Judgment Comes to Judah’s Leaders
3 “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,
2 the mighty man
and the warrior,
the judge
and the prophet,
the fortune-teller
and the elder,
3 the commander of fifty
and the man of rank,
and the counselor, the expert magician,
and the medium.
4 “I will make youths their princes,
and infants will rule over them.
5 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.
6 “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!’
7 “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!’
8 “For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because what they say and do opposes[e] the Lord;
they keep defying him.[f]
9 “The expressions on their faces give them away.[g]
They parade their sin around like Sodom;
they don’t even try to[h] hide it.
How horrible it will be for them,
because they have brought disaster on themselves!”
Encouragement to the Righteous
10 “Tell[i] the righteous that things will go well,
because they will enjoy[j] the fruit of their actions.”
Warning to the Wicked
11 “How terrible it will be for the wicked!
Disaster is headed their way,
because what they did with their hand[k] will be repaid[l] to them.
12 “As for my people, children[m] are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders are misleading you—
they’re giving you confusing directions.”[n]
When God Goes to Court
13 The Lord is taking his place to argue his case;
he’s standing up to judge the people.
14 The Lord will go to court[o]
to oppose[p] the elders and princes of his people:
“You’re the ones who have been devouring the vineyard,
the plunder of the poor is in your own houses!
15 How dare you crush[q] my people
as you grind down the face of the poor?”
declares the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.[r]
Judgment of Jerusalem’s Women
16 The Lord also says:
“Because Zion’s women are so haughty,
and walk with outstretched necks,
flirting with their eyes,
prancing[s] along as they walk,
and making tinkling noises with their ankle bracelets,[t]
17 therefore the Lord[u] will afflict sores
on the heads of Zion’s women,
and the Lord[v] will expose their private parts.
18 “At that time,[w] the Lord[x] will take away the finery of the ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents, 19 pendants, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, armlets, sashes, perfume boxes, charms, 21 signet rings, nose rings, 22 fine robes, capes,[y] purses, 23 mirrors, linen garments, tiaras, and veils.
24 “And it will come about that instead of fragrance
there will be[z] a stench;
instead of a belt, a rope;
instead of well-set hair, baldness;
instead of a fine robe, sackcloth;
and instead of beauty, shame.[aa]
25 Your men will die violently,[ab]
while your forces[ac] fall[ad] in battle
26 and her gates lament and mourn.
Ravaged, she will sit on the ground.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 3:1 Lit. Judah both supply and support
- Isaiah 3:7 So 1QIsaa LXX; the Heb. lacks But
- Isaiah 3:7 Lit. day
- Isaiah 3:7 Lit. he’ll cry out
- Isaiah 3:8 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read do is towards
- Isaiah 3:8 Lit. defying his glorious presence
- Isaiah 3:9 Lit. faces bears witness against them
- Isaiah 3:9 1QIsaa MT lack try to
- Isaiah 3:10 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks Tell
- Isaiah 3:10 Lit. eat
- Isaiah 3:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read hands
- Isaiah 3:11 So 1QIsaa; MT reads done
- Isaiah 3:12 Or youths
- Isaiah 3:12 So MT; 1QIsaa reads they’re devouring your paths
- Isaiah 3:14 Lit. go into judgment
- Isaiah 3:14 Lit. with
- Isaiah 3:15 Lit. What do you mean by crushing
- Isaiah 3:15 So 1QIsaa MT; LXX lacks this line
- Isaiah 3:16 Or mincing
- Isaiah 3:16 Lit. their feet
- Isaiah 3:17 So 1QIsaa corrector; 1QIsaa 4QIsab MT read my Lord; LXX reads God
- Isaiah 3:17 So 1QIsaa corrector MT; 1QIsaa reads my Lord
- Isaiah 3:18 Lit. In that day
- Isaiah 3:18 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT 1QIsaa corrector read my Lord
- Isaiah 3:22 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsab MT read capes and cloaks
- Isaiah 3:24 The 1QIsaa lacks will be a stench
- Isaiah 3:24 So 1QIsaa; MT reads burning instead of beauty; LXX lacks this line
- Isaiah 3:25 Lit. will fall by the sword
- Isaiah 3:25 So 1QIsaa; MT reads force
- Isaiah 3:25 1QIsaa MT lack fall