Isaiah 3

ENGWEBEnglish26 verses

1For, behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water;

2the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the diviner, the elder,

3the captain of fifty, the honorable man, the counselor, the skilled craftsman, and the clever enchanter.

4I will give boys to be their princes, and children shall rule over them.

5The people will be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbor. The child will behave himself proudly against the old man, and the base against the honorable.

6Indeed a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, “You have clothing, you be our ruler, and let this ruin be under your hand.”

7In that day he will cry out, saying, “I will not be a healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing. You shall not make me ruler of the people.”

8For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Yahweh, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

9The look of their faces testify against them. They parade their sin like Sodom. They don’t hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought disaster upon themselves.

10Tell the righteous “Good!” For they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.

11Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them; for the deeds of his hands will be paid back to him.

12As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. My people, those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths.

13Yahweh stands up to contend, and stands to judge the peoples.

14Yahweh will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and their leaders: “It is you who have eaten up the vineyard. The plunder of the poor is in your houses.

15What do you mean that you crush my people, and grind the face of the poor?” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.

16Moreover Yahweh said, “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and flirting eyes, walking to trip as they go, jingling ornaments on their feet;

17therefore the Lord brings sores on the crown of the head of the women of Zion, and Yahweh will make their scalps bald.”

18In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, the headbands, the crescent necklaces,

19the earrings, the bracelets, the veils,

20the headdresses, the ankle chains, the sashes, the perfume bottles, the charms,

21the signet rings, the nose rings,

22the fine robes, the capes, the cloaks, the purses,

23the hand mirrors, the fine linen garments, the tiaras, and the shawls.

24It shall happen that instead of sweet spices, there shall be rottenness; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well set hair, baldness; instead of a robe, a wearing of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty.

25Your men shall fall by the sword, and your mighty in the war.

26Her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate and sit on the ground.

Commentary

"\nFor, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,.... These titles of Jehovah, expressive of power and authority, are used to show that he is able to execute what he threatens to do; and the word "behold" is prefixed, to excite attention to what is about to be said:\n\ndoth take away from Jerusalem, and from Judea; the present tense is used for the future, because of the certainty of what would be done to the Jews, both in city and country; for as in the preceding chapter Isa 2:1 it is foretold what shall befall the antichristian party among the nations of the world, this is a prophecy of the destruction of the Jews by the Romans; at which time there would be a dreadful famine, signified by the taking away\n\nthe stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water; bread and water being the stay and staff of man's life, which support and maintain it; and, in case of disobedience, a famine was threatened this people very early, and in much such terms as here,\n Le 26:26 and as there was a very sore famine at the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, Jer 52:6 so there was a very dreadful one when the city was besieged by the Romans, as related by Josephus, and predicted by Christ, Mt 24:7.\n\n\n\n "

CHAPTER 3Isa 3:1-26.1. For—continuation of Isa 2:22.Lord of hosts—therefore able to do as He says.doth—present for future, so certain is the accomplishment.stay … staff—the same Hebrew word, the one masculine, the other feminine, an Arabic idiom for all kinds of support. What a change from the previous luxuries (Isa 2:7)! Fulfilled in the siege by Nebuchadnezzar and afterwards by Titus (Jer 37:21; 38:9).

3:1-9 God was about to deprive Judah of every stay and support. The city and the land were to be made desolate, because their words and works had been rebellious against the Lord; even at his holy temple. If men do not stay themselves upon God, he will soon remove all other supports, and then they must sink. Christ is the Bread of life and the Water of life; if he be our Stay, we shall find that is a good part not to be taken away, Joh 6:27. Here note, 1. That the condition of sinners is exceedingly woful. 2. It is the soul that is damaged by sin. 3. Whatever evil befals sinners, be sure that they bring it on themselves.

2. Fulfilled (2Ki 24:14).prudent—the Hebrew often means a "soothsayer" (De 18:10-14); thus it will mean, the diviners, on whom they rely, shall in that day fail. It is found in a good sense (Pr 16:10), from which passage the Jews interpret it a king; "without" whom Israel long has been (Ho 3:4).ancient—old and experienced (1Ki 12:6-8).

"\nThe mighty man, and man of war,.... The meaning is either that these should die in war, as thousands of them did; or that men fit to be generals of armies should be removed by death before this time, so that they should have none to go out with their armies, and meet the enemy:\n\nthe judge and the prophet; there should be none to sit upon the bench, and administer justice to the people in civil affairs, and to determine causes relating to life and death; and none to instruct them in religious matters, and deliver the mind and will of God to them; and before this time the Jews were under the Roman jurisdiction, and had a Roman governor over them, and had not power to judge in capital cases, in matters of life and death, as they suggest, Joh 18:31 and they say {z}, that forty years before the destruction of the temple this power was taken from them; and at the time that Jerusalem was besieged, and taken by the Romans, and before that, they had no prophets among them; for though there were prophets in the Christian churches, yet none among them; this shows that this prophecy cannot be understood of the Babylonish captivity, because there were prophets then, as Jeremy, Ezekiel, and Daniel, but of Jerusalem's destruction by the Romans:\n\nand the prudent and the ancient: with whom are wisdom, and who are fit to give advice and counsel in matters of difficulty; but these would be removed by famine or sword. The first of these words is used sometimes in an ill sense, for a diviner or soothsayer,\n De 18:10. The Jewish writers {a} interpret it of a king, according to Pr 16:10 and it is certain they were without one at this time, and have been ever since, Ho 3:4.\n\n{z} T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 15. 1. Sanhedrin, fol. 41. 1. and Beracot, fol. 58. 1. {a} T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 14. 1. Jarchi in loc.\n\n\n "

3. captain of fifty—not only captains of thousands, and centurions of a hundred, but even semi-centurions of fifty, shall fail.honourable—literally, "of dignified aspect."cunning—skilful. The mechanic's business will come to a standstill in the siege and subsequent desolation of the state; artisans are no mean "stay" among a nation's safeguards.eloquent orator—rather, as Vulgate, "skilled in whispering," that is, incantation (Ps 58:5). See Isa 8:19, below; and on "prudent," see on [690]Isa 3:2.

"\nThe captain of fifty,.... A semi-centurion, such an one as in 2Ki 1:9.

Read the full commentary Audio, full commentary and offline reading

Translations8 · 5

AMHEVG እነሆ፥ የሠራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር ከኢየሩሳሌምና ከይሁዳ ድጋፍንና ብርታትን፥ የእንጀራን ድጋፍ ሁሉ የውኃውንም ድጋፍ ሁሉ፥ አማርኛ ENGNIV See now, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: all supplies o… English BCV እንሆ፥ ጐይታ ሰራዊት እግዚኣብሄር፥ ካብ ኢየሩሳሌምን ካብ ይሁዳን ደገፍን ፅንዓትን፥ ኵሉ ደገፍ እንጀራን ኵሉ ደገፍ ማይን ከወግድ እዩ። ትግርኛ GAZBIB Kunoo! Waaqayyo gooftaan maccaa, waan isaan ittiin jiraataniif waan isaan ittiin gargaaraman Yerusaalemii fi Yihudaa ha… Afaan Oromoo BCV GIZ ናሁ እግዚአብሔር ፀባኦት ያእትት እምኢየሩሳሌም ወእምይሁዳ ጽኑዓነ ወኀያላነ ወጽንዐተ ኀይለ እክል ወኀይለ ማይ፤ giz GAZGAZ Kunoo! Waaqayyo gooftaan maccaa, waan isaan ittiin jiraataniif waan isaan ittiin gargaaraman Yerusaalemii fi Yihudaa ha… Afaan Oromoo BCV aksum እንሆ፥ ጐይታ ሰራዊት እግዚኣብሄር፥ ካብ ኢየሩሳሌምን ካብ ይሁዳን ደገፍን ፅንዓትን፥ ኵሉ ደገፍ እንጀራን ኵሉ ደገፍ ማይን ከወግድ እዩ። ትግርኛ AMHNIV እነሆ፤ ጌታ፣ የሰራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር ከኢየሩሳሌምና ከይሁዳ ድጋፉንና ርዳታውን፣ የምግብና የውሃ ርዳታውን ሁሉ ይነሣል፤ አማርኛ