Isaiah 3
Tree of Life Version
Downfall of Jerusalem and Judah
3 For behold! The Lord, Adonai-Tzva’ot,
takes from Jerusalem and from Judah
supply and support,
every supply of bread
and every supply of water,
2 mighty man and man of war,
judge, and prophet,
fortune-teller and elder,
3 captain of 50 and man of rank,
counselor, crafty magician and cunning charmer.
4 I will set children as their rulers.
Capricious ones will govern them.
5 The people will oppress one another—
each one by his fellow,
each one by his neighbor.
The child will be insolent to the aged,
and dishonarable to the honorable.
6 When a man takes hold of his brother
in the house of his father, saying:
“You have a cloak, you be our ruler!
This ruin is under your charge.”
7 In that day he will protest, saying:
“I’m no healer!
In my house is no bread or cloak.
Don’t make me a ruler of people!”
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah is fallen.
For their tongue and their actions
are against Adonai,
defying the eyes of His glory.
9 The expression of their faces
bears witness against them.
They display their sin like Sodom—
they do not hide it.
Oy, their souls!
For they brought evil on themselves.
The Judge Arises
10 Say to the righteous, he will be well,
eating the fruit of their deeds.
11 Oy, the wicked! It will be bad for him,
for the dealing of his hands will be done to him.
12 My people! Children are their oppressors
and women rule over them.
My people! Your guides mislead you
and destroy the way of your paths.
13 Adonai arises to contend a case,
and stands to judge the people.
14 Adonai will enter into judgment
with the elders of His people and with the princes:
“You have devoured the vineyard.
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by crushing My people
and grinding the face of the poor?”
says Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot.
16 Moreover Adonai says:
“Since the Daughters of Zion are proud,
and walk with outstretched necks and seductive eyes,
walking and mincing as they go,
making a jingling with their feet,
17 therefore Adonai will smite with a scab the forehead of the Daughters of Zion.
Adonai will expose their secret parts.
18 In that day Adonai will strip the finery of anklets, headbands, crescents, 19 pendants and bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, armlets, sashes, perfume vials, amulets, 21 rings and nose-jewels, 22 festal robes, capes, cloaks, purses, 23 lace scarves, fine linen, turbans and veils.
24 Now it will come to pass:
Instead of sweet spices there will be rottenness;
instead of a sash, rags;
instead of curled hair, baldness;
instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;
and branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men will fall by the sword,
and your warriors in battle.
26 Her gates will lament and mourn.
Desolate, she will sit on the ground.
Isaiah 3
Evangelical Heritage Version
Judgment on Jerusalem
3
Pay attention to this.
The Lord, the Lord of Armies, is about to remove from Jerusalem
and Judah
every kind of support:
the entire supply of bread,
and the entire supply of water,
2 the hero and the warrior,
the judge and the prophet,
the omen reader and the elder,
3 the commander of fifty and the respected leader,
the adviser and the clever practitioner of occult arts,
and the skillful caster of spells.[a]
4 I will give them young men as their officials,
and immature children[b] will rule over them.
5 The people will tyrannize each other,
man against man, neighbor against neighbor.
The young man will behave arrogantly against the elder,
and the dishonorable against the honorable.
6 Then a man will take hold of his brother in his father’s house and say, “You have fine clothing. You be our ruler. You take charge of these ruins.”
7 But in that day his brother will cry out, “I am not a healer.[c] In my house I have neither bread nor fine clothing. Don’t make me ruler of this people.”
8 Yes, Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their actions are against the Lord.
They defy his glorious presence.[d]
9 The look on their faces testifies against them.
They parade their sin like Sodom.
They do not bother to hide it.
How terrible it will be for them!
Look, they have brought disaster upon themselves.
10 Tell the righteous that it will go well for them,
and they will eat the fruit of their labors.
11 How terrible it will be for the wicked!
Disaster is coming upon them.
Yes, whatever they have done with their hands will be paid back to them.
12 As for my people, children will oppress them,[e]
and women will rule over them.
My people, your guides are leading you astray.
They are confusing you about the way you should go.
13 The Lord stands up to make his case.
He stands to judge the peoples.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of his people and with their officials. He says, “It is you who have devoured the vineyard. The things you have stolen from the poor are in your houses. 15 What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor? declares the Lord, the Lord of Armies.”
Judgment on the Proud Women of Jerusalem
16 The Lord also says this. Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and they walk with their heads held high,[f] flirting with their eyes, walking seductively with quick little steps, with ornaments jingling on their ankles, 17 the Lord will crown the heads of the daughters of Zion with scabs. The Lord will make their scalps bald.[g] 18 In that day the Lord will take away the beautiful anklets, the headbands, the crescent ornaments, 19 the earrings, the bracelets, the veils, 20 the headdresses, the ankle chains, the sashes, the perfume bottles, the magic charms, 21 the signet rings, the nose rings, 22 the elegant dresses, the capes, the shawls, the purses, 23 the hand mirrors, the fine linen wraps, the tiaras, and the gowns.[h]
24 This is what will take place:
Instead of fragrant perfumes, there will be a stench,
instead of styled hair, baldness,
instead of a robe, a garment made of sackcloth,
and there will be branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men will fall by the sword,
and your mighty warriors in battle.
26 Her gates will groan and grieve,
and she will sit on the ground, deserted.
4 On that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothing. Just let us be called by your name. Take away our shame.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 3:3 The difference between the various kinds of practitioners of occult arts is uncertain.
- Isaiah 3:4 Or troublemakers
- Isaiah 3:7 Literally binder of wounds
- Isaiah 3:8 Literally rebel against the eyes of his glory. Their actions are very brazen.
- Isaiah 3:12 Or oppressors treat my people cruelly. Literally the sentence reads my people, his oppressors, he deals severely. The word he deals severely may also be read as children. The reading children fits the parallelism and is used above.
- Isaiah 3:16 Literally with stretched necks
- Isaiah 3:17 Or expose their nakedness
- Isaiah 3:23 The precise meaning of many of these terms is uncertain. Translations vary widely.
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
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
