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, Jehovah of hosts, will take away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole 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 honourable man, and the counsellor, and the clever among artificers, and the one versed in enchantments.

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

And I will appoint youths as their princes, and children 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 be oppressed one by the other, and each by his neighbour; the child will be insolent against the elder, 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!”

When a man shall take hold of his brother, in his father's house, [and shall say: ] Thou hast clothing; be our chief, 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!”

he will lift up [his hand] in that day, saying, I cannot be a healer, and in my house there is neither bread nor clothing; ye shall not make me a chief 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 stumbleth and Judah falleth, because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, 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 look of their face doth witness against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom: they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have brought evil upon 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], because the desert of his hands shall be rendered unto 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, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. My people! they that guide thee mislead [thee], 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.

Jehovah setteth himself 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.

Jehovah will enter into judgment with the elders of his people and their princes, [saying: ] 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 faces of the afflicted? saith the Lord, Jehovah 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 Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched-out neck and wanton eyes, and go along mincing, 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 make bald the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah 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 ornament of anklets, and the little suns and crescents,

19 their earrings and bracelets and veils,

the pearl-drops, 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 head-dresses, and the stepping chains, and the girdles, and the scent-boxes, and the amulets;

21 their signet rings and nose rings,

the finger-rings, and the nose-rings;

22 their nice robes and capes and cloaks and purses,

the festival-robes, and the tunics, and the mantles, and the wallets;

23 their mirrors and nice linen clothes and shawls.

the mirrors, and the fine linen bodices, and the turbans, and the flowing veils.

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, instead of perfume there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe of display, a girding of sackcloth; brand 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 fight;

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, stripped, she shall sit upon the ground.