Isaiah 3:25-26

3:25 Your ¹  men will fall by the sword,

your strong men will die in battle. ² 

3:26 Her gates will mourn and lament;

deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground. ³ 

Isaiah 13:12

13:12 I will make human beings more scarce than pure gold,

and people more scarce ⁴  than gold from Ophir.

[3:25]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “your strength in battle.” The verb in the first clause provides the verbal idea for the second clause.

[3:26]  ³ 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.

[13:12]  ⁴ tn The verb is supplied in the translation from the first line. The verb in the first line (“I will make scarce”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse.