Isaiah 3

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¹For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water, ✦ ²the mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the soothsayer and the elder, ✦ ³the commander of fifty and the dignitary, the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter. ✦ ⁴“I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.” ✦ ⁵The people will oppress one another, man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the young will rise up against the old, and the base against the honorable. ✦ ⁶A man will seize his brother within his father’s house: “You have a cloak—you be our leader! Take charge of this heap of rubble.” ✦ ⁷On that day he will cry aloud: “I am not a healer. I have no food or clothing in my house. Do not make me leader of the people!” ✦ ⁸For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because they spoke and acted against the LORD, defying His glorious presence. ✦ ⁹The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves. ✦ ¹⁰Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor. ✦ ¹¹Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done. ✦ ¹²Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths. ✦ ¹³The LORD arises to contend; He stands to judge the people. ✦ ¹⁴The LORD brings this charge against the elders and leaders of His people: “You have devoured the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses. ✦ ¹⁵Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts. ✦ ¹⁶The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles— ✦ ¹⁷the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will make their foreheads bare.” ✦ ¹⁸In that day the Lord will take away their finery: their anklets and headbands and crescents; ✦ ¹⁹their pendants, bracelets, and veils; ✦ ²⁰their headdresses, ankle chains, and sashes; their perfume bottles and charms; ✦ ²¹their signet rings and nose rings; ✦ ²²their festive robes, capes, cloaks, and purses; ²³and their mirrors, linen garments, tiaras, and shawls. ✦ ²⁴Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of styled hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, shame. ✦ ²⁵Your men will fall by the sword, and your warriors in battle. ✦ ²⁶And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Ezek 16 ·6 Gen 24 ·5 2 Chr 36 ·5 Isa 1 ·5 Ezek 8 ·4 Isa 9 ·4 Mic 3 ·4 Deut 28 ·4

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

★ Start hereCommentaryThe Book of Isaiah (NICOT)John N. Oswalt · Paid · evangelical
The standard evangelical commentary on Isaiah — thorough and devotionally warm.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 3YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Isaiah 3David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Isaiah 3Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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