D P¹ g¹ 1-3. Judgment prophesied.
h¹ 4-7. Oppression.
Q¹ 8,9. The ruin of Jerusalem and Judah.
P² g² 10,11. Judgment. Threatened.
h² 12-. Oppression.
Q² -12. The ruin of the People.
P³ g³ 13,14. Judgment. Assured.
h³ 15. Oppression.649-588 B.C.
Isaiah 3)
1 For, behold, the Lord (Heb. â-’Adon), the Lord of Hosts, does take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water (put for all kinds of food and drink).
2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner (i.e. the king. Cp. Prov.16:10), and the elder,
3 The captain of fifty, and the eminent (or highly respected. Cp. 2 Kings 5:1) man, and the counselor, and the skilled in arts, and the skilled in magnetism.
4 And I will give youths (or boys) to be their princes, and babes (= caprice (as a fit coming on), i.e. vexation; concretely a tyrant: - delusion.) shall rule over them.
5 And the People shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the youth (or boy) shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable.
6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, “You have clothing (put for all necessaries), become you our ruler, and let this ruin be under your hand:”
7 In that day shall he swear (i.e. raising the hand in oath. See Gen. 14:22. Ex. 6:8. Num. 14:30. Deut. 32:40), saying, “I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the People.”
8 For Jerusalem is overthrown, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of His glory (= His glorious presence, "eyes" being put for the person as manifested).
9 The expression of their countenance does testify against them; and they have declared their sin as Sodom (see 1:9,10), they have not hidden. Woe to them! (Emphatic) for they have rewarded evil to themselves.
10 Say you all to the righteous one, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11 Woe to an evil one [it shall not be well]! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands (fig., put for what is done with them) shall be done to him.
12 As for My People, little ones are their oppressors, and women rule over them.
O My People, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and have swallowed the way of your paths (see 2:3).
13 The Lord stands up to plead, and stands to judge the peoples.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His People, and the princes thereof: for you all have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil taken from the oppressed is in your houses (Prov.6:11).
15 What mean you all that you all crush My People to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor?” is the oracle of the Lord God of hosts.
C R 3:16. Pride. Manifested.
S 3:17. Threatening. (General).
S 3:18-26. Threatening. (Particular).
R 4:1. Pride. Humbled.16 Moreover the Lord says, “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty (cp. the "kine of Basham" [Amos 4:1]), and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet (Heb. masc. Often used of women who act as men):
17 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 (or, nakedness).
18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery of their tinkling ornaments (= metal crescent-shaped discs) about their feet, and their caps, and their round round crescent-shaped headbands,
19 The pendants, and the bracelets, and the light face-veils,
20 The headdress, and the anklets of the legs, and the girdles (cp. 49:19. Jer. 2:32), and the scent bottles (Heb. houses of the soul; nephesh, used in the sense of breath), and the amulets,
21 The rings, and nose jewels (worn in Palestine to-day),
22 The robes (i.e. state or gala dresses), and the mantles, and the neck bindings, and the purses (or reticules),
23 The mirrors (or polished metal), and the underclothing, and the turbans, and the long flowing veils.
24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of perfume there shall be rottenness (or stench); and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of richly plaited hair, baldness; and instead of a sash (or girdle, often worked in silk and gold. Still worn in Palestine), a girding with a rope; and branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword, and your might in the war.
26 And her entrances shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.