Isaiah 3
21st Century King James Version
3 For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole store of bread and the whole store of water,
2 the mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the prudent and the ancient,
3 the captain of fifty and the honorable man, and the counselor and the skilled artificer and the eloquent orator.
4 “And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another and every one by his neighbor; the child shall behave himself proudly against the elder, and the base against the honorable.”
6 When a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, “Thou hast clothing; be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand,”
7 in that day he shall swear, saying, “I will not be a healer, for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: Make me not a ruler of the people!”
8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen, because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of His glory.
9 The show of their countenance doth witness against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom; they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! For they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
10 Say ye to the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruits of their doings.
11 Woe unto the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
12 As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them! O My people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
13 The Lord standeth up to plead and standeth to judge the people.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His people and the princes thereof: “For ye have eaten up the vineyard, and the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What mean ye that ye beat My people to pieces and grind the faces of the poor?” saith the Lord God of hosts.
16 Moreover the Lord saith: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet,
17 therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will uncover their secret parts.”
18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their hair nets and their round ornaments like the moon,
19 the chains and the bracelets and the spangled ornaments,
20 the bonnets and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands and the tablets and the earrings,
21 the rings and nose jewels,
22 the changeable suits of apparel and the mantles and the shawls and the crisping pins,
23 the mirrors and the fine linen, and the hoods and the veils.
24 And it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell there shall be stench; and instead of a girdle, a rent; and instead of wellset hair, baldness; and instead of a sash, a girding of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty.
25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she, being desolate, shall sit upon the ground.
Isaiah 3
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Judah’s Leaders Judged
3 Observe this: The Lord God of Hosts
is about to remove from Jerusalem and from Judah
every kind of security:
the entire supply of bread and water,
2 the hero and warrior,(A)
the judge and prophet,
the fortune-teller and elder,
3 the commander of 50 and the dignitary,
the counselor, cunning magician,[a] and necromancer.[b]
4 “I will make youths their leaders,(B)
and the unstable[c] will govern them.”
5 The people will oppress one another,(C)
man against man, neighbor against neighbor;
the youth will act arrogantly toward the elder,
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 evil 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)
13 The Lord rises to argue the case
and stands to judge the people.(J)
14 The Lord brings this charge
against the elders and leaders of His people:(K)
“You have devastated the vineyard.
The plunder from the poor is in your houses.(L)
15 Why do you crush My people
and grind the faces of the poor?”
This is the declaration
of the Lord God of Hosts.
Jerusalem’s Women Judged
16 The Lord also says:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,(M)
walking with heads held high
and seductive eyes,
going along with prancing steps,
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.
18 On that day(N) the Lord will strip their finery: ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents,(O) 19 pendants, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, ankle jewelry, sashes, perfume bottles, amulets,(P) 21 signet rings, nose rings,(Q) 22 festive robes, capes, cloaks, purses, 23 garments, linen clothes, turbans, and veils.
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)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 3:3 Or skilled craftsman
- Isaiah 3:3 Or medium
- Isaiah 3:4 Or mischief-makers
- Isaiah 3:24 DSS read shame
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