Isaiah 3
New King James Version
Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
3 For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
(A)Takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
(B)The[a] stock and the store,
The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water;
2 (C)The mighty man and the man of war,
The judge and the prophet,
And the diviner and the elder;
3 The captain of fifty and the [b]honorable man,
The counselor and the skillful artisan,
And the expert enchanter.
4 “I will give (D)children[c] to be their princes,
And [d]babes shall rule over them.
5 The people will be oppressed,
Every one by another and every one by his neighbor;
The child will be insolent toward the [e]elder,
And the [f]base toward the honorable.”
6 When a man takes hold of his brother
In the house of his father, saying,
“You have clothing;
You be our ruler,
And let these ruins be under your [g]power,”
7 In that day he will protest, saying,
“I cannot cure your ills,
For in my house is neither food nor clothing;
Do not make me a ruler of the people.”
8 For (E)Jerusalem stumbled,
And Judah is fallen,
Because their tongue and their doings
Are against the Lord,
To provoke the eyes of His glory.
9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as (F)Sodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.
10 “Say to the righteous (G)that it shall be well with them,
(H)For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11 Woe to the wicked! (I)It shall be ill with him,
For the reward of his hands shall be [h]given him.
12 As for My people, children are their oppressors,
And women rule over them.
O My people! (J)Those who lead you [i]cause you to err,
And destroy the way of your paths.”
Oppression and Luxury Condemned
13 The Lord stands up (K)to [j]plead,
And stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
With the elders of His people
And His princes:
“For you have [k]eaten up (L)the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by (M)crushing My people
And grinding the faces of the poor?”
Says the Lord God of hosts.
16 Moreover the Lord says:
“Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
And walk with [l]outstretched necks
And [m]wanton eyes,
Walking and [n]mincing as they go,
Making a jingling with their feet,
17 Therefore the Lord will strike with (N)a scab
The crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,
And the Lord will (O)uncover their secret parts.”
18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery:
The jingling anklets, the [o]scarves, and the (P)crescents;
19 The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils;
20 The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands;
The perfume boxes, the charms,
21 and the rings;
The nose jewels,
22 the festal apparel, and the mantles;
The outer garments, the purses,
23 and the mirrors;
The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes.
24 And so it shall be:
Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench;
Instead of a sash, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, (Q)baldness;
Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth;
And [p]branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword,
And your [q]mighty in the war.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 3:1 Every support
- Isaiah 3:3 Eminent looking men
- Isaiah 3:4 boys
- Isaiah 3:4 Or capricious ones
- Isaiah 3:5 aged
- Isaiah 3:5 despised, lightly esteemed
- Isaiah 3:6 Lit. hand
- Isaiah 3:11 done to him
- Isaiah 3:12 lead you astray
- Isaiah 3:13 contend, plead His case
- Isaiah 3:14 burned
- Isaiah 3:16 Head held high
- Isaiah 3:16 seductive, ogling
- Isaiah 3:16 tripping or skipping
- Isaiah 3:18 headbands
- Isaiah 3:24 burning scar
- Isaiah 3:25 Lit. strength
Isaiah 3
International Children’s Bible
God Will Punish Judah and Jerusalem
3 Understand what I am telling you.
The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies,
will take away everything Judah and Jerusalem need.
He will take away all the food and water.
2 He will take away all the heroes and great soldiers.
He will take away all the judges, prophets,
people who do magic and elders.
3 He will take away the military leaders and government leaders.
He will take away the counselors, the skilled craftsmen and those who try to tell the future.
4 The Lord says, “I will cause young boys to be your leaders.
Foolish children will rule over you.
5 Everyone will be against everyone else.
Young people will not respect older people.
Common people will not respect important people.”
6 At that time a man will grab one of his brothers
from his own family and say,
“You have a coat. So you will be our leader.
You will be the leader over all these ruins.”
7 But that brother will stand up and say,
“I cannot help you.
I do not have food or clothes in my house.
You will not make me your leader.”
8 This will happen because Jerusalem has stumbled
and Judah has fallen.
The things they say and do are against the Lord.
They sin openly against the Lord.
9 The look on their faces shows they are guilty of doing wrong.
Like the people of Sodom, they are proud of their sin.
They don’t care who sees it.
How terrible it will be for them!
They have brought much trouble to themselves.
10 Tell the good people that good things will happen to them.
They will receive a reward for the good they do.
11 But how terrible it will be for wicked people!
They will be punished for all the wrong they have done.
12 Children treat my people cruelly.
Women rule over them.
My people, your guides lead you in the wrong way.
They turn you away from what is right.
13 The Lord takes his place in court.
He stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord presents his case
against the elders and other leaders of his people.
He says, “You have burned my vineyard.
Your houses are full of what you took from the poor.
15 What gives you the right to crush my people?
How can you grind the faces of the poor into the dirt?”
The Master, the Lord of heaven’s armies, said this.
A Warning to Women of Jerusalem
16 The Lord says,
“The women of Jerusalem are proud.
They walk around with their heads held high.
They flirt with their eyes.
They take quick, short steps,
making noise with their ankle bracelets.”
17 So the Lord will put sores on the heads of those women in Jerusalem.
He will make them lose all their hair.
18 At that time the Lord will take away everything that makes them proud. He will take away their beautiful ankle bracelets, their headbands and their necklaces shaped like the moon. 19 He will take away their earrings, bracelets and veils. 20 He will take away their scarves, ankle chains, the cloth belts worn around their waists, their bottles of perfume and charms. 21 He will take away their signet rings, nose rings, 22 their fine robes, capes, shawls and purses. 23 And he will take away their mirrors, linen dresses, turbans and long shawls.
24 Instead of having sweet-smelling perfume, they will stink.
Instead of fine cloth belts, they will have ropes of captives to wear.
Instead of having their hair fixed in fancy ways, they will be bald.
Instead of fine clothes, they will have rough clothes of sadness.
Instead of having beauty, they will have the brand of a captive.
25 At that time your men will be killed with swords.
Your heroes will die in war.
26 There will be crying and sadness in the meeting places near the city gates.
Jerusalem will be like a woman who has lost everything and sits on the ground.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.