Isaiah 3
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Lord’s Judgment on Sinners in Zion
3 See now, the Lord, the Lord of Armies,
is going to take from Jerusalem and Judah
every kind of support
and their entire supply of food and water.
2 ⌞He will take their⌟ heroes and soldiers,
judges and prophets,
fortunetellers and statesmen,
3 military leaders and civilian leaders,
counselors, skilled workers, and experts in magic.
4 “I will make boys their leaders.
Children will govern them.”
5 People will oppress each other,
and everyone will oppress his neighbor.
The young will make fun of the old,
and common people will make fun of their superiors.
6 A person will grab one of his relatives
from his father’s family and say,
“You have a coat.
You’ll be our leader.
This pile of ruins will be under your control.”
7 When that day comes the relative will cry out,
“I’m not a doctor!
I don’t have any food or a coat in my home.
Don’t make me a leader of our family.”
8 Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen,
because what they say and what they do is against the Lord.
They are defiant in his honored presence.
9 The look on their faces will be held against them.
They boast about their sins,
which are like ⌞those of the people of⌟ Sodom.
They don’t even bother to hide them.
How horrible it will be for these people,
because they have brought disaster on themselves.
10 Tell the righteous that blessings will come to them.
They will taste the fruit of their labor.
11 How horrible it will be for the wicked! Disaster will strike them.
What they have done will be done to them.
12 “Children will oppress my people.
Women will rule them.
My people, your guides mislead you,
and you don’t know which way to go.”
13 The Lord takes his place in the courtroom.
He stands to judge his people.
14 The Lord presents his case to the respected leaders
and the officials of his people:
“You have burned down the vineyard!
Your houses are filled with goods stolen from the poor.”
15 The Almighty Lord of Armies asks,
“How can you crush my people
and grind the faces of the poor ⌞into the ground⌟?”
16 The Lord adds,
“The women of Zion are arrogant.
They walk with their noses in the air,
making seductive glances,
taking short little steps,
jingling the ankle bracelets on their feet.”
17 The Lord will cause sores ⌞to appear⌟
on the heads of the women of Zion,
and the Lord will make their foreheads bare.
18 On that day the Lord will take away their fine things: jingling anklets, headbands, crescent-shaped necklaces, 19 pendants, bracelets, scarfs, 20 hats, ankle bracelets, blouses, perfume boxes, charms, 21 signet rings, nose rings, 22 fine robes, coats, shawls, purses, 23 mirrors, underwear, headdresses, and veils.
24 Instead of the smell of perfume, there will be the smell of decay.
They will wear ropes instead of belts.
They will have bald heads instead of beautiful hair.
They will wear sackcloth instead of expensive clothes.
Their beauty will be scarred.[a]
25 ⌞Women,⌟ your warriors will die in combat.
Your mighty men will die in battle.
26 The gates of Zion will cry and grieve,
and Zion will sit on the ground, exhausted.
Footnotes
- 3:24 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text “expensive clothes, instead of beauty.”
Isaiah 3
Living Bible
3 The Lord will cut off Jerusalem’s and Judah’s food and water supplies 2 and kill her leaders; he will destroy her armies, judges, prophets, elders, 3 army officers, businessmen, lawyers, magicians, and politicians. 4 Israel’s kings will be like babies, ruling childishly. 5 And the worst sort of anarchy will prevail—everyone stepping on someone else, neighbors fighting neighbors, youths revolting against authority, criminals sneering at honorable men.
6 In those days a man will say to his brother, “You have some extra clothing, so you be our king and take care of this mess.”
7 “No!” he will reply. “I cannot be of any help! I have no extra food or clothes. Don’t get me involved!”
8 Israel’s civil government will be in utter ruin because the Jews have spoken out against their Lord and will not worship him; they offend his glory. 9 The very look on their faces gives them away and shows their guilt. And they boast that their sin is equal to the sin of Sodom; they are not even ashamed. What a catastrophe! They have doomed themselves.
10 But all is well for the godly man. Tell him, “What a reward you are going to get!” 11 But say to the wicked, “Your doom is sure. You too shall get your just deserts. Your well-earned punishment is on the way.”
12 O my people! Can’t you see what fools your rulers are? Weak as women! Foolish as little children playing king. True leaders? No, misleaders! Leading you down the garden path to destruction.
13 The Lord stands up! He is the great Prosecuting Attorney presenting his case against his people! 14 First to feel his wrath will be the elders and the princes, for they have defrauded the poor. They have filled their barns with grain extorted from the helpless peasants.
15 “How dare you grind my people in the dust like that?” the Lord Almighty will demand of them.
16 Next he will judge the haughty Jewish women, who mince along, noses in the air, tinkling bracelets on their ankles, with wanton eyes that rove among the crowds to catch the glances of the men. 17 The Lord will send a plague of scabs to ornament their heads! He will expose their nakedness for all to see. 18 No longer shall they tinkle with self-assurance as they walk. For the Lord will strip away their artful beauty and their ornaments, 19 their necklaces and bracelets and veils of shimmering gauze. 20 Gone shall be their scarves and ankle chains, headbands, earrings, and perfumes; 21 their rings, jewels, 22 party clothes, negligees, capes, ornate combs, and purses; 23 their mirrors, lovely lingerie, beautiful dresses, and veils. 24 Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, they’ll stink; for sashes they’ll use ropes; their well-set hair will all fall out; they’ll wear sacks instead of robes.
All their beauty will be gone; all that will be left to them is shame and disgrace. 25-26 Their husbands shall die in battle; the women, ravaged, shall sit crying on the ground.
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