Isaiah 3
Authorized (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 stay of bread, and the whole stay 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 honourable man,
and the counsellor, and the cunning 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 neighbour:
the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient,
and the base against the honourable.
6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of 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 shall he swear, saying, I will not be an 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 shew 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 him:
for they shall eat the fruit 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 which 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 ancients of his people, and the princes thereof:
for ye have eaten up the vineyard;
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 discover their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away
the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet,
and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
19 the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
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 wimples, and the crisping pins,
23 the glasses, and the fine linen,
and the hoods, and the vails.
24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink;
and instead of a girdle a rent;
and instead of well set hair baldness;
and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth;
and burning 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
New Living Translation
Judgment against Judah
3 The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
will take away from Jerusalem and Judah
everything they depend on:
every bit of bread
and every drop of water,
2 all their heroes and soldiers,
judges and prophets,
fortune-tellers and elders,
3 army officers and high officials,
advisers, skilled sorcerers, and astrologers.
4 I will make boys their leaders,
and toddlers their rulers.
5 People will oppress each other—
man against man,
neighbor against neighbor.
Young people will insult their elders,
and vulgar people will sneer at the honorable.
6 In those days a man will say to his brother,
“Since you have a coat, you be our leader!
Take charge of this heap of ruins!”
7 But he will reply,
“No! I can’t help.
I don’t have any extra food or clothes.
Don’t put me in charge!”
8 For Jerusalem will stumble,
and Judah will fall,
because they speak out against the Lord and refuse to obey him.
They provoke him to his face.
9 The very look on their faces gives them away.
They display their sin like the people of Sodom
and don’t even try to hide it.
They are doomed!
They have brought destruction upon themselves.
10 Tell the godly that all will be well for them.
They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!
11 But the wicked are doomed,
for they will get exactly what they deserve.
12 Childish leaders oppress my people,
and women rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you;
they send you down the wrong road.
13 The Lord takes his place in court
and presents his case against his people.[a]
14 The Lord comes forward to pronounce judgment
on the elders and rulers of his people:
“You have ruined Israel, my vineyard.
Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.
15 How dare you crush my people,
grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?”
demands the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
A Warning to Jerusalem
16 The Lord says, “Beautiful Zion[b] is haughty:
craning her elegant neck,
flirting with her eyes,
walking with dainty steps,
tinkling her ankle bracelets.
17 So the Lord will send scabs on her head;
the Lord will make beautiful Zion bald.”
18 On that day of judgment
the Lord will strip away everything that makes her beautiful:
ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces,
19 earrings, bracelets, and veils;
20 scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes,
perfumes, and charms;
21 rings, jewels,
22 party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses;
23 mirrors, fine linen garments,
head ornaments, and shawls.
24 Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, she will stink.
She will wear a rope for a sash,
and her elegant hair will fall out.
She will wear rough burlap instead of rich robes.
Shame will replace her beauty.[c]
25 The men of the city will be killed with the sword,
and her warriors will die in battle.
26 The gates of Zion will weep and mourn.
The city will be like a ravaged woman,
huddled on the ground.
Footnotes
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
