You said, “I shall be mistress for ever”: Yahweh reminds Babylonia of an arrogant boast it made. Like other powerful nations that come and go, Babylonia believed that it could remain the major world power forever. By saying this the Babylonians also implied they were divine, a claim they make explicitly in verses 8 and 10. The words quoted may well be a specific claim by the Babylonians, but it is probably best to regard them as a reference to unspoken intentions. The verb said may be rendered “thought” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “claimed.” For mistress see Isa 47.5. Translators may use indirect speech by rendering this line as “You thought you could remain ‘queen’ forever!” Bible en français courant translates “You claimed to be eternal, queen of the world forever.”

So that you did not lay these things to heart: The Hebrew word ʿad rendered so that introduces the result of the Babylonians’s boast. BDB suggests it indicates “degree” here, meaning “up to the point that.” However, for some scholars this word links with the preceding Hebrew noun rendered mistress and means “eternal”; for example, New International Version has “the eternal queen,” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “The mistress still.” However, we view ʿad as a conjunction introducing the result of the Babylonians’ boastful thinking, so it may be rendered “such that” or “up to the point that.”

What does these things refer to? It is a very general phrase that in most cases points back to something already mentioned. The probability here is that these things refers both to Yahweh handing Israel over to the Babylonians, as well as to Babylonia’s harsh treatment of the people. To lay … to heart is a figure of speech that means “to take seriously” or “to reflect on carefully.” In English it is more natural to say “take to heart.” For this whole line Bible en français courant says “but you have not reflected on what happened.”

Or remember their end: The verb remember has the sense of “consider” or “think about” in this context. Their end refers to the end or the consequences of these things. Revised English Bible and New American Bible suggest “their outcome,” while Good News Translation has “how it all would end.” The Babylonians did not consider what would happen in the future. For this whole line Bible en français courant has “you have not thought about what was going to happen.”

For translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• You thought, “I will be queen for ever,”
to the point that you failed to consider these matters,
nor did you think of their outcome.

• You thought you would remain queen for eternity,
such that you did not take these things to heart
nor consider their outcome.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .