God Will Remove the Leaders

For behold, the Lord [a]God of armies (A)is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah
Both supply and support, the entire supply of bread
And the entire supply of water;
(B)The mighty man and the warrior,
The judge and the prophet,
The diviner and the elder,
The captain of fifty and the esteemed person,
The counselor and the expert artisan,
And the skillful enchanter.
And I will make mere (C)boys their leaders,
And [b]mischievous children will rule over them,
And the people will be (D)oppressed,
Each one by another, and each one by his (E)neighbor;
The youth will assault the elder,
And the contemptible person will assault the one honored.
When a man (F)lays hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying,
“You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler!
And these ruins will be under your [c]authority,”
He will [d]protest on that day, saying,
“I will not be your [e](G)healer,
For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
You should not appoint me ruler of the people.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 3:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Isaiah 3:4 Or arbitrary power will rule
  3. Isaiah 3:6 Lit hand
  4. Isaiah 3:7 Lit lift up his voice
  5. Isaiah 3:7 Lit binder of wounds

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