the mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the soothsayer and the elder,
Parallel translations
- WEB the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the diviner, the elder,
- KJV The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
- NKJV The mighty man and the man of war, The judge and the prophet, And the diviner and the elder;
- NASB The mighty man and the warrior, The judge and the prophet, The diviner and the elder,
- NLT all their heroes and soldiers, judges and prophets, fortune-tellers and elders,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God will take away the warriors, judges, prophets, diviners, and elders. The nation's leaders and protectors will be removed.
Overview
The list strips away those who provide military, judicial, religious, and civic stability. Even the diviner is mentioned, perhaps to expose the false guidance the people had relied on. Without godly leadership, society unravels, underscoring the people's need for the true Shepherd-King.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 2 Kgs 24:14–16He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.
- Isa 9:14–15So the LORD will cut off Israel’s head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day.
- Ezek 8:12“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”
- Ps 74:9There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.
- Isa 2:13–15against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan,
- Ezek 17:13He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land,
- Amos 2:3I will cut off the ruler of Moab and kill all the officials with him,” says the LORD.
- Ezek 9:5And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone!
- Lam 5:12–14Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders receive no respect.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 3:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.