Isaiah 3:23-26

3:23 garments, vests, head coverings, and gowns. ¹ 

3:24 A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices, ² 

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 ³  men will fall by the sword,

your strong men will die in battle. ⁴ 

3:26 Her gates will mourn and lament;

deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground. ⁵ 

[3:23]  ¹ tn The precise meaning of many of the words in this list is uncertain.

[3:24]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “your strength in battle.” The verb in the first clause provides the verbal idea for the second clause.

[3:26]  ⁵ 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.