Isaiah 3

1 For, behold, the Lord, the Eternal of hosts, doth remove from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, every stay of bread, and every stay of water.

For lo! the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, removing from Jerusalem and from Judah, The stay and staff, —The whole stay of bread, And the whole stay of water:

2 The hero, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,

Man of might and man of war, —Judge and prophet And diviner and elder;

3 The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the skilful artificer, and the eloquent orator.

Captain of fifty, and favourite; And counsellor and skilled artificer, And master of magical formulas;

4 And I will set up boys as their princes, and children shall rule over them.

And I will appoint boys to be their princes, —And, petulant children, shall rule over them,

5 And so shall the people press man against man, and one against the other: the boy shall demean himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable.

And the people will, tyrannise, Every man over his fellow-man, And every man over his friend, —And they will rage The boy against, the elder, And the despised, against, the honourable,

6 When a man will seize hold on his brother in the house of his father, [saying, ] Thou hast a garment, thou shalt be our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:

When a man shall lay hold, on his brother of the house of his father, [saying] —Clothing, hast thou, Become thou our, ruler, This downfall, be under thy hand,

7 He will swear on that day, saying, I will not be a chief; and in my house is neither bread nor clothing; you shall not appoint me a ruler of the people.

He will swear, in that day, saying—I will take no control, When in mine own house, is neither food nor clothing, —Ye must not set me for a ruler of people!

8 For Jerusalem is sunk to decay, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to incense the eyes of his glory.

For stumbled hath Jerusalem, and, Judah, hath fallen, —Because, their tongue and their doings, are against Yahweh, Provoking his glorious presence,

9 The boldness of their face testifieth against them; and like Sodom they tell openly their sin, they conceal it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have prepared evil unto themselves.

The show of their face, hath answered against them, And their sin—like Sodom, have they told, they have not concealed it. Alas for their souls! For they have requited to themselves, calamity.

10 Say ye to the righteous, that he hath done well; for the fruit of their doings shall they eat.

Say ye to the righteous It is well! For the fruit of their doings, shall they eat:

11 Woe unto the wicked who doeth evil; for the recompense of his hands shall be bestowed on him.

Alas! for the lawless, it is ill, For what his own hand hath matured, shall be done to him.

12 My people! their oppressors are children, and women rule over them. O my people! thy leaders cause thee to err, and the direction of thy paths they corrupt.

My people! children, are their tyrants, And, women, rule over them, —My people! they who should lead thee forward, are causing thee to stray, Thy pathways, have they destroyed,

13 The Lord is stepped forth to plead, and standeth up to judge the people.

Yahweh hath taken his station to plead, —And is standing to judge peoples:

14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and their princes; but ye—ye have eaten up the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses.

Yahweh, into judgment, will enter, With the elders of his people And their princes, —But ye, have consumed the vineyard, That which hath been robbed from the oppressed, is in your houses.

15 What mean ye that ye crush my people, and grind down the faces of the poor? saith the Lord the Eternal of hosts.

What right have ye to crush my people, And the faces of the oppressed, to grind? Demandeth My Lord Yahweh of hosts—And Yahweh saith—

16 And the Lord said, Forasmuch as the daughters of Zion are proud, and walk with stretched forth necks and casting about their eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:

Because haughty are the daughters of Zion, And they walk with neck thrown back, and wanton eyes, —Tripping along as they go, And with their feet, making, a tinkling sound,

17 Therefore will the Lord smite with leprosy the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay open their nakedness.

Therefore will My Lord, smite with leprosy the crown of hair of the daughters of Zion, —And, as for Yahweh, their shame, will he lay bare!

18 On that day will the Lord take away the beauty of their tinkling shoe-buckles, and the hair-nets, and the crescent-shaped ornaments,

In that day, will My Lord remove the finery—of the anklets, and the little suns and the little moons;

19 The drops, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,

the pendants and the bracelets and the veils;

20 The bonnets, and the foot-chains, and the head-bands, and the tablets, and the earrings,

the chaplets and the armlets and the girdles, and the scent-cases, and the amulets;

21 The finger-rings, and nose-jewels,

the rings and the nose-jewels;

22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the pockets.

the robes, and the over-tunics, and the cloaks and the purses;

23 The mirrors, and the chemisettes, and the turbans, and the long vails.

and the mirrors and the linen wraps, and the tiaras and the cloaks.

24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be corruption; and instead of a girdle a rope; and instead of curled hair baldness; and instead of a wide garment a girding of sackcloth, a mark of burning instead of beauty.

And it shall come to pass—That instead of fragrance, a putrid odour, shall be, And instead of a girdle, an encircling rope, And instead of braided hair, baldness, And instead of a festal robe, a girding of sackcloth, Branding instead of beauty:

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

Thy males, by the sword shall fall, —And, thy mighty men, by the war;

26 And then shall her gates lament and mourn; and stript of all shall she sit upon the ground.

And her gates shall mourn and lament, —And forsaken, on the ground, shall she sit.