Isaiah 3
3
Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah
1The mighty Lord All-Powerful
is going to take away
from Jerusalem and Judah
everything you need—
your bread and water,
* 2soldiers and heroes,
judges and prophets,
leaders and army officers,
3officials and advisors,
fortunetellers and others
who tell the future.
4He will let children and babies#3.4 babies: Or “worthless nobodies.”
become your rulers.
5You will each be cruel
to friends and neighbors.
Young people will insult
their elders;
no one will show respect
to those who deserve it.
6Some of you will grab hold
of a relative and say,
“You still have a coat.
Be our leader and rule
this pile of ruins.”
7But the answer will be,
“I can't do you any good.
Don't make me your leader.
There's no food or clothing
left in my house.”
8Jerusalem and Judah,
you rebelled against
your glorious Lord—
your words and your actions,
made you stumble and fall.
9The look on your faces shows
that you are sinful as Sodom,
and you don't try to hide it.
You are in for trouble,
and you have brought it all
on yourselves.
The Wrong Kind of Leaders
10Tell those who obey God,
“You're very fortunate—
you will be rewarded
for what you have done.”
11Tell those who disobey,
“You're in big trouble—
what you did to others
will come back to you.”
12Though you are God's people,
you are ruled and abused
by women and children.
You are confused by leaders
who guide you
down the wrong path.
13The Lord is ready to accuse
and judge all nations.
14He will even judge
you rulers and leaders
of his own nation.
You destroyed his vineyard#3.14 his vineyard: The nation Israel (see 5.1-7).
and filled your houses
by robbing the poor.
15The Lord All-Powerful says,
“You have crushed my people
and rubbed in the dirt
the faces of the poor.”
The Women of Jerusalem
16The Lord says:
The women of Jerusalem
are proud and strut around,
winking shamelessly.
They wear anklets that jingle
and call attention
to the way they walk.
17But I, the Lord, will cover
their heads with sores,
and I will uncover
their private parts.
18-23When that day comes, I will take away from those women all the fine jewelry they wear on their ankles, heads, necks, ears, arms, noses, fingers, and on their clothes. I will remove their veils, their belts, their perfume, their magic charms, their royal robes, and all their fancy dresses, hats, and purses.
24In place of perfume,
there will be a stink;
in place of belts,
there will be ropes;
in place of fancy hairdos,
they will have bald heads.
Instead of expensive clothes,
they will wear sackcloth;
instead of beauty,
they will have ugly scars.
25The fighting men of Jerusalem
will be killed in battle.
26The city will mourn
and sit in the dirt,
emptied of its people.
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Isaiah 3: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 3
3
1For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
stay and staff,
the whole stay of bread,
and the whole stay of water;
2the mighty man and the soldier,
the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder,
3the captain of fifty
and the man of rank,
the counselor and the skilful magician
and the expert in charms.
4And I will make boys their princes,
and babes shall rule over them.
5And the people will oppress one another,
every man his fellow
and every man his neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the elder,
and the base fellow to the honorable.
6When a man takes hold of his brother
in the house of his father, saying:
“You have a mantle;
you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
shall be under your rule”;
7in that day he will speak out, saying:
“I will not be a healer;
in my house there is neither bread nor mantle;
you shall not make me
leader of the people.”
8For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen;
because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord,
defying his glorious presence.
9Their partiality witnesses against them;
they proclaim their sin like Sodom,
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.
10Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for what his hands have done shall be done to him.
12My people—children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you,
and confuse the course of your paths.
13The Lord has taken his place to contend,
he stands to judge his people.#3.13 Gk Syr: Heb judge peoples
14The Lord enters into judgment
with the elders and princes of his people:
“It is you who have devoured the vineyard,
the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15What do you mean by crushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?”
says the Lord God of hosts.
16The 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;
17the Lord will smite with a scab
the heads of the daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.
18In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; 19the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarfs; 20the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21the signet rings and nose rings; 22the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23the garments of gauze, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.
24Instead of perfume there will be rottenness;
and instead of a girdle, a rope;
and instead of well-set hair, baldness;
and instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth;
instead of beauty, shame.#3.24 One ancient Ms: Heb lacks shame
25Your men shall fall by the sword
and your mighty men in battle.
26And her gates shall lament and mourn;
ravaged, she shall sit upon the ground.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America