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Yahweh Will Judge Judah’s Leaders

For behold, the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, (A)is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah
Both [a]supply and support, the whole [b]supply of bread
And the whole [c]supply of water,
(B)The mighty man and the man of war,
The judge and the prophet,
The diviner and the elder,
The commander of fifty and the [d]highly respected man,
The counselor and the wise craftsman,
And the experienced enchanter.
And I will make (C)young men their princes,
And [e]capricious children will rule over them,
And the people will be (D)oppressed,
Each one by another, and each one by his (E)neighbor;
The youth will overwhelm the elder
And the dishonorable against the honorable.
When a man (F)grasps his brother in his father’s house, saying,
“You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler,
And these ruins will be under your hand,”
He will [f]protest on that day, saying,
“I will not be your [g](G)healer,
For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
You should not appoint me ruler of the people.”
For (H)Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen,
Because their (I)tongue and their deeds are against Yahweh,
To (J)rebel against [h]His glorious presence.
[i]The expression of their faces answers against them,
And they declare their sin like (K)Sodom;
They do not even conceal it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have (L)dealt out evil on themselves.
10 Say to the (M)righteous that it will go well with them,
For they will eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him,
For [j](N)what he has dealt out will be done to him.
12 O My people! Their taskmasters [k]are (O)infants,
And women rule over them.
O My people! (P)Those who guide you lead you astray
And swallow up the way of your paths.

13 (Q)Yahweh takes His stand to contend,
And stands to judge the peoples.
14 Yahweh (R)enters into judgment with the elders of His people and His princes,
“It is you who have (S)consumed the vineyard;
The (T)plunder robbed of the afflicted is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by (U)crushing My people
And grinding the face of the afflicted?”
Declares Lord Yahweh of hosts.

Yahweh Will Judge Zion’s Daughters

16 Moreover, Yahweh said, “Because the (V)daughters of Zion are haughty

And walk with outstretched necks and seductive eyes,
And go along with mincing steps
And tinkle the bangles on their feet,
17 Therefore the Lord will smite the skull of the daughters of Zion with scabs,
And Yahweh will make their foreheads bare.”

18 In that day the Lord will remove the beauty of their anklets, headbands, (W)crescent ornaments, 19 dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, 20 (X)headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, enchanted charms, 21 [l]finger rings, (Y)nose rings, 22 festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, 23 hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans, and shawls.

24 Now it will be that instead of [m]sweet (Z)perfume there will be the smell of rot;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of (AA)well-set hair, a (AB)plucked-out scalp;
Instead of fine clothes, a (AC)donning of sackcloth;
And branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men will (AD)fall by the sword
And your [n]mighty ones in battle.
26 And her [o](AE)gates will lament and mourn,
And deserted she will (AF)sit on the ground.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 3:1 Lit staff
  2. Isaiah 3:1 Lit staff
  3. Isaiah 3:1 Lit staff
  4. Isaiah 3:3 Lit one whose face is lifted up
  5. Isaiah 3:4 Lit arbitrary power will rule
  6. Isaiah 3:7 Lit lift up his voice
  7. Isaiah 3:7 Lit binder of wounds
  8. Isaiah 3:8 Lit the eyes of His glory
  9. Isaiah 3:9 Or Their partiality
  10. Isaiah 3:11 Lit the dealing of his hands
  11. Isaiah 3:12 Or deal severely
  12. Isaiah 3:21 Or signet rings
  13. Isaiah 3:24 Or balsam oil
  14. Isaiah 3:25 Lit strength
  15. Isaiah 3:26 Lit entrances

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

For behold, the (A)Lord God of hosts
    is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
support and supply,[a]
    all (B)support of bread,
    and all support of water;
(C)the mighty man and the soldier,
    the judge and the prophet,
    the diviner and the elder,
the captain of fifty
    and the man of rank,
the counselor and the skillful magician
    and the expert in charms.
(D)And I will make boys their princes,
    and infants[b] shall rule over them.
(E)And the people will oppress one another,
    every one his fellow
    and every one his neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the elder,
    and the despised to the honorable.

For (F)a man will take hold of his brother
    in the house of his father, saying:
“You have a cloak;
    you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
    shall be under your rule”;
in that day he will speak out, saying:
“I will not be a (G)healer;[c]
    in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
you shall not make me
    leader of the people.”
For Jerusalem has stumbled,
    and Judah has fallen,
because their (H)speech and their deeds are against the Lord,
    (I)defying his glorious presence.[d]

For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
    they proclaim their sin (J)like Sodom;
    they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
    (K)For they have brought evil on themselves.
10 (L)Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
    (M)for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 (N)Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
    for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
12 My people—(O)infants are their oppressors,
    and women rule over them.
O my people, (P)your guides mislead you
    and they have swallowed up[e] the course of your paths.

13 The Lord (Q)has taken his place to contend;
    he stands to judge peoples.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
    with the (R)elders and princes of his people:
“It is you who (S)have devoured[f] the vineyard,
    (T)the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by (U)crushing my people,
    by grinding the face of the poor?”
declares the Lord God of hosts.

16 The Lord said:
(V)Because (W)the daughters of Zion are haughty
    and walk with outstretched necks,
    glancing wantonly with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,
    (X)tinkling with their feet,
17 therefore the Lord (Y)will strike with a scab
    the heads of (Z)the daughters of Zion,
    and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.

18 In that day the Lord will take away (AA)the finery of the anklets, the (AB)headbands, and the (AC)crescents; 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; 20 the (AD)headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21 the signet rings and (AE)nose rings; 22 the (AF)festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

24 Instead of (AG)perfume there will be rottenness;
    and instead of a (AH)belt, a rope;
and instead of (AI)well-set hair, (AJ)baldness;
    and instead of a rich robe, a (AK)skirt of sackcloth;
    and (AL)branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword
    and your mighty men in battle.
26 And (AM)her gates shall lament and mourn;
    empty, she shall (AN)sit on the ground.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 3:1 Hebrew staff
  2. Isaiah 3:4 Or caprice
  3. Isaiah 3:7 Hebrew binder of wounds
  4. Isaiah 3:8 Hebrew the eyes of his glory
  5. Isaiah 3:12 Or they have confused
  6. Isaiah 3:14 Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5