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 sovereign Lord of hosts will take away, from Jerusalem and from Judah, the powerful and the strong: all the strength from bread, and all the strength from 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 strong man, and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the seer and the elder;

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

the leader over fifty and the honorable in appearance; and the counselor, and the wise among builders, and the skillful in mystical speech.

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

And I will provide children as their leaders, and the effeminate will 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 will rush, man against man, and each one against his neighbor. The child shall rebel against the elder, and the ignoble against the noble.

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 will apprehend his brother, from the household of his own father, saying: “The vestment is yours. Be our leader, but let this ruin be under your 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, he will respond by saying: “I am not a healer, and there is no bread or vestment in my house. Do not choose to appoint me as a leader of the 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 has fallen, because their words and their plans are against the Lord, in order to provoke the eyes of his majesty.

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 acknowledgement of their countenance is their response. For they have proclaimed their own sin, like Sodom; and they have not concealed it. Woe to their souls! For evils are being repaid to them.

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.

Tell the just man that it is well, for he shall eat from the fruit from his own plans.

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 to the impious man immersed in evil! For retribution will be given to him from his own hands.

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, their oppressors have despoiled them, and women have ruled over them. My people, who call you blessed, the same are deceiving you and disrupting the path of your steps.

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

The Lord stands for judgment, and he stands to judge the people.

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 with their leaders. For you have been devouring the vineyard, and the plunder from the poor is in your house.

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.

Why do you wear down my people, and grind up the faces of the poor, says 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.

And the Lord said: Because the daughters of Zion have been lifted up, and have walked with extended necks and winking eyes, because they have continued on, walking noisily and advancing with a pretentious stride,

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

the Lord will make the heads of the daughters of Zion bald, and the Lord will strip them of the locks of their hair.

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 their decorative shoes,

19 their earrings and bracelets and veils,

and the little moons and chains, and the necklaces and bracelets, and the hats,

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),

and the ornaments for their hair, and the anklets, and the touches of myrrh and little bottles of perfumes, and the earrings,

21 their signet rings and nose rings,

and the rings, and the jewels hanging on their foreheads,

22 their nice robes and capes and cloaks and purses,

and the continual changes in appearance, and the short skirts, and the fine linens and embroidered cloths,

23 their mirrors and nice linen clothes and shawls.

and the mirrors, and scarves, and ribbons, and their sparse clothing.

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 in place of a sweet fragrance, there will be stench. And in place of a belt, there will be a rope. And in place of stylish hair, there will be baldness. And in place of a blouse, there will be haircloth.

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

Likewise, your most handsome men will fall by the sword, and your strong men will fall in battle.

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 will grieve and mourn. And she will sit on the ground, desolate.