this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.
Parallel translations
- WEB this is the word which Yahweh has spoken concerning him. The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and ridiculed you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.
- KJV This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
- NKJV this is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: “The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back!
- NASB this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him: “She has shown contempt for you and derided you, The virgin daughter of Zion; The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head behind you!
- NLT the Lord has spoken this word against him: “The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and laughs at you. The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head in derision as you flee.
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 says the virgin daughter of Zion despises and mocks the proud Assyrian. The threatened city will see its enemy humiliated.
Overview
In poetic taunt, God pictures Jerusalem as a young woman shaking her head in scorn at her would-be conqueror. The reversal is striking: the besieged city, not the empire, will have the last word. This vindication of the apparently weak foreshadows how God overturns proud power and exalts the humble.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 24
- Job 16:4I could also speak like you if you were in my place; I could heap up words against you and shake my head at you.
- Jer 14:17You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow, a severely grievous wound.
- Isa 1:8And the Daughter of Zion is abandoned like a shelter in a vineyard, like a shack in a cucumber field, like a city besieged.
- Ps 9:14that I may declare all Your praises—that within the gates of Daughter Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation.
- Zeph 3:14Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
- Ps 22:7–8All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads:
- Lam 2:13What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can ever heal you?
- Zech 2:10“Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the LORD.
- Amos 5:2“Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again. She lies abandoned on her land, with no one to raise her up.”
- Zech 9:9Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Ps 46:1–7For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
- Ps 2:2–4The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:
- Ps 31:18May lying lips be silenced—lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous, full of pride and contempt.
- Ps 27:1–3Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?
- Matt 21:5“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
- Matt 27:39And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads
- 1 Sam 17:44–47“Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
- 1 Sam 17:36Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
- Isa 8:9–10Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!
- Isa 10:32Yet today they will halt at Nob, shaking a fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.
- Isa 62:11Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion: See, your Savior comes! Look, His reward is with Him, and His recompense goes before Him.”
- Lam 1:15The Lord has rejected all the mighty men in my midst; He has summoned an army against me to crush my young warriors. Like grapes in a winepress, the Lord has trampled the Virgin Daughter of Judah.
- Joel 3:9–12Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack!
- Isa 23:12He said, “You shall rejoice no more, O oppressed Virgin Daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus—even there you will find no rest.”
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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 37:22 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
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