utter humiliation of Babylon, which had acted with cruelty towards God's people. The imagery of forced, degrading labor and unveiled, journeying through water powerfully illustrates the complete reversal of fortune for a city that had prided itself on its power and luxury.
c. 626 BC
Nabopolassar founds the Neo-Babylonian Empire
Following the collapse of the Assyrian Empire, Nabopolassar established Babylon as an independent power, ushering in a period of Babylonian resurgence and dominance.
605 BC
Nebuchadnezzar II conquers Judah
Nebuchadnezzar's victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish secured Babylonian control over the region, leading to the first deportation of Judean elites to Babylon.
586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple
Nebuchadnezzar's forces destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple, ending the Davidic monarchy and exiling a significant portion of the remaining Judean population to Babylon.
539 BC
Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon
The Persian king Cyrus the Great overthrew the Neo-Babylonian Empire, marking the end of Babylonian independence and the beginning of the Persian period.
This passage describes the same humiliating task of grinding by female slaves, highlighting the depth of degradation Babylon will experience.
Job 31:10This verse uses the act of a man's wife grinding for another as a curse, illustrating the extreme disgrace associated with this labor, which Babylon will now face.
Matthew 24:41This New Testament passage references the same imagery of grinding, showing its continued association with common, inescapable tasks, emphasizing that even mundane duties will become a symbol of Babylon's fall.
Jeremiah 13:22This verse speaks of uncovering a woman's skirts and shame, paralleling the imagery of unveiled legs and thighs in Isaiah as a symbol of public humiliation and exposed sin.
Lamentations 1:14This verse describes the yoke of transgressions being bound and sent into a net, reflecting the imagery of a captive people being forced through rivers and subjected to degrading tasks, mirroring Babylon's future suffering.
clarkeIsaiah 47:2: "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 "Take the mill, and grind corn" - It was the work of slaves to grind the corn. They used hand-mills: water-mills were not invented till a little before the time of Augustus, (see the Greek epigram of Antipater, which seems to celebrate it as a new invention, Anthol. Cephalae, 653); wind-mills, not until long after. It was not only…
barnesIsaiah 47:2: "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 - The design of this is plain. Babylon, that had been regarded as a delicately-trained female, was to be reduced to the lowest condition of poverty and wretchedness - represented here by being compelled to perform the most menial and laborious offices, and submitting to the deepest disgrace and ignominy. There is an allusion here…
The vivid imagery of stripping away veils and robes, and baring legs to pass through rivers, isn't just about physical hardship; it's about an utter loss of dignity and identity, a public undoing of all that Babylon held dear and represented as a powerful, perhaps even divine, entity. This is a profound reversal, turning a proud queen into a desperate, exposed figure reduced to the most basic, shameful survival.
God pronounces judgment on Babylon, which had become arrogant and cruel, even towards His people. The prophet vividly describes Babylon's coming fall, not as a military defeat, but as a personal humiliation for the city, personified as a once-proud woman stripped of her dignity and forced into the lowest forms of labor. This complete reversal of fortune signifies the end of her power and pride.
God pronounces judgment on Babylon, which had become arrogant and cruel, even towards His people. The prophet vividly describes Babylon's coming fall, not as a military defeat, but as a personal humiliation for the city, personified as a once-proud woman stripped of her dignity and forced into the lowest forms of labor. This complete reversal of fortune signifies the end of her power and pride.
"Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers. Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengea…" — The vivid imagery of stripping away veils and robes, and baring legs to pass through rivers, isn't just about physical hardship; it's about an utter loss of dignity and identity, a public undoing of…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
