Isaiah 3:11-26

3:11 Too bad for the wicked sinners!

For they will get exactly what they deserve. ¹ 

3:12 Oppressors treat my ²  people cruelly;

creditors rule over them. ³ 

My people’s leaders mislead them;

they give you confusing directions. ⁴ 

3:13 The Lord takes his position to judge;

he stands up to pass sentence on his people. ⁵ 

3:14 The Lord comes to pronounce judgment

on the leaders of his people and their officials.

He says, ⁶  “It is you ⁷  who have ruined ⁸  the vineyard! ⁹ 

You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ¹⁰ 

3:15 Why do you crush my people

and grind the faces of the poor?” ¹¹ 

The sovereign Lord who commands armies ¹²  has spoken.

Washing Away Impurity

3:16 The Lord says,

“The women ¹³  of Zion are proud.

They walk with their heads high ¹⁴ 

and flirt with their eyes.

They skip along ¹⁵ 

and the jewelry on their ankles jingles. ¹⁶ 

3:17 So ¹⁷  the sovereign master ¹⁸  will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women ¹⁹  with skin diseases, ²⁰ 

the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.” ²¹ 

3:18 ²² At that time ²³  the sovereign master will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry, ²⁴  neck ornaments, crescent shaped ornaments, 3:19 earrings, bracelets, veils, 3:20 headdresses, ankle ornaments, sashes, sachets, ²⁵  amulets, 3:21 rings, nose rings, 3:22 festive dresses, robes, shawls, purses, 3:23 garments, vests, head coverings, and gowns. ²⁶ 

3:24 A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices, ²⁷ 

a rope will replace a belt,

baldness will replace braided locks of hair,

a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe,

and a prisoner’s brand will replace beauty.

3:25 Your ²⁸  men will fall by the sword,

your strong men will die in battle. ²⁹ 

3:26 Her gates will mourn and lament;

deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground. ³⁰ 

[3:11]  ¹ tn Heb “for the work of his hands will be done to him.”

[3:12]  ² sn This may refer to the prophet or to the Lord.

[3:12]  ³ tc The Hebrew text appears to read literally, “My people, his oppressors, he deals severely, and women rule over them.” The correct text and precise meaning of the verse are debated. The translation above assumes (1) an emendation of נֹגְשָׂיו (nogÿsayv, “his oppressors”) to נֹגְשִׂים (nogÿshim, “oppressors”) by moving the mem (ם) on the following form to the end of the word and dropping the vav (ו) as virtually dittographic; (2) an emendation of מְעוֹלֵל (mÿ’olel, a singular participle that does not agree with the preceding plural subject) to עֹלְלוּ (’olÿlu), a third plural Poel perfect from עָלַל (’alal, “deal severely”; note that the following form begins with a vav [ו]; the text may be haplographic or misdivided); and (3) an emendation (with support from the LXX) of נָשִׁים (nashim, “women”) to נֹשִׁים (noshim, “creditors”; a participle from נָשַׁא, nasa’). Another option is to emend מְעוֹלֵל to עוֹלְלִים (’olÿlim, “children”) and read, “My people’s oppressors are children; women rule over them.” In this case the point is the same as in v. 4; the leadership void left by the judgment will be filled by those incompetent to lead the community – children and women. (The text reflects the ancient Israelite patriarchal mindset.)

[3:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the way of your paths they confuse.” The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”; HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (“swallow”; see HALOT 134 s.v. בלע).

[3:13]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text has “nations,” but the preceding and following contexts make it clear that the Lord is judging his covenant people. עָמִים (’amim) should be changed (with support from the LXX) to עמו. The final mem (ם) on the form in the Hebrew is either dittographic or enclitic. When the mem was added or read as a plural ending, the vav (ו) was then misread as a yod (י).

[3:14]  ⁶ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:14]  ⁷ tn The pronominal element is masculine plural; the leaders are addressed.

[3:14]  ⁸ tn The verb בָּעַר (ba’ar, “graze, ruin”; HALOT 146 s.v. II בער) is a homonym of the more common בָּעַר (ba’ar, “burn”; see HALOT 145 s.v. I בער).

[3:14]  ⁹ sn The vineyard is a metaphor for the nation here. See 5:1-7.

[3:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the plunder of the poor [is] in your houses” (so NASB).

[3:15]  ¹¹ sn The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s outrage at what the leaders have done to the poor. He finds it almost unbelievable that they would have the audacity to treat his people in this manner.

[3:15]  ¹² tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at 1:9.

[3:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “daughters” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV).

[3:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.

[3:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”

[3:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”

[3:17]  ¹⁷ tn In the Hebrew text vv. 16-17 and one long sentence, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud and walk…, the sovereign master will afflict….” In v. 17 the Lord refers to himself in the third person.

[3:17]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 18 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[3:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the daughters of Zion.”

[3:17]  ²⁰ tn Or “a scab” (KJV, ASV); NIV, NCV, CEV “sores.”

[3:17]  ²¹ tn The precise meaning of this line is unclear because of the presence of the rare word פֹּת (pot). Since the verb in the line means “lay bare, make naked,” some take פֹּת as a reference to the genitals (cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV, CEV). (In 1 Kgs 7:50 a noun פֹּת appears, with the apparent meaning “socket.”) J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:139, n. 2), basing his argument on alleged Akkadian evidence and the parallelism of the verse, takes פֹּת as “forehead.”

[3:18]  ²² sn The translation assumes that the direct quotation ends with v. 17. The introductory formula “in that day” and the shift from a poetic to prosaic style indicate that a new speech unit begins in v. 18.

[3:18]  ²³ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[3:18]  ²⁴ tn Or “the beauty of [their] ankle jewelry.”

[3:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “houses of breath.” HALOT 124 s.v. בַּיִת defines them as “scent-bottles”; cf. NAB, NRSV “perfume boxes.”

[3:23]  ²⁶ tn The precise meaning of many of the words in this list is uncertain.

[3:24]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and it will be in place of spices there will be a stench.” The nouns for “spices” and “stench” are right next to each other in the MT for emphatic contrast. The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[3:25]  ²⁸ tn The pronoun is feminine singular, suggesting personified Zion, as representative of its women, is the addressee. The reference to “her gates’ in v. 26 makes this identification almost certain.

[3:25]  ²⁹ tn Heb “your strength in battle.” The verb in the first clause provides the verbal idea for the second clause.

[3:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “she will be empty, on the ground she will sit.” Jerusalem is personified as a destitute woman who sits mourning the empty city.