Isaiah 3

1 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;

Take a look! The Lord, the Lord Almighty, is going to take away from Jerusalem and from Judah everything they rely on—all their stocks of food and all means of supplying water,

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

their strong fighters and soldiers, leaders and prophets, fortune-tellers and elders,

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

army captains, state officials, counselors, craftsmen, masters of magic, and experts in the occult.

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

I will give them boys as their leaders who will rule over them in childish ways.

5 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,

People will mistreat one another, person against person, neighbor against neighbor; the young will assault the old, and the dregs of society will attack those who are reputable.

6 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.'

A man will grab hold of one of his brothers in their father's house, and tell him, “You've got a coat, you can be our leader! Take over the running of this pile of ruins!”

7 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.'

But immediately his brother will shout back, “No, not me! I can't take care of this family's problems. In my house I don't have food or clothes. Don't put me in charge as your leader!”

8 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.

For Jerusalem has collapsed and Judah has fallen because of what they said and did in opposition to the Lord, rebelling right in front of him.

9 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.

The look on their faces proves what they've done, proclaiming their sin just like Sodom—they don't even bother to try and hide it! Tragedy is coming to them! They have brought disaster down upon themselves.

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

Tell those who live right that they will be fine, for they will be happy to receive the reward for what they have done.

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

But tragedy comes to the wicked, for what they did will be done to them.

12 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.

Leaders who act in childish ways mistreat my people; women rule over them. My people, your leaders are misleading you, confusing you about which way to go.

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

The Lord stands up to prosecute his case. The Lord stands up to judge the people.

14 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;

The Lord comes to give his judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: You are the ones who have destroyed my vineyard; your houses are full with everything you've stolen from the poor.

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

Why have you crushed my people? Why have you ground the faces of the poor into the dirt? the Lord Almighty demands to know.

16 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;

The Lord says, The women of Zion are so conceited, walking with their heads held high, giving flirty glances, tripping along with their ankle bracelets jingling.

17 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.

So the Lord will make their heads full of scabs, and the Lord will expose their private parts.

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

At that time the Lord will remove their fine ornaments: ankle bracelets, headbands, crescent necklaces,

19 the pendants, and the bracelets, and the veils;

pendant earrings, bracelets, veils,

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

headdresses, bangles, sashes, perfume holders, lucky charms,

21 the rings, and the nose-jewels;

rings, nose rings,

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

festival clothes, gowns, cloaks, handbags,

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

hand mirrors, fine linen underwear, head wraps, and shawls.

24 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.

What will happen is that instead of smelling of perfume, she will stink. Instead of a wearing a sash, she will be tied with a rope. Instead of styled hair, she will be bald. Instead of fine clothes, she will wear sackcloth. Instead of looking beautiful, she will be shamed.

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

Your men will be killed by the sword; your soldiers will die in battle.

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

The gates of Zion will cry and mourn. The city will be like a banished woman sitting on the ground.