Isaiah 3

1 The Commander of the armies of angels is about to take away from Jerusalem and [other places in] Judea everything that you depend on— all your food and water.

For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, every stay of bread, and every stay of water;

2 He will take away your heroes and your [other] soldiers, your judges and your prophets, people who do rituals to find out what will happen in the future and the elders,

The mighty man, and the man of war; the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the elder;

3 army officers and [other] officials, advisors and skilled craftsmen and those who perform rituals to predict the future.

The captain of fifty, and the man of rank, and the counsellor, and the cunning charmer, and the skilful enchanter.

4 He will appoint boys to be your leaders; your children will rule you.

And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

5 People will treat each other cruelly: people will fight against their neighbors. Young people will insult older people, and vulgar/dishonorable people will sneer at people who should be honored.

And the people shall oppress one another, every man his fellow, and every man his neighbour; the child shall behave insolently against the aged, and the base against the honourable,

6 At that time, someone will grab one of his brothers in his father’s house and say to him, “You have a coat, [which shows that you are respected]. [So] you be our leader! You rule this [city, which is now] a pile of ruins!”

For a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father: 'Thou hast a mantle, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand.'

7 [But] his brother will reply, “[No], I cannot help you, [because] I do not have [any extra] food or clothes in this house. [So] do not appoint me to be your leader!”

In that day shall he swear, saying: 'I will not be a healer; for in my house is neither bread nor a mantle; ye shall not make me ruler of a people.'

8 Jerusalem and [the other towns in] Judah will be destroyed, because [everything] that the people do and say there opposes Yahweh, who is powerful and glorious, and they refuse to obey him. They rebel against him.

For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of His glory.

9 They even show on their faces that [they oppose Yahweh]. They are proud of their sins, like [the people of] Sodom were [long ago]; they do not try to hide their sins. [Because of their sins], terrible things will happen to them, [but] they will bring those disasters on themselves.

The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have wrought evil unto themselves.

10 [Yahweh told me to] tell the righteous people that good things will happen to them; they will enjoy the blessings that they will receive for their good deeds.

Say ye of the righteous, that it shall be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

11 [But] terrible things will happen to wicked people; they will be (paid back/punished) for [the evil things that] [MTY] they have done.

Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; for the work of his hands shall be done to him.

12 [Now], youths [who have become leaders] treat my people cruelly, and women rule over my people. My people, your leaders are misleading you; they are causing you to go down the wrong road [MET].

As for My people, a babe is their master, and women rule over them. O My people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

13 [It is as though] Yahweh has sat in his place in a courtroom and is ready to judge his people.

The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the peoples.

14 He will stand up to declare why the elders and rulers of his people should be punished: [he says], “The people of Israel are [like] [MET] a vineyard that I planted, but you have ruined it! Your houses are full of things that you have stolen from poor people.

The LORD will enter into judgment with the elders of His people, and the princes thereof: 'It is ye that have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses;

15 You should stop [RHQ] crushing my people! [It is as though] you are pushing the faces of poor people into the dirt!” [That is what] the Commander of the armies of angels says.

What mean ye that ye crush My people, and grind the face of the poor?' saith the Lord, the GOD of hosts.

16 Yahweh says this: “The women of Jerusalem are haughty/proud; they walk around sticking their chins out, and flirting [with men] with their eyes. They walk with tiny steps with bracelets on their ankles that jingle.

Moreover the LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet;

17 So I, Yahweh, will cause sores to be on their heads, and I will cause those beautiful women in Jerusalem to become bald.”

Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will lay bare their secret parts.

18 At the time [that Yahweh does that], he will strip away everything that the women of Jerusalem wear to make themselves beautiful—the ornaments on their ankles and their headbands, their crescent necklaces,

In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their anklets, and the fillets, and the crescents;

19 their earrings and bracelets and veils,

the pendants, and the bracelets, and the veils;

20 their scarves and ankle bracelets and sashes, their perfumes and (charms/little things that they wear thinking that those things will protect them from evil),

the headtires, and the armlets, and the sashes, and the corselets, and the amulets;

21 their signet rings and nose rings,

the rings, and the nose-jewels;

22 their nice robes and capes and cloaks and purses,

the aprons, and the mantelets, and the cloaks, and the girdles;

23 their mirrors and nice linen clothes and shawls.

and the gauze robes, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the mantles.

24 Instead of their having a nice smell from perfume, they will stink; instead of nice sashes, they will have ropes [around their waists because they will be captives]. Instead of having fancy hairdos, they will be bald. Instead of fancy/beautiful robes, they will wear rough sackcloth, and instead of being beautiful, they will be branded.

And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle rags; and instead of curled hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; branding instead of beauty.

25 Their husbands will be killed by [their enemies’] swords, and their soldiers [will also die] in battles.

Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.

26 People [PRS] will mourn and cry at the gates [of the city]. The city will [be like] [MET] a woman who sits on the ground because everything that she owned is gone.

And her gates shall lament and mourn; and utterly bereft she shall sit upon the ground.