Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah

See now, the Lord,
    the Lord Almighty,
is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah
    both supply and support:(A)
all supplies of food(B) and all supplies of water,(C)
    the hero and the warrior,(D)
the judge and the prophet,
    the diviner(E) and the elder,(F)
the captain of fifty(G) and the man of rank,(H)
    the counselor, skilled craftsman(I) and clever enchanter.(J)

“I will make mere youths their officials;
    children will rule over them.”(K)

People will oppress each other—
    man against man, neighbor against neighbor.(L)
The young will rise up against the old,
    the nobody against the honored.

A man will seize one of his brothers
    in his father’s house, and say,
“You have a cloak, you be our leader;
    take charge of this heap of ruins!”
But in that day(M) he will cry out,
    “I have no remedy.(N)
I have no food(O) or clothing in my house;
    do not make me the leader of the people.”(P)

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Judgment Comes to Judah’s Leaders

“Note this! The Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
    is taking away from Jerusalem and Judah
        everything that your society needs—[a]
all food supplies
    and all water supplies,
the mighty man
    and the warrior,
the judge
    and the prophet,
the fortune-teller
    and the elder,
the commander of fifty
    and the man of rank,
and the counselor, the expert magician,
    and the medium.

“I will make youths their princes,
    and infants will rule over them.
People will oppress one another—
    It will be man against man
        and neighbor against neighbor.
The young will be disrespectful to the old,
    and the worthless to the honorable.

“For a man will grab his brother
    in his own father’s house,
and say, ‘You have a cloak,
    so you be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
    will be under your rule!’

“But[b] at that time,[c] he’ll protest![d]
    He’ll say, ‘I won’t be your healer.
I have neither food nor clothing in my house!
    You’re not going to make me a leader of the people!’

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 3:1 Lit. Judah both supply and support
  2. Isaiah 3:7 So 1QIsaa LXX; the Heb. lacks But
  3. Isaiah 3:7 Lit. day
  4. Isaiah 3:7 Lit. he’ll cry out