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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

God Will Remove the Leaders

For behold, the Lord [a]God of armies (A)is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah
Both supply and support, the entire supply of bread
And the entire supply of water;
(B)The mighty man and the warrior,
The judge and the prophet,
The diviner and the elder,
The captain of fifty and the esteemed person,
The counselor and the expert artisan,
And the skillful enchanter.
And I will make mere (C)boys their leaders,
And [b]mischievous 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 assault the elder,
And the contemptible person will assault the one honored.
When a man (F)lays hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying,
“You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler!
And these ruins will be under your [c]authority,”
He will [d]protest on that day, saying,
“I will not be your [e](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 [f](I)speech and their actions are against the Lord,
To (J)rebel against [g]His glorious presence.
[h]The expression of their faces testifies against them,
And they [i]display their sin like (K)Sodom;
They do not even conceal it.
Woe to [j]them!
For they have (L)done evil to themselves.
10 Say to the (M)righteous that it will go well for them,
For they will eat the fruit of their actions.
11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly for him,
For [k](N)what he deserves will be done to him.
12 My people! Their oppressors (O)treat them violently,
And women rule over them.
My people! (P)Those who guide you lead you astray
And confuse the direction of your paths.

God Will Judge

13 (Q)The Lord arises to contend,
And stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord (R)enters into judgment with the elders and leaders of His people,
“It is you who have [l](S)devoured the vineyard;
The (T)goods stolen from the poor are in your houses.
15 What do you mean by (U)crushing My people
And [m]oppressing the face of the poor?”
Declares the Lord [n]God of armies.

Judah’s Women Denounced

16 Moreover, the Lord said, “Because the (V)daughters of Zion are haughty
And walk with [o]heads held high and seductive eyes,
And go along with mincing steps
And jingle the anklets on their feet,
17 The Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs,
And the Lord will make their foreheads bare.”

18 On that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, (W)crescent ornaments, 19 dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, 20 (X)headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, 21 [p]finger rings, (Y)nose rings, 22 festive robes, outer garments, shawls, purses, 23 papyrus garments, undergarments, headbands, and veils.

24 Now it will come about that instead of (Z)balsam oil there will be a stench;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of (AA)well-set hair, a (AB)plucked-out scalp;
Instead of fine clothes, a (AC)robe of sackcloth;
And branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men will (AD)fall by the sword
And your [q]mighty ones in battle.
26 And her [r](AE)gates will lament and mourn,
And she will (AF)sit deserted on the ground.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 3:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Isaiah 3:4 Or arbitrary power will rule
  3. Isaiah 3:6 Lit hand
  4. Isaiah 3:7 Lit lift up his voice
  5. Isaiah 3:7 Lit binder of wounds
  6. Isaiah 3:8 Lit tongue
  7. Isaiah 3:8 Lit the eyes of His glory
  8. Isaiah 3:9 Or Their partiality testifies
  9. Isaiah 3:9 Lit proclaim
  10. Isaiah 3:9 Lit their soul
  11. Isaiah 3:11 Lit the accomplishment of his hands
  12. Isaiah 3:14 Lit grazed over
  13. Isaiah 3:15 Lit grinding the face of
  14. Isaiah 3:15 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  15. Isaiah 3:16 Lit outstretched necks
  16. Isaiah 3:21 Or signet rings
  17. Isaiah 3:25 Lit strength
  18. Isaiah 3:26 Lit entrances