Isaiah 3
Good News Translation
Chaos in Jerusalem
3 Now the Lord, the Almighty Lord, is about to take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything and everyone that the people depend on. He is going to take away their food and their water, 2 their heroes and their soldiers, their judges and their prophets, their fortunetellers and their statesmen, 3 their military and civilian leaders, their politicians and everyone who uses magic to control events. 4 The Lord will let the people be governed by immature boys. 5 Everyone will take advantage of everyone else. Young people will not respect their elders, and worthless people will not respect their superiors.
6 A time will come when the members of a clan will choose one of their number and say to him, “You at least have something to wear, so be our leader in this time of trouble.”
7 But he will answer, “Not me! I can't help you. I don't have any food or clothes either. Don't make me your leader!”
8 Yes, Jerusalem is doomed! Judah is collapsing! Everything they say and do is against the Lord; they openly insult God himself. 9 Their prejudices will be held against them. They sin as openly as the people of Sodom did. They are doomed, and they have brought it on themselves.
10 The righteous will be happy,[a] and things will go well for them. They will get to enjoy what they have worked for. 11 But evil people are doomed; what they have done to others will now be done to them.
12 Moneylenders oppress my people, and their creditors cheat them.
My people, your leaders are misleading you, so that you do not know which way to turn.
The Lord Judges His People
13 The Lord is ready to state his case; he is ready to judge his people.[b] 14 The Lord is bringing the elders and leaders of his people to judgment. He makes this accusation: “You have plundered vineyards, and your houses are full of what you have taken from the poor. 15 You have no right to crush my people and take advantage of the poor. I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have spoken.”
A Warning to the Women of Jerusalem
16 The Lord said, “Look how proud the women of Jerusalem are! They walk along with their noses in the air. They are always flirting. They take dainty little steps, and the bracelets on their ankles jingle. 17 But I will punish them—I will shave their heads and leave them bald.”
18 A day is coming when the Lord will take away from the women of Jerusalem everything they are so proud of—the ornaments they wear on their ankles, on their heads, on their necks, 19 and on their wrists. He will take away their veils 20 and their hats; the magic charms they wear on their arms and at their waists; 21 the rings they wear on their fingers and in their noses; 22 all their fine robes, gowns, cloaks, and purses; 23 their revealing garments, their linen handkerchiefs, and the scarves and long veils they wear on their heads.
24 Instead of using perfumes, they will stink; instead of fine belts, they will wear coarse ropes; instead of having beautiful hair, they will be bald; instead of fine clothes, they will be dressed in rags; their beauty will be turned to shame!
25 The men of the city, yes, even the strongest men, will be killed in war. 26 The city gates will mourn and cry, and the city itself will be like a woman sitting on the ground, stripped naked.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 3:10 Probable text The righteous will be happy; Hebrew Say to the righteous.
- Isaiah 3:13 Some ancient translations his people; Hebrew the peoples.
Isaiah 3
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
3 For now the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts,
is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
support and staff—
all support of bread
and all support of water—(A)
2 warrior and soldier,
judge and prophet,
diviner and elder,(B)
3 captain of fifty
and dignitary,
counselor and skillful magician
and expert enchanter.
4 And I will make youths their princes,
and children shall rule over them.(C)
5 The people will be oppressed,
everyone by another
and everyone by a neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the elder
and the base to the honorable.(D)
6 Someone will seize a relative,
a member of the clan, saying,
“You have a cloak;
you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
shall be under your rule.”(E)
7 But the other will cry out on that day, saying,
“I will not be a healer;
in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
you shall not make me
leader of the people.”(F)
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord,
defying his glorious presence.(G)
9 The look on their faces bears witness against them;
they proclaim their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them,
for they have brought evil on themselves.(H)
10 Tell the innocent how fortunate they are,
for they shall eat the fruit of their labors.(I)
11 Woe to the guilty! How unfortunate they are,
for what their hands have done shall be done to them.(J)
12 My people—their oppressors extort them,
and creditors[a] rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you
and confuse the course of your paths.(K)
13 The Lord rises to argue his case;
he stands to judge the peoples.(L)
14 The Lord enters into judgment
with the elders and princes of his people:
It is you who have devoured the vineyard;
the spoil of the poor is in your houses.(M)
15 What do you mean by crushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord God of hosts.(N)
16 The Lord said:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
and walk with outstretched necks,
glancing wantonly with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,
tinkling with their feet;(O)
17 the Lord will afflict with scabs
the heads of the daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will lay bare their scalps and heads.
18 On that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents;(P) 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarfs; 20 the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets;(Q) 21 the signet rings and nose rings;(R) 22 the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the garments of gauze, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.
24 Instead of perfume there will be a stench;
and instead of a sash, a rope;
and instead of well-styled hair, baldness;
and instead of a rich robe, a binding of sackcloth;
instead of beauty, shame.[b](S)
25 Your men shall fall by the sword
and your warriors in battle.(T)
26 And her gates shall lament and mourn;
desolate, she shall sit upon the ground.(U)
Isaiah 3
Complete Jewish Bible
3 For see! The Lord, Adonai-Tzva’ot,
will remove from Yerushalayim and Y’hudah
every kind of support —
all reserves of food and water;
2 heroes and warriors, judges and prophets,
diviners and leaders, 3 captains of fifty,
men of rank and advisers,
skillful magicians and expert enchanters.
4 I will put children in authority;
capriciousness will govern them.
5 People will oppress each other —
everyone his friend, everyone his neighbor.
The young will be insolent toward their elders,
the insignificant arrogant toward the respected.
6 A man will take hold of his brother
in his father’s house and say,
“You have a coat, so rule us!
Take charge of this ruin!”
7 But on that day, he will protest,
“I don’t have a remedy,
I lack food and clothing for my own house;
don’t put me in charge of people!”
8 For Yerushalayim is ruined,
and Y’hudah has fallen;
because their words and deeds defy Adonai,
in open provocation of his glory.
9 Their very look witnesses against them!
They parade their sin, like S’dom;
they don’t even try to hide it —
all the worse for them! —
they bring evil on themselves.
10 Say that it will go well with the righteous,
that they will enjoy the fruit of their actions;
11 but woe to the wicked, it will go badly with him;
for what he has done will be done to him.
12 My people — children oppress them,
and women are ruling over them.
My people! Your guides lead you astray
and obliterate the paths you should follow.
13 Adonai rises to accuse,
he stands to judge the peoples.
14 Adonai presents the indictment
against the leaders and officers of his people:
“It is you who devour the vineyard;
in your houses is plunder taken from the poor.
15 What do you mean by crushing my people
and grinding down the faces of the poor?”
says Adonai Elohim-Tzva’ot.
16 Moreover Adonai says:
“Because Tziyon’s women are so proud,
walking with their heads in the air
and throwing seductive glances,
moving with mincing steps
and jingling their anklets —
17 Adonai will strike the crown of the heads
of Tziyon’s women with sores,
and Adonai will expose their private parts.”
18 On that day Adonai will take away their finery — their anklets, medallions and crescents, 19 their pendants, bracelets and veils; 20 their headbands, armlets, sashes, perfume bottles, amulets, 21 rings and nose-jewels; 22 their fine dresses, wraps, shawls, handbags, 23 gauze scarves, linen underclothes, turbans and capes. 24 Then, there will be
instead of perfume, a stench;
instead of a belt, a rope;
instead of well-set hair, a shaved scalp;
instead of a rich robe, a sackcloth skirt;
and a slave-brand instead of beauty.
25 Your men will fall by the sword
and your warriors in battle.
26 Her gates will lament and mourn;
ravaged, she will sit on the ground.
Isaiah 3
The Message
Jerusalem on Its Last Legs
3 1-7 The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
is emptying Jerusalem and Judah
Of all the basic necessities,
plain bread and water to begin with.
He’s withdrawing police and protection,
judges and courts,
pastors and teachers,
captains and generals,
doctors and nurses,
and, yes, even the repairmen and jacks-of-all-trades.
He says, “I’ll put little kids in charge of the city.
Schoolboys and schoolgirls will order everyone around.
People will be at each other’s throats,
stabbing one another in the back:
Neighbor against neighbor, young against old,
the no-account against the well-respected.
One brother will grab another and say,
‘You look like you’ve got a head on your shoulders.
Do something!
Get us out of this mess.’
And he’ll say, ‘Me? Not me! I don’t have a clue.
Don’t put me in charge of anything.’
8-9 “Jerusalem’s on its last legs.
Judah is soon down for the count.
Everything people say and do
is at cross-purposes with God,
a slap in my face.
Brazen in their depravity,
they flaunt their sins like degenerate Sodom.
Doom to their eternal souls! They’ve made their bed;
now they’ll sleep in it.
10-11 “Reassure the righteous
that their good living will pay off.
But doom to the wicked! Disaster!
Everything they did will be done to them.
12 “Skinny kids terrorize my people.
Silly girls bully them around.
My dear people! Your leaders are taking you down a blind alley.
They’re sending you off on a wild-goose chase.”
A City Brought to Her Knees by Her Sorrows
13-15 God enters the courtroom.
He takes his place at the bench to judge his people.
God calls for order in the court,
hauls the leaders of his people into the dock:
“You’ve played havoc with this country.
Your houses are stuffed with what you’ve stolen from the poor.
What is this anyway? Stomping on my people,
grinding the faces of the poor into the dirt?”
That’s what the Master,
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, says.
16-17 God says, “Zion women are stuck-up,
prancing around in their high heels,
Making eyes at all the men in the street,
swinging their hips,
Tossing their hair,
gaudy and garish in cheap jewelry.”
The Master will fix it so those Zion women
will all turn bald—
Scabby, bald-headed women.
The Master will do it.
18-23 The time is coming when the Master will strip them of their fancy baubles—the dangling earrings, anklets and bracelets, combs and mirrors and silk scarves, diamond brooches and pearl necklaces, the rings on their fingers and the rings on their toes, the latest fashions in hats, exotic perfumes and aphrodisiacs, gowns and capes, all the world’s finest in fabrics and design.
24 Instead of wearing seductive scents,
these women are going to smell like rotting cabbages;
Instead of modeling flowing gowns,
they’ll be sporting rags;
Instead of their stylish hairdos,
scruffy heads;
Instead of beauty marks,
scabs and scars.
25-26 Your finest fighting men will be killed,
your soldiers left dead on the battlefield.
The entrance gate to Zion will be clotted
with people mourning their dead—
A city stooped under the weight of her loss,
brought to her knees by her sorrows.
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Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson