And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will give boys to be their princes, and children shall rule over them.
- BSB “I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.”
- NKJV “I will give children to be their princes, And babes shall rule over them.
- NASB And I will make mere boys their leaders, And mischievous children will rule over them,
- NLT I will make boys their leaders, and toddlers their rulers.
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 give them boys as princes and let children rule over them. Immature, unfit leadership will be a sign and instrument of judgment.
Overview
With true leaders removed, the nation is left with rulers lacking wisdom and capacity. This reversal of proper order is itself a judgment that breeds instability. It contrasts sharply with the perfect rule of the coming Messianic King.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Eccl 10:16Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
- 2 Chr 36:5Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
- 1 Kgs 3:7–9And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
- 2 Chr 33:1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
- 2 Chr 36:9Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
- 2 Chr 36:11Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
- 2 Chr 36:2Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
- 2 Chr 34:1Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 3:4 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.