이사야 Chapter 3

Translation: ESV

1

For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply, all support of bread, and all support of water;

Key Message

God removes everything his people lean on instead of him, causing them to recognize that God alone is the true support.

▸Chapters 3-4 contain specific prophecies of judgment against Jerusalem and Judah.

Chapters 3-4 contain specific prophecies of judgment against Jerusalem and Judah. God will remove everything they lean on—bread, water, and leaders. 'Taking away the support' means the complete removal of all human props.

Related Verses

Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?
2

the mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder,

Key Message

The removal of leadership from every sphere of society is the consequence of disobedience; true leadership derives from God's wisdom.

▸A catalog of leaders to be removed follows.

3

the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skillful magician and the expert in charms.

Key Message

All those with specialized knowledge and skill cannot preserve society before God's judgment.

▸The catalog of leaders continues.

4

And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them.

Key Message

Inexperienced and immature leadership leads the community into chaos, and this is one form of God's judgment.

▸In the place of mature leaders who have been removed, boys and infants will rule.

5

And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the despised to the honorable.

Key Message

The collapse of leadership leads to the collapse of the entire social order; a just order where the strong protect the weak is God's social ideal.

▸The collapse of leadership leads to the collapse of the entire social order.

6

For a man will take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying: "You have a cloak; you shall be our leader, and this heap of ruins shall be under your rule."

Key Message

When the standard of leadership collapses, society falls into extreme chaos; true leaders must be established by God's standards.

▸This describes the desperate situation when society has completely collapsed.

7

In that day he will speak out, saying: "I will not be a healer; in my house there is neither bread nor cloak; you shall not make me leader of the people."

Key Message

The complete collapse of a community where no one has anything to care for others is the final state of a society that has abandoned God.

▸Even the one asked to be a leader refuses—because he too has nothing.

8

For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence.

Key Message

Speech and deeds against God bring the ruin of a community; challenging God's holiness inevitably produces consequences.

▸The cause of Jerusalem's ruin is clearly declared: speech and deeds against the LORD.

9

For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.

Key Message

The brazenness of displaying sin without shame intensifies judgment, and humans bring disaster upon themselves through their own behavioral choices.

▸Israel openly displays its wickedness like Sodom, without shame or concealment.

10

Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.

Key Message

Even in times of judgment God remembers the righteous, and the promise that good deeds will surely bear fruit is a comfort to the faithful.

▸This is an unexpected word of comfort for the righteous appearing amid declarations of judgment.

11

Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Key Message

The wicked will receive consequences according to their deeds, and God's judgment is based on the just principle of retribution.

▸Contrasting with the blessing for the righteous in verse 10, this declares woe for the wicked.

12

My people—infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.

Key Message

Wrong leaders mislead the people into the path of destruction, and God directly indicts this corruption of leadership.

▸God laments the distorted state of the community caused by corrupt leaders.

13

The LORD has taken his place to contend; he stands to judge peoples.

Key Message

God is the supreme judge who directly executes judgment against unjust leaders and peoples.

▸This is a courtroom image in which God stands as plaintiff and judge.

14

The LORD will enter into judgment with the elders and princes of his people: "It is you who have devoured the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

Key Message

Wealth gained by leaders through exploiting the poor is condemned before God, and a just economic order is God's will.

▸The specific sins of the leaders are exposed: exploiting vineyards and plundering the poor.

15

What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

Key Message

Exploiting the poor is an assault on God himself, and God is the direct advocate of the poor.

▸'Grinding the face of the poor' expresses treating the poor so wretchedly as to grind their face into the ground.

16

The LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet,

Key Message

Material luxury and arrogant bearing is wickedness that God judges, and obsession with outward beauty is an expression of inward spiritual decay.

▸Verses 16-24 are a prophecy against the luxurious and arrogant behavior of the upper-class women of Jerusalem.

17

the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will lay bare their secret parts.

Key Message

Those who boast of outward beauty will be exposed in shameful condition on the day of judgment.

▸Judgment is declared for the daughters of Zion who boasted of their beauty.

18

In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents;

Key Message

The elaborate catalog of material luxury shows that God's judgment extends to every detail of life.

▸Verses 18-23 list the luxury ornaments worn by Jerusalem's upper-class women.

19

the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves;

Key Message

All ornaments that adorn the body will vanish before God's judgment; true beauty does not lie in outward adornment.

▸The catalog of luxury ornaments continues.

20

the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets;

Key Message

The mixed use of ornaments and amulets reflects syncretism of faith with superstition, and this is the wickedness that incurs judgment.

▸Along with head and foot ornaments, perfume boxes and amulets are included.

21

the signet rings and nose rings;

Key Message

All material ornaments are temporary and will vanish before God's judgment.

▸Signet rings and nose rings were also ornaments worn by upper-class women at the time.

22

the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags;

Key Message

Magnificent clothing and accessories are also meaningless before God's judgment; true beauty lies in inner virtue.

▸The catalog of clothing and accessories continues.

23

the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

Key Message

The materialistic culture of obsessing over appearance is subject to judgment; true value lies not in outward beauty but in life before God.

▸The final items in the catalog of luxury.

24

Instead of perfume there will be rottenness; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty.

Key Message

The reversal of things boasted of into shame is the essence of judgment; history proves that the end of pride and boasting is disgrace.

▸The opposite state to the splendid adornments of verses 16-23 will come as judgment.

25

Your men shall fall by the sword and your mighty men in battle.

Key Message

The result of luxury and pride is the ravages of war; material prosperity does not guarantee military security.

▸The prophecy that the husbands and sons of upper-class women who enjoyed luxury will die in war.

26

And her gates shall lament and mourn; empty, she shall sit on the ground.

Key Message

The final destination of a city that has abandoned God is desolation and mourning; the image of Zion sitting on the ground is the completion of judgment in which boasting is turned to shame.

▸The conclusion of Isaiah chapter 3.