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16 The Lord said:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
    and walk with outstretched necks,
    glancing wantonly with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,
    tinkling with their feet;(A)
17 the Lord will afflict with scabs
    the heads of the daughters of Zion,
    and the Lord will lay bare their scalps and heads.

18 On that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents;(B) 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarfs; 20 the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets;(C) 21 the signet rings and nose rings;(D) 22 the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the garments of gauze, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

24 Instead of perfume there will be a stench;
    and instead of a sash, a rope;
and instead of well-styled hair, baldness;
    and instead of a rich robe, a binding of sackcloth;
    instead of beauty, shame.[a](E)
25 Your men shall fall by the sword
    and your warriors in battle.(F)
26 And her gates shall lament and mourn;
    desolate, she shall sit upon the ground.(G)

Seven women shall take hold of one man on that day, saying,

“We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes;
just let us be called by your name;
    take away our disgrace.”(H)

Footnotes

  1. 3.24 Q ms: MT lacks shame

The Pride of Jerusalem’s Women

16 And Yahweh said: “Because[a] 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,[b]
    and with their feet they rattle their bangles,[c]
17 the Lord will make the heads[d] 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[e] 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[f] gates shall lament and mourn,
    and she shall be banished;
        she shall sit upon the ground.

And seven women shall grasp at one man on that day, saying,
“We will eat our own bread,
    and we will wear our own clothing;
only let us be called by your name![g]
    Take away our disgrace!”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 3:16 There are two Hebrew words for “because” here
  2. Isaiah 3:16 Literally “they go walking and mincing along”
  3. Isaiah 3:16 Literally “they tinkle with their feet”
  4. Isaiah 3:17 Hebrew “head”
  5. Isaiah 3:20 Literally “houses of the breath”
  6. Isaiah 3:26 That is, Jerusalem’s
  7. Isaiah 4:1 Literally “let your name be called upon us”