Descende, sede in pulvere, virgo filia Babylon: sede in terra; non est solium filiæ Chaldæorum, quia ultra non vocaberis mollis et tenera.

Come down, sit in the dust, poor maid of Babylon; the ground thy seat shall be; no throne any longer for that queen of the Chaldean folk we knew once, so dainty, so delicate.

Come down, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called delicate and tender.

Tolle molam, et mole farinam; denuda turpitudinem tuam; discooperi humerum, revela crura, transi flumina.

Get thee to the millstones and grind there, ready to expose thy nakedness; off with thy veil, here are streams to be crossed bare of leg.

Take a millstone and grind meal: uncover thy shame, strip thy shoulder, make bare thy legs, pass over the rivers.

Revelabitur ignominia tua, et videbitur opprobrium tuum; ultionem capiam, et non resistet mihi homo.

Thou shalt be exposed to shame, thy naked form uncovered; I mean to take vengeance on thee, and no man shall stay my hand.

Thy nakedness shall be discovered, and thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and no man shall resist me.

Redemptor noster, Dominus exercituum nomen illius, Sanctus Israël.

(But we have one to ransom us; who but the Lord of hosts, the Holy One of Israel? )

Our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

Sede tacens, et intra in tenebras, filia Chaldæorum, quia non vocaberis ultra domina regnorum.

Sit dumb, bury thyself in darkness, lady of Chaldea; thou shalt rule the nations no longer.

Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called the lady of kingdoms.

Iratus sum super populum meum: contaminavi hæreditatem meam, et dedi eos in manu tua: non posuisti eis misericordias; super senem aggravasti jugum tuum valde.

Angry with my people, turned enemy against the land of my choice, I gave them into thy power; and thou, what mercy didst thou shew them? Heavy the yoke thou didst lay on aged shoulders.

I was angry with my people, I have polluted my inheritance, and have given them into thy hand: thou hast shewn no mercy to them: upon the ancient thou hast laid thy yoke exceeding heavy.

Et dixisti: In sempiternum ero domina. Non posuisti hæc super cor tuum, neque recordata es novissimi tui.

Thou wouldst surely be a queen for ever; thou didst it light-heartedly, not recking what the end should be.

And thou hast said: I shall be a lady for ever: thou hast not laid these things to thy heart, neither hast thou remembered thy latter end.

Et nunc audi hæc delicata, et habitans confidenter, quæ dicis in corde tuo: Ego sum, et non est præter me amplius; non sedebo vidua, et ignorabo sterilitatem.

And now, here is a word for those delicate ears, lady of the careless heart, who sittest there telling thyself, I am Babylon, the unrivalled; no lonely widowhood, no childless lot for me.

And now hear these things, thou that art delicate, and dwellest confidently, that sayest in thy heart: I am, and there is none else besides me: I shall not sit as a widow, and I shall not know barrenness.

Venient tibi duo hæc subito in die una, sterilitas et viduitas: universa venerunt super te, propter multitudinem maleficiorum tuorum, et propter duritiam incantatorum tuorum vehementem.

These two things shall fall on thee suddenly in a single day, childlessness and widowhood; fall upon thee in full measure, so blind amid all thy sorceries, through the crass folly of thy wizards so blind.

These two things shall come upon thee suddenly in one day, barrenness and widowhood. All things are come upon thee, because of the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great hardness of thy enchanters.

Et fiduciam habuisti in malitia tua, et dixisti: Non est qui videat me. Sapientia tua et scientia tua, hæc decepit te. Et dixisti in corde tuo: Ego sum, et præter me non est altera.

Such was thy trust in these wicked arts of thine, thou hadst no fear of discovery; thy very wisdom, thy very knowledge were a snare; I am Babylon, thy heart told thee, rival I have none.

And thou hast trusted in thy wickedness, and hast said: There is none that seeth me. Thy wisdom, and thy knowledge, this hath deceived thee. And thou hast said in thy heart: I am, and besides me there is no other.

Veniet super te malum, et nescies ortum ejus; et irruet super te calamitas quam non poteris expiare; veniet super te repente miseria quam nescies.

And now comes ruin unforeseen, comes doom no sacrifice can avert; sudden and strange thy encounter with sorrow.

Evil shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not know the rising thereof: and calamity shall fall violently upon thee, which thou canst not keep off: misery shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.

Sta cum incantatoribus tuis et cum multitudine maleficiorum tuorum, in quibus laborasti ab adolescentia tua, si forte quod prosit tibi, aut si possis fieri fortior.

All that multitude of wizards, and wilt thou not persevere with thy enchantments, the hard-earned lore of thy youth? Maybe it will turn to thy advantage; thou shalt be formidable yet!

Stand now with thy enchanters, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, in which thou hast laboured from thy youth, if so be it may profit thee any thing, or if thou mayst become stronger.

Defecisti in multitudine consiliorum tuorum. Stent, et salvent te augures cæli, qui contemplabantur sidera, et supputabant menses, ut ex eis annuntiarent ventura tibi.

But no, thou art wearied of those many consultations. Let them come to thy side now and save thee if they can, diviners that gaze up at the stars, count days of the month, to tell thy future for thee!

Thou hast failed in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the astrologers stand and save thee, they that gazed at the stars, and counted the months, that from them they might tell the things that shall come to thee.

Ecce facti sunt quasi stipula, ignis combussit eos; non liberabunt animam suam de manu flammæ; non sunt prunæ quibus calefiant, nec focus ut sedeant ad eum.

Like stubble burn they one and all; their own lives they cannot rescue from the flame. Here is no brazier to warm them, no ingle-nook to sit by!

Behold they are as stubble, fire hath burnt them, they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flames: there are no coals wherewith they may be warmed, nor fire, that they may sit thereat.

Sic facta sunt tibi in quibuscumque laboraveras: negotiatores tui ab adolescentia tua, unusquisque in via sua erraverunt; non est qui salvet te.

And this is the end of all thy long study; trusted counsellors of thy youth, all have gone astray in their reckoning; deliverance for thee is none.

Such are all the things become to thee, in which thou hast laboured: thy merchants from thy youth, every one hath erred in his own way, there is none that can save thee.