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Isaiah 3

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The Removal of Support and Leadership 1–7

1
For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water; ​
2
the mighty man, and the man of war; the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the elder;
3
the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the expert artificer, and the skilful enchanter.
4
And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. ​
5
And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the old man, and the base against the honorable.
6
When a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand;
7
in that day shall he lift up his voice, saying, I will not be a healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: ye shall not make me ruler of the people. ​

The Reason for Judgment: Sin and Oppression 8–15

8
For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to provoke the eyes of his glory. ​
9
The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have done evil unto themselves. ​
10
Say ye of the righteous, that it shall be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. ​
11
Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; for what his hands have done shall be done unto him.
12
As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. ​
13
Jehovah standeth up to contend, and standeth to judge the peoples. ​
14
Jehovah will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and the princes thereof: It is ye that have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses: ​
15
what mean ye that ye crush my people, and grind the face of the poor? saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts. ​

Judgment on the Haughty Women of Zion 16–26

16
Moreover Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet; ​
17
therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will lay bare their secret parts. ​
18
In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, and the cauls, and the crescents;
19
the pendants, and the bracelets, and the mufflers;
20
the headtires, and the ankle chains, and the sashes, and the perfume-boxes, and the amulets;
21
the rings, and the nose-jewels;
22
the festival robes, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the satchels;
23
the hand-mirrors, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the veils.
24
And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth; branding instead of beauty. ​
25
Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
26
And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate and sit upon the ground. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 3

Verse 1

the stay and the staff — Mishen and mishenah are the masculine and feminine of one word for a support, a thing leaned on. The 'whole stay of bread' is the curse of Ezek 4:16, 'I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem', and the famine of Ps 105:16, 'he brake the whole staff of bread'. The one who removes it is 'the LORD of hosts'.

Verse 4

children to be their princes — Na'ar is a boy or youth; 'babes' is ta'alul, caprice or vexation, so rulers who act on whim. 'Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child' (Eccl 10:16). Judah had such kings: Manasseh 'was twelve years old when he began to reign' (2 Chr 33:1). The LORD says 'I will give': the judgment is his.

Verse 7

I will not be an healer — Chabash is to bind up, as a wound is bound; the man asked to rule refuses the office of binding up the 'ruin' of v.6. He swears it, with 'neither bread nor clothing' at home. The shepherds of Ezek 34:4 are charged with the same failure: 'neither have ye healed that which was sick'.

Verse 8

the eyes of his glory — Kavod, glory, is literally weight. Judah's offence is of 'tongue' and 'doings' (ma'alal, deeds), the same word as 'doings' in v.10. 'Provoke' is marah, to rebel against; the rebellion is before the LORD's own gaze. The 'ruin' and 'fall' are stated as accomplished, as the prophet sees them.

Verse 9

as Sodom — Sodom's men were 'wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly' (Gen 13:13), and they called out their purpose openly at Lot's door (Gen 19:5). Judah's 'shew' of countenance is the same shamelessness; Jeremiah says of such people, 'neither could they blush' (Jer 6:15). The 'woe' falls on the soul (nephesh), the people themselves.

Verse 10

eat the fruit of their doings — Peri, fruit, and ma'alal, deeds, the word used for the evil 'doings' of v.8. The principle runs both ways: 'whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap' (Gal 6:7). Set between two oracles of woe, this verse tells the righteous that it shall be 'well' (tov) with them.

Verse 12

children are their oppressors — This repeats the judgment of v.4. The leaders 'cause thee to err' (ta'ah, to wander off the road), the verb of a straying flock, and 'destroy' (bala', literally swallow up) 'the way of thy paths'. Christ speaks of the same thing: 'they be blind leaders of the blind' (Matt 15:14).

Verse 13

standeth up to plead — Riv is to contend in a lawsuit; the LORD takes the posture of the one who brings the case and then 'standeth to judge' (din). The same courtroom opens Hosea 4:1, 'the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land', and Mic 6:2, 'the LORD hath a controversy with his people'.

Verse 14

ye have eaten up the vineyard — The vineyard is Israel itself: 'the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel' (Isa 5:7). 'Eaten up' is ba'ar, to consume. The accused are the 'ancients' and 'princes' (the offices of vv.2–3), whose houses hold 'the spoil of the poor' ('ani, the afflicted).

Verse 15

grind the faces of the poor — Tachan is to grind meal at the mill; 'beat… to pieces' is daka, to crush. The rulers treat 'my people' as grain. The LORD's question carries his full title, 'the Lord GOD of hosts'. Amos 2:7 charges the same: those 'that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor'.

Verse 16

the daughters of Zion — The charge opens with 'haughty' (gavah, lofty). 'Wanton' eyes is saqar, to ogle; 'mincing' is taphaph, taking short steps; 'tinkling' comes from akas, to put on anklets, the ekes of v.18. Ezek 16:49 names Sodom's sin as 'pride, fulness of bread', which v.9 has already compared.

Verse 17

smite with a scab — Sapach is to scrape; the scalp disease falls on 'the crown of the head', where the hair was dressed (v.24). A head plague made a person unclean under the law: 'his plague is in his head' (Lev 13:44). 'Discover their secret parts' (poth) is the exposure of captivity; Jer 13:22 says 'thy skirts discovered'.

Verse 24

instead of sweet smell — There are five exchanges, each pairing an adornment with its opposite: besem, spice, for maq, rottenness; girdle for a rope; set curls for baldness; the fine robe for sackcloth; and 'burning instead of beauty' (ki, a brand). Baldness and sackcloth are the dress of mourning (Isa 22:12).

Verse 26

her gates shall lament and mourn — The gate was the city's place of meeting and judgment, here made to mourn; Jer 14:2 says 'the gates thereof languish' and Lam 1:4 'all her gates are desolate'. Zion, spoken of as a woman, 'shall sit upon the ground', as in Lam 2:10, 'The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground'.