Isaiah 3
Lexham English Bible
Leaders of Judah and Jerusalem
3 For look, the Lord Yahweh of hosts is removing every source of support[a]
from Jerusalem and from Judah:
all of the supplies of bread
and all of the supplies of water,
2 mighty warrior and man of war,
judge and prophet,
and diviner and elder,
3 captain of fifty and the honorable men of rank,
and counselor and skillful magicians and skillful enchanter.
4 And I will make boys their princes,
and children shall rule over them.
5 And the people will be oppressed by each other[b]
and a man by his neighbor.
The boy will act arrogantly toward the elder,
and the dishonorable toward the honorable.
6 Indeed, a man will seize his brother
in the house of his father:
“You have a cloak;[c]
you shall be a leader for us,
and this heap of ruins shall be under your hand!”
7 He will lift up his voice on that day, saying,
“I will not be a healer;
in my house there is no bread
and there is no cloak.
You shall not make me the leader of the people!”
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen
because their speech and their deeds are against Yahweh,
defying the eyes of his glory.
9 The look on their faces testifies against them
and they declare their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have dealt out evil to themselves.
10 Tell the innocent[d] that it is good
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 Woe to the wicked![e] It is bad!
For what is done by his hands will be done to him.
12 My people—children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders are misleading you,
and they confuse the course of your paths.
13 Yahweh takes his stand to conduct a legal case
and takes his stand to judge the peoples.
14 Yahweh enters into judgment with the elders of his people and its princes.
“And you! You have devoured the vineyard;
the spoil of the poor is in your houses!
15 Why[f] do you crush my people
and grind the face of the poor?”
declares[g] the Lord Yahweh of hosts.
The Pride of Jerusalem’s Women
16 And Yahweh said: “Because[h] the daughters of Zion are haughty,
and they walk with outstretched neck,
and they give flirting glances with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,[i]
and with their feet they rattle their bangles,[j]
17 the Lord will make the heads[k] of the daughters of Zion scabby,
and Yahweh will lay their foreheads bare.”
18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets
and the headbands and the crescent necklaces,
19 the pendants and the bracelets and the veils,
20 the headdresses and the armlets and the sashes,
and the perfume boxes[l] and the amulets,
21 the signet rings and the nose rings,
22 the festal robes and the mantles,
and the cloaks and the handbags,
23 and the mirrors and the linen garments,
and the turbans and the wraps.
24 And this shall happen: There will be
a stench instead of perfume,
and a rope instead of a sash,
and baldness instead of a well-set hairdo,
and a clothing wrap of sackcloth instead of a rich robe,
branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword,
and your warriors in battle.
26 And her[m] gates shall lament and mourn,
and she shall be banished;
she shall sit upon the ground.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 3:1 Literally “supplies and supplies”
- Isaiah 3:5 Literally “man by man”
- Isaiah 3:6 Literally “a cloak for you”
- Isaiah 3:10 Singular
- Isaiah 3:11 Singular
- Isaiah 3:15 Literally “What to you”
- Isaiah 3:15 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 3:16 There are two Hebrew words for “because” here
- Isaiah 3:16 Literally “they go walking and mincing along”
- Isaiah 3:16 Literally “they tinkle with their feet”
- Isaiah 3:17 Hebrew “head”
- Isaiah 3:20 Literally “houses of the breath”
- Isaiah 3:26 That is, Jerusalem’s
Isaiah 3
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
English Standard Version
Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
3 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;
2 (C)the mighty man and the soldier,
the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder,
3 the captain of fifty
and the man of rank,
the counselor and the skillful magician
and the expert in charms.
4 (D)And I will make boys their princes,
and infants[b] shall rule over them.
5 (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.
6 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”;
7 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.”
8 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]
9 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
- Isaiah 3:1 Hebrew staff
- Isaiah 3:4 Or caprice
- Isaiah 3:7 Hebrew binder of wounds
- Isaiah 3:8 Hebrew the eyes of his glory
- Isaiah 3:12 Or they have confused
- Isaiah 3:14 Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5
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