Isaiah 3

1 For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the 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 prudent, and the ancient,3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.ss4 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 neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of 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 swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.ss8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

9 The shew 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 rewarded evil unto themselves.10 Say ye to 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 the reward of his hands shall be given him.s

12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.ss13 The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.s15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.

16 Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:ss17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts.s18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,s19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,ss20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,s21 The rings, and nose jewels,22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.s26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.s

Isaiah 3

Jerusalem on Its Last Legs

1-7 The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, is emptying Jerusalem and Judah Of all the basic necessities, plain bread and water to begin with. He's withdrawing police and protection, judges and courts, pastors and teachers, captains and generals, doctors and nurses, and, yes, even the repairmen and jacks-of-all-trades. He says, "I'll put little kids in charge of the city. Schoolboys and schoolgirls will order everyone around. People will be at each other's throats, stabbing one another in the back: Neighbor against neighbor, young against old, the no-account against the well-respected. One brother will grab another and say, 'You look like you've got a head on your shoulders. Do something! Get us out of this mess.' And he'll say, 'Me? Not me! I don't have a clue. Don't put me in charge of anything.'

8-9 "Jerusalem's on its last legs. Judah is soon down for the count. Everything people say and do is at cross-purposes with God, a slap in my face. Brazen in their depravity, they flaunt their sins like degenerate Sodom. Doom to their eternal souls! They've made their bed; now they'll sleep in it.

10-11 "Reassure the righteous that their good living will pay off. But doom to the wicked! Disaster! Everything they did will be done to them.

12 "Skinny kids terrorize my people. Silly girls bully them around. My dear people! Your leaders are taking you down a blind alley. They're sending you off on a wild-goose chase."

A City Brought to Her Knees by Her Sorrows

13-15 God enters the courtroom. He takes his place at the bench to judge his people. God calls for order in the court, hauls the leaders of his people into the dock: "You've played havoc with this country. Your houses are stuffed with what you've stolen from the poor. What is this anyway? Stomping on my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dirt?" That's what the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, says.

16-17 God says, "Zion women are stuck-up, prancing around in their high heels, Making eyes at all the men in the street, swinging their hips, Tossing their hair, gaudy and garish in cheap jewelry." The Master will fix it so those Zion women will all turn bald— Scabby, bald-headed women. The Master will do it.

18-23 The time is coming when the Master will strip them of their fancy baubles—the dangling earrings, anklets and bracelets, combs and mirrors and silk scarves, diamond brooches and pearl necklaces, the rings on their fingers and the rings on their toes, the latest fashions in hats, exotic perfumes and aphrodisiacs, gowns and capes, all the world's finest in fabrics and design.

24 Instead of wearing seductive scents, these women are going to smell like rotting cabbages; Instead of modeling flowing gowns, they'll be sporting rags; Instead of their stylish hairdos, scruffy heads; Instead of beauty marks, scabs and scars.

25-26 Your finest fighting men will be killed, your soldiers left dead on the battlefield. The entrance gate to Zion will be clotted with people mourning their dead— A city stooped under the weight of her loss, brought to her knees by her sorrows.