John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 47:10

"For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness; thou hast said, None seeth me; thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee, and thou hast said in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me." — Isaiah 47:10 (ASV)

For you trusted. He explains what he said in the preceding verse. This explanation, however, can be extended further to become a censure of the fraud, oppression, violence, and unjust practices by which the Babylonians raised themselves to such great power.

Almost all large kingdoms are what a distinguished robber pronounced them to be: great robberies. For there is no other way in which they enlarge their dominions than by extorting them from others through violence and oppression, and by driving out the lawful owners from their dwellings, so that they alone may reign supreme.

In your malice. He gives the name of “malice” to that which he will afterwards adorn with more plausible names, namely, wisdom and knowledge. In this manner do tyrants usually disguise their tricks, when they lay aside all regard for justice and equity and cunningly deceive the people. But the Lord detests and exposes them, so that it becomes manifest that it served no purpose to cover their wickedness with useless veils. Thus Job, after having said, wise men are taken in their own wisdom, explains this by calling it “craftiness” (Job 5:13).

You said, No one sees me. When he adds that Babylon thought that her iniquities were not seen, this refers to free indulgence in sinning. For while people are kept to their duty by fear or shame, whoever neither dreads God as a witness nor thinks that others will know what he does, breaks out into every kind of licentiousness.

It is true, indeed, that even the worst of people are often tormented by the stings of conscience. But, by shutting their eyes, they plunge themselves into stupidity as into a lurking-place and, in short, harden all their senses.

Above all, we see that they have the audacity to mock God, as if by their craftiness they could dazzle his eyes. For whenever they wish to defraud gullible people, they think it is enough that they are not detected, as if they could deceive God. But to no purpose do they flatter themselves in their cunning, for the Lord will quickly take the mask off them. Therefore, all people ought to abhor this wisdom, by which they deceive themselves and accomplish their own ruin.

I, and there is none beside me. He again repeats those blasphemies, so that all may plainly understand how greatly God abhors them, and how near to destruction are all who raise themselves higher than they ought.