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Isaiah 3 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

Isa 3:1For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts
is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
support and supply,[fn]
all support of bread,
and all support of water;
Isa 3:2the mighty man and the soldier,
the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder,
Isa 3:3the captain of fifty
and the man of rank,
the counselor and the skillful magician
and the expert in charms.
Isa 3:4And I will make boys their princes,
and infants[fn] shall rule over them.
Isa 3:5And the people will oppress one another,
every one his fellow
and every one his neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the elder,
and the despised to the honorable.
Isa 3:6For a man will take hold of his brother
in the house of his father, saying:
“You have a cloak;
you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
shall be under your rule”;
Isa 3:7in that day he will speak out, saying:
“I will not be a healer;[fn]
in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
you shall not make me
leader of the people.”
Isa 3:8For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD,
defying his glorious presence.[fn]
Isa 3:9For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
they proclaim their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil on themselves.
Isa 3:10Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
Isa 3:11Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
Isa 3:12My people—infants are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, your guides mislead you
and they have swallowed up[fn] the course of your paths.
Isa 3:13The LORD has taken his place to contend;
he stands to judge peoples.
Isa 3:14The LORD will enter into judgment
with the elders and princes of his people:
“It is you who have devoured[fn] the vineyard,
the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
Isa 3:15What do you mean by crushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?”
declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
Isa 3:16The 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,
Isa 3:17therefore the Lord will strike with a scab
the heads of the daughters of Zion,
and the LORD will lay bare their secret parts.
Isa 3:18In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents;
Isa 3:19the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves;
Isa 3:20the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets;
Isa 3:21the signet rings and nose rings;
Isa 3:22the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags;
Isa 3:23the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.
Isa 3:24Instead of perfume there will be rottenness;
and instead of a belt, a rope;
and instead of well-set hair, baldness;
and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth;
and branding instead of beauty.
Isa 3:25Your men shall fall by the sword
and your mighty men in battle.
Isa 3:26And her gates shall lament and mourn;
empty, she shall sit on the ground.
ESV Footnotes
Hebrew staff
Or caprice
Hebrew binder of wounds
Hebrew the eyes of his glory
Or they have confused
Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5
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Isaiah Chapter 3 — Additional Translations: