“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.
- KJV And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
- BSB “I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will 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 you, land, when your king is a child, and your princes eat in the morning!
- 2 Chr 36:5Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in Yahweh his God’s sight.
- 1 Kgs 3:7–9Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father. I am just a little child. I don’t know how to go out or come in.
- 2 Chr 33:1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-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. He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight.
- 2 Chr 36:11Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
- 2 Chr 36:2Joahaz was twenty-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 thirty-one years in Jerusalem.
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 3:4 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.