For seven women will take hold of one man on that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our disgrace!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread, and wear our own clothing: only let us be called by your name. Take away our reproach.”
- KJV And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
- BSB In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, “We will eat our own bread and provide our own clothes. Just let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!”
- NKJV And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; Only let us be called by your name, To take away our reproach.”
- NLT In that day so few men will be left that seven women will fight for each man, saying, “Let us all marry you! We will provide our own food and clothing. Only let us take your name so we won’t be mocked as old maids.”
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
So many men will die that seven women cling to one man, willing to forgo support if only they can escape the shame of being unmarried and childless. It vividly conveys the social devastation left by war.
Overview
This verse completes the judgment scene of chapter 3, where the loss of men in battle leaves women desperate. In a culture where marriage and children removed a woman's reproach, the imbalance pictures a society in collapse. The bleakness here makes the sudden turn to hope in the next verse all the more striking.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Gen 30:23She conceived, bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”
- Isa 2:17The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day.
- Luke 1:25“Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.”
- Luke 21:22For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
- Isa 13:12I will make people more rare than fine gold, even a person than the pure gold of Ophir.
- 2 Th 3:12Now those who are that way, we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
- 1 Sam 1:6Her rival provoked her severely, to irritate her, because Yahweh had shut up her womb.
- Isa 3:25–26Your men shall fall by the sword, and your mighty in the war.
- Isa 10:20It will come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those who have escaped from the house of Jacob will no more again lean on him who struck them, but shall lean on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
- Isa 2:11The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the haughtiness of men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.
- Isa 17:7In that day, people will look to their Maker, and their eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel.
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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 4:1 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.