Isaiah 3

Modern

Literal

Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah

¹For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts

is about to remove

from Jerusalem and Judah

both supply^a and support:

the whole supply of food and water,

¹For behold, the Lord YHWH of hosts is turning away from Jerusalem and from Judah the staff and support—the whole staff of bread, and the whole staff of water—

²the mighty man and the warrior,

the judge and the prophet,

the soothsayer and the elder,

²the mighty one and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the diviner and the elder,

³the commander of fifty and the dignitary,

the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter.

³the captain of fifty, and the lifted up of faces, and the counselor, and the cunning magician, and the discerning charmer.

⁴“I will make mere lads their leaders,

and children will rule over them.”

⁴“And I will give youths as their princes, and infants will rule over them.”

⁵The people will oppress one another,

man against man, neighbor against neighbor;

the young will rise up against the old,

and the base against the honorable.

⁵And the people will be oppressed, each man by a man and each man by his neighbor; the child will rage against the elder, and the one despised against the honored.

⁶A man will seize his brother

within his father’s house:

“You have a cloak—you be our leader!

Take charge of this heap of rubble.”

⁶For a man will take hold on his brother in the house of his father: “A cloak is unto you—the chief you will be for us, and this heap of ruins is under your hand;”

⁷On that day he will cry aloud:

“I am not a healer.^a

I have no food or clothing in my house.

Do not make me leader of the people!”

⁷he will lift up in that day to say, “I will not be one binding wounds, and in my house there is no bread and no garment; you shall not set me as chief of the people.”

⁸For Jerusalem has stumbled

and Judah has fallen

because they spoke and acted against the LORD,

defying His glorious presence.^a

⁸For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their tongue and their deeds are against YHWH, defying the eyes of His glory.

⁹The expression on their faces testifies against them,

and like Sodom they flaunt their sin;

they do not conceal it.

Woe to them,

for they have brought disaster upon themselves.

⁹The look of their faces answers against them, and their sin like Sodom they declare—they do not hide it! Woe to their soul, for they have brought evil upon themselves.

¹⁰Tell the righteous it will be well with them,

for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.

¹⁰Say to the righteous that it is good, for the fruit of their deeds they will eat.

¹¹Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them!

For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.

¹¹Woe to the wicked—evil; for the recompense of his hands will be done to him!

¹²Youths oppress My people,

and women rule over them.

O My people, your guides mislead you;

they turn you from your paths.

¹²My people—their oppressors are foolish children, and women rule over them. O My people, those who guide you lead you astray, and the way of your paths they have swallowed up.

¹³The LORD arises to contend;

He stands to judge the people.

¹³YHWH Is taking His stand to contend, and is standing to judge the peoples.

¹⁴The LORD brings this charge

against the elders and leaders of His people:

“You have devoured the vineyard;

the plunder of the poor is in your houses.

¹⁴YHWH will enter into judgment with the elders of His people and His princes: “And you—you have consumed the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses.

¹⁵Why do you crush My people

and grind the faces of the poor?”

declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.

¹⁵Why do you crush My people, and grind the faces of the poor?” A declaration of the Lord YHWH of hosts.

A Warning to the Daughters of Zion

¹⁶The LORD also says:

“Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—

walking with heads held high

and wanton eyes,

prancing and skipping as they go,

jingling the bracelets on their ankles—

¹⁶And says YHWH: “Because that the daughters of Zion are haughty, and they walk with outstretched neck and wanton eyes, walking and skipping as they go, and with their feet jingling,

¹⁷the Lord will bring sores

on the heads of the daughters of Zion,

and the LORD will make their foreheads bare.”^a

¹⁷and the Lord will bring scabs to the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and YHWH will make their foreheads bare.

¹⁸In that day the Lord will take away their finery:

their anklets and headbands and crescents;

¹⁸That in the day the Lord will turn away the beauty of the anklets and the headbands, and the crescents,

¹⁹their pendants, bracelets, and veils;

¹⁹the pendants, and the bracelets, and the veils,

²⁰their headdresses, ankle chains, and sashes;

their perfume bottles and charms;

²⁰the headdresses, and the armlets, and the sashes, and the boxes of perfume, and the charms,

²¹their signet rings and nose rings;

²¹the signet rings, and nose rings,

²²their festive robes, capes, cloaks, and purses;

²²the festive robes, and the tunics, and the cloaks, and the purses,

²³and their mirrors, linen garments, tiaras, and shawls.

²³and the mirrors, and the linen garments, and the turbans, and the veils.

²⁴Instead of fragrance

there will be a stench;

instead of a belt, a rope;

instead of styled hair, baldness;

instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;

instead of beauty, shame.^a

²⁴And it will come to pass, instead of of spice, that there will be rottenness; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of worked hair, baldness; and instead of a fine robe, a girding of sackcloth; and shame instead of beauty.

²⁵Your men will fall by the sword,

and your warriors in battle.

²⁵Your men will fall by the sword, and your mighty ones in battle;

²⁶And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn;

destitute, she will sit on the ground.

²⁶and her gates will lament and mourn and she will be left empty—on the ground she will sit.