Isaiah 3

¹For, 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,

²The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,

³The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.

⁴And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

⁵And 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.

⁶When 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:

⁷In 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.

⁸For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.

⁹The 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.

¹⁰Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

¹¹Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

¹²As 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.

¹³The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.

¹⁴The 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.

¹⁵What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.

¹⁶Moreover 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:

¹⁷Therefore 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.

¹⁸In 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,

¹⁹The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,

²⁰The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,

²¹The rings, and nose jewels,

²²The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,

²³The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.

²⁴And 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.

²⁵Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.

²⁶And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.

Isaiah 3

¹For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,

²the mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the soothsayer and the elder,

³the commander of fifty and the dignitary, the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter.

⁴“I will make mere lads their leaders, and children 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.

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.”

⁷On that day he will cry aloud: “I am not a healer. I have no food or clothing in my house. Do not make me leader of the people!”

⁸For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because they spoke and acted against the LORD, defying His glorious presence.

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.

¹⁰Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.

¹¹Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.

¹²Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.

¹³The LORD arises to contend; He stands to judge the people.

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.

¹⁵Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.

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—

¹⁷the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will make their foreheads bare.”

¹⁸In that day the Lord will take away their finery: their anklets and headbands and crescents;

¹⁹their pendants, bracelets, and veils;

²⁰their headdresses, ankle chains, and sashes; their perfume bottles and charms;

²¹their signet rings and nose rings;

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

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

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.

²⁵Your men will fall by the sword, and your warriors in battle.

²⁶And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.