Isaiah 3
3
Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah
1#These verses suggest deportation, with resulting social upheaval, and thus may date to sometime after Ahaz submitted as vassal to Assyria. The deportation practiced by Assyria, as later by Babylon, exiled the leading elements of society, such as those named in vv. 2–3; cf. 2 Kgs 24:12, 14–16 for a similar list of those exiled by the Babylonians. Denuding society of its leaders opens the way to near anarchy and a situation in which leadership is seized by or thrust upon those unqualified for it (vv. 5–7). The situation has been provoked by sinfully inept leadership (vv. 4, 8–9, 12). Some suggest that vv. 4 and 12 refer to Ahaz, who may have come to the throne at an early age. Verses 10–11 form a wisdom couplet that was inserted later. The Lord, the Lord of hosts,
will take away from Jerusalem and from Judah
Support and staff—
all support of bread,
all support of water:#Lv 26:26; Ez 4:16.
2Hero and warrior,
judge and prophet, diviner and elder,
3The captain of fifty and the nobleman,
counselor, skilled magician, and expert charmer.
4I will place boys as their princes;
the fickle will govern them,#Eccl 10:16.
5And the people will oppress one another,
yes, each one the neighbor.
The child will be insolent toward the elder,
and the base toward the honorable.#Mi 7:5–6.
6When anyone seizes a brother
in their father’s house, saying,
“You have clothes! Be our ruler,
and take in hand this ruin!”—
7He will cry out in that day:
“I cannot be a healer,#Is 1:6.
when there is neither bread nor clothing in my own house!
You will not make me a ruler of the people!”
8Jerusalem has stumbled, Judah has fallen;
for their speech and deeds affront the Lord,
a provocation in the sight of his majesty.
9Their very look bears witness against them;#Jer 3:3.
they boast of their sin like Sodom,#Is 1:10.
They do not hide it.
Woe to them!
They deal out evil to themselves.
10Happy the just, for it will go well with them,
the fruit of their works they will eat.
11Woe to the wicked! It will go ill with them,
with the work of their hands they will be repaid.
12My people—infants oppress them,
women rule over them!
My people, your leaders deceive you,#Mi 3:5.
they confuse the paths you should follow.
13#The princes and the elders, here accused of despoiling the poor, are the very ones who should be their defenders. Loot: by the Hebrew term (gazela) Isaiah conveys the idea of violent seizure, though 10:1–4 suggests the poor could be plundered by legal means. The Lord rises to accuse,
stands to try his people.
14The Lord enters into judgment
with the people’s elders and princes:
You, you who have devoured the vineyard;
the loot wrested from the poor is in your houses.
15What do you mean by crushing my people,
and grinding down the faces of the poor?
says the Lord, the God of hosts.
The Haughty Women of Zion#3:16–4:1] Here and again in 32:9–14 Isaiah condemns the women of the ruling class for their part in Jerusalem’s plight.
16The Lord said:#Is 32:9–14; Ez 16:50; Am 4:1–3.
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
and walk with necks outstretched,
Ogling and mincing as they go,
their anklets tinkling with every step,
17The Lord shall cover the scalps of Zion’s daughters with scabs,
and the Lord shall lay bare their heads.#A shaven head is a mark of social disgrace; cf. Nm 5:18. #Jer 13:26; Ez 16:37.
18#The long list of women’s apparel in these verses suggests luxury and vanity; it contains a number of rare words, and the precise meaning of many of the terms is uncertain. On that day the Lord will do away with the finery of the anklets, sunbursts, and crescents; 19the pendants, bracelets, and veils; 20the headdresses, bangles, cinctures, perfume boxes, and amulets; 21the signet rings, and the nose rings; 22the court dresses, wraps, cloaks, and purses; 23the lace gowns, linen tunics, turbans, and shawls.
24Instead of perfume there will be stench,
instead of a girdle, a rope,
And instead of elaborate coiffure, baldness;
instead of a rich gown, a sackcloth skirt.
Then, instead of beauty, shame.
25Your men will fall by the sword,
and your champions,#Your men…your champions: the second person feminine singular pronoun here shows that the prophet has shifted his attention from the women of Zion to the personified city of Zion. in war;#Hos 14:1.
26Her gates will lament and mourn,
as the city sits desolate on the ground.#Is 47:1; Lam 2:10.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 3
3
Leaders of Judah and Jerusalem
1For look, the Lord Yahweh of hosts is removing every source of support#Literally “supplies and supplies”
from Jerusalem and from Judah:
all of the supplies of bread
and all of the supplies of water,
2mighty warrior and man of war,
judge and prophet,
and diviner and elder,
3captain of fifty and the honorable men of rank,
and counselor and skillful magicians and skillful enchanter.
4And I will make boys their princes,
and children shall rule over them.
5And the people will be oppressed by each other#Literally “man by man”
and a man by his neighbor.
The boy will act arrogantly toward the elder,
and the dishonorable toward the honorable.
6Indeed, a man will seize his brother
in the house of his father:
“You have a cloak;#Literally “a cloak for you”
you shall be a leader for us,
and this heap of ruins shall be under your hand!”
7He will lift up his voice on that day, saying,
“I will not be a healer;
in my house there is no bread
and there is no cloak.
You shall not make me the leader of the people!”
8For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen
because their speech and their deeds are against Yahweh,
defying the eyes of his glory.
9The look on their faces testifies against them
and they declare their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have dealt out evil to themselves.
10Tell the innocent#Singular that it is good
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11Woe to the wicked!#Singular It is bad!
For what is done by his hands will be done to him.
12My people—children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders are misleading you,
and they confuse the course of your paths.
13Yahweh takes his stand to conduct a legal case
and takes his stand to judge the peoples.
14Yahweh enters into judgment with the elders of his people and its princes.
“And you! You have devoured the vineyard;
the spoil of the poor is in your houses!
15Why#Literally “What to you” do you crush my people
and grind the face of the poor?”
declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh of hosts.
The Pride of Jerusalem’s Women
16And Yahweh said: “Because#There are two Hebrew words for “because” here the daughters of Zion are haughty,
and they walk with outstretched neck,
and they give flirting glances with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,#Literally “they go walking and mincing along”
and with their feet they rattle their bangles,#Literally “they tinkle with their feet”
17the Lord will make the heads#Hebrew “head” of the daughters of Zion scabby,
and Yahweh will lay their foreheads bare.”
18In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets
and the headbands and the crescent necklaces,
19the pendants and the bracelets and the veils,
20the headdresses and the armlets and the sashes,
and the perfume boxes#Literally “houses of the breath” and the amulets,
21the signet rings and the nose rings,
22the festal robes and the mantles,
and the cloaks and the handbags,
23and the mirrors and the linen garments,
and the turbans and the wraps.
24And this shall happen: There will be
a stench instead of perfume,
and a rope instead of a sash,
and baldness instead of a well-set hairdo,
and a clothing wrap of sackcloth instead of a rich robe,
branding instead of beauty.
25Your men shall fall by the sword,
and your warriors in battle.
26And her#That is, Jerusalem’s gates shall lament and mourn,
and she shall be banished;
she shall sit upon the ground.
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