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
III
1For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts,
Removeth from Jerusalem, and from Judah,
Every stay and support;
The whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water:
2The mighty man, and the warrior;
The judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the elder:
3The captain of fifty, and the honourable man;
And the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the skilful in incantation.
4And I will set boys for their princes;
And children shall rule over them.
5And the people shall be oppressed;
This man by that man, and that man by his neighbour:
They shall behave themselves insolently, the boy towards the old man;
And the base towards the honourable.
6Then should a man lay hold on his brother, of the house of his father,
Saying, thou hast raiment; be thou ruler over us,
And take this ruin under thy hand:
7He shall swear in that day, saying,
I cannot be the healer;
For in my house is neither bread nor raiment:
Appoint not me a ruler of the people.
8For Jerusalem tottereth, and Judah falleth; Because their tongue and their deeds are against
Jehovah;
To provoke his glorious eyes.
9The shamelessness of their countenances witnesseth against them;
And they speak openly of their sin, like Sodom, they hide it not:
Wo unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
10Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him;
For the fruit of his deeds shall he eat.
11Wo unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him;
For the reward of his hands shall be given him.
12As for my people, children are their oppressors;
And women rule over them.
O my people, thy leaders cause thee to err;
And the way of thy paths, they pervert.
13 Jehovah ariseth to plead his cause;
He standeth to judge the people.
14 Jehovah will enter into judgment
With the elders of his people and their princes:
For ye have consumed the vineyard,
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15What mean ye that ye crush my people,
And grind the faces of the poor?
Saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
16Moreover Jehovah hath said:
Because the daughters of Zion ore haughty;
And walk displaying the neck,
And leering with their eyes,
Walking and mincing as they go,
And making a tinkling with their feet.
17Therefore will the Lord smite with a scab the head of the daughters of Zion;
And Jehovah will expose their nakedness.
18In that day will the Lord remove the splendour of the foot-ornaments,
And the caps of network, and the crescents;
19The ear-pendents, and the bracelets, and the thin veils;
20The head-dress, and the ornaments of the legs, and the girdles,
And the perfume-boxes, and the amulets;
21The rings, and the jewels of the nose;
22The embroidered robes, and the tunics;
And the cloaks, and the sachels;
23The transparent garments, and the fine linen vests;
And the turbans, and the mantles.
24And it shall come to pass, that instead of perfume there shall be a stench;
And instead of a girdle, a rope;
And instead of plaited hair, baldness;
And instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth:
A sunburnt skin, instead of beauty.
25Thy men shall fall by the sword;
And thy mighty in the war,
26And her gates shall lament and mourn;
And destitute shall she sit upon the ground.
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.