Isaiah 3

Christian Standard Bible

3 Note this: The Lord God of Armies
is about to remove from Jerusalem and from Judah
every kind of security:
the entire supply of bread and water,
² heroes and warriors,^(A)
judges and prophets,
fortune-tellers and elders,
³ commanders of fifty and dignitaries,
counselors, cunning magicians,^[a] and necromancers.^[b]
4 “I will make youths their leaders,^(B)
and unstable rulers^[c] will govern them.”
⁵ The people will oppress one another,^(C)
man against man, neighbor against neighbor;
the young will act arrogantly toward the old,
and the worthless toward the honorable.
⁶ A man will even seize his brother
in his father’s house, saying,
“You have a cloak—you be our leader!
This heap of rubble will be under your control.”
⁷ On that day he will cry out, saying,
“I’m not a healer.
I don’t even have food or clothing in my house.
Don’t make me the leader of the people!”
⁸ For Jerusalem has stumbled
and Judah has fallen
because they have spoken and acted against the Lord,^(D)
defying his glorious presence.^(E)
9 The look on their faces testifies against them,
and like Sodom,^(F) they flaunt their sin;
they do not conceal it.
Woe to them,
for they have brought disaster on themselves.^(G)
10 Tell the righteous that it will go well for them,
for they will eat the fruit of their labor.
¹¹ Woe to the wicked—it will go badly for them,
for what they have done will be done to them.
¹² Youths oppress my people,^(H)
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders mislead you;
they confuse the direction of your paths.^(I)

Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,^(M)
walking with heads held high
and seductive eyes,
prancing along,
jingling their ankle bracelets,
¹⁷ the Lord will put scabs on the heads
of the daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will shave their foreheads bare.

²⁴ Instead of perfume there will be a stench;
instead of a belt, a rope;
instead of beautifully styled hair,^(R) baldness;^(S)
instead of fine clothes, sackcloth;^(T)
instead of beauty, branding.^[d]
25 Your men will fall by the sword,
your warriors in battle.
²⁶ Then her gates^(U) will lament and mourn;
deserted, she will sit on the ground.^(V)