Isaiah 3:25--4:1

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 

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of

one man at that time. ⁴ 

They will say, “We will provide ⁵  our own food,

we will provide ⁶  our own clothes;

but let us belong to you ⁷  –

take away our shame!” ⁸ 

[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.

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Or “in that day” (ASV).

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.

[4:1]  ⁸ sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.