Isaiah 3

When the Supports Are Pulled Away

Judah’s leaders collapse, the poor are ground down, and Jerusalem’s fashionable elite are stripped of their finery.

c. 740–730 BC; fulfilled in the Babylonian conquest of 597–586 BC Also in 2 Ne. 13 Read with footnotes in Gospel Library

Background

This chapter continues the unit that began in chapter 2 (Isa. 2:1). Chapter 2 announced that the day of the Lord would humble everything proud.

This chapter continues the unit that began in chapter 2 (Isa. 2:1). Chapter 2 announced that the day of the Lord would humble everything proud. Chapter 3 shows what that looks like on the ground in Jerusalem. The government collapses, society turns on itself, and the wealthy women of the city lose everything they were proud of.

Isaiah spoke these words during a time of prosperity, but they came true with terrible precision about 140 years later. When Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Jerusalem in 597 BC, he carried off “all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour… and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land” (2 Kgs. 24:14). That is almost a reprise of the list in Isa. 3:2–3.

Nephi included this chapter as 2 Ne. 13.

The thread through the chapter

The key word in the chapter’s first verse is stay, which in 1611 English meant a prop or support.

The key word in the chapter’s first verse is stay, which in 1611 English meant a prop or support. The Lord says He will take away “the stay and the staff,” every kind of support Jerusalem leans on: food and water, soldiers and judges, prophets and elders, counselors and craftsmen (verses 1–3).

Then Isaiah shows what happens to a society when its supports are pulled out. Leadership falls to the immature and capricious (verse 4). Neighbors oppress neighbors, and the young sneer at the old (verse 5). Things get so bad that people beg anyone with a decent coat to be their ruler, and he refuses: “I will not be an healer” (verses 6–7). The nation’s wounds, which no one would bind in Isa. 1:6, still have no one to bind them.

Why? Verses 8–15 give the diagnosis. The leaders themselves “have eaten up the vineyard” and have “ground the faces of the poor.” The Lord stands up in court as the prosecutor and asks, in essence, What do you think you are doing to My people? (verses 13–15).

The final section (verses 16–26) can seem like an odd change of subject: a long list of women’s jewelry and clothing. But it is the same indictment seen from another angle. While the poor were being crushed, the wealthy households of Jerusalem were parading their luxury in the streets. Every beautiful thing in the list will be exchanged for its opposite: perfume for stench, fine hair for baldness, beauty for branding.

The chapter teaches a hard truth. What we lean on can be taken away, and what we flaunt can become our shame. Only one support never fails. Isaiah will name Him in the next chapter: “the branch of the LORD” (Isa. 4:2).

Tap any highlighted phrase to open a note beneath its versein the margin.

Verses 1–7

The Lord removes every support

In plain words

The Lord is about to take away everything Jerusalem relies on: its food and water, its soldiers and judges, its prophets and elders, its officers, advisers, and skilled workers. Inexperienced youths will rule. People will oppress each other, and the young will insult the old. A man will grab his relative and say, “You at least have a coat. Be our leader and take charge of this mess!” He will answer, “I can’t fix this. I don’t have food or clothes either. Don’t make me your leader.”

1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water.

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

History & Setting #

A list that came true

Look at the list in verses 2–3: mighty man, soldier, judge, prophet, “prudent” (literally diviner), “ancient” (elder), captain of fifty, nobleman, counselor, “cunning artificer”…

Look at the list in verses 2–3: mighty man, soldier, judge, prophet, “prudent” (literally diviner), “ancient” (elder), captain of fifty, nobleman, counselor, “cunning artificer” (skilled craftsman), and “eloquent orator” (literally one skilled in charms).

When Babylon conquered Jerusalem in 597 BC, it took exactly this layer of society into exile, leaving only “the poorest sort of the people of the land” (2 Kgs. 24:14–16). Conquering empires deported the leadership class so a subject people could not reorganize and rebel. Isaiah foresaw it more than a century before it happened.

Notice too that Isaiah’s list mixes legitimate supports (judges, prophets, elders) with illegitimate ones (diviners, charmers). Judah was leaning on both, and the Lord removes both.

3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.

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

5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:

7 In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.

Verses 8–15

The Lord takes the stand for the poor

In plain words

Jerusalem is falling because everything it says and does defies the Lord. Their faces give them away; they flaunt their sin like Sodom. Tell the righteous it will go well for them, and they will enjoy what their actions produce. Woe to the wicked, who will get what they deserve. My people’s leaders mislead them. The Lord rises to argue His case against the elders and princes: “You have devoured My vineyard. What you stole from the poor is in your houses. How dare you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?”

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.

9 The shew 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 rewarded evil unto themselves.

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

Restoration Insight #

The law of the harvest

Verses 10–11 are a small island of wisdom in the middle of the chapter: it goes well with the righteous and badly with the wicked, because each reaps what he sows.

Verses 10–11 are a small island of wisdom in the middle of the chapter: it goes well with the righteous and badly with the wicked, because each reaps what he sows. The verses read almost like a proverb.

Alma taught the same principle at length to his son Corianton. He called it restoration: “good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous” (Alma 41:13; see Alma 41:3–15). Paul put it memorably: “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Even in a chapter full of national disaster, individuals are not lost in the crowd. The Lord still sees the righteous one.

11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

Word & Language #

Women, or creditors?

The point in context is that Judah’s leaders are weak and immature, not that women are unfit to lead; the Old Testament honors women leaders like Deborah (Judg. 4–5).

The point in context is that Judah’s leaders are weak and immature, not that women are unfit to lead; the Old Testament honors women leaders like Deborah (Judg. 4–5). But there is also an interesting textual wrinkle. The Hebrew consonants for “women” (nshym) can also be read as “creditors” or “usurers,” and the ancient Greek translation reads it that way: moneylenders rule over them. That reading fits the chapter’s theme of exploiting the poor (verses 14–15).

Either way, the second half of the verse is the real charge: “they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” Bad leaders erase the path.

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

Witness of Christ #

The Lord as advocate for the poor

We’re back in the courtroom of chapter 1. “Plead” is a legal term: the Lord rises to argue a case.

We’re back in the courtroom of chapter 1. “Plead” is a legal term: the Lord rises to argue a case. He is both prosecutor and judge, and His case is on behalf of the poor. The defendants are “the ancients of his people, and the princes,” the elders and officials who should have protected them (verse 14).

This is one of the great consistencies of scripture. The Lord takes the side of the vulnerable. When Jesus Christ came, He announced His ministry with Isaiah’s words about good tidings to the poor (Luke 4:18; Isa. 61:1). He is also our Advocate with the Father (D&C 45:3–5), pleading the cause of those who cannot plead their own.

14 The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Verses 16–26

The daughters of Zion stripped of their finery

In plain words

Because the women of Jerusalem are proud and parade through the streets flirting and jingling their ankle bracelets, the Lord will strike them with sores and shame. He will strip away all their finery: anklets, headbands, crescent pendants, earrings, bracelets, veils, sashes, perfume bottles, charms, rings, nose rings, festive dresses, capes, handbags, mirrors, fine linen, and turbans. Instead of perfume, stench; instead of a sash, a rope; instead of styled hair, baldness; instead of rich robes, sackcloth; instead of beauty, a captive’s brand. Their men will die in battle, and Jerusalem will sit in the dust and mourn.

16 Moreover the LORD saith, 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:

History & Setting #

Who are the daughters of Zion?

Here “daughters of Zion” are literally the wealthy women of Jerusalem, the wives and daughters of the leaders just condemned.

Here “daughters of Zion” are literally the wealthy women of Jerusalem, the wives and daughters of the leaders just condemned. (In other places, “daughter of Zion” is a poetic name for the whole city: Isa. 1:8.) Isaiah describes their walk: heads held high, flirtatious eyes, taking small mincing steps, with ankle chains jingling.

It’s important to read this in context. The problem is not that women like beautiful things. The problem is pride and indifference: displaying wealth that was, in part, “the spoil of the poor” (verse 14) while the vulnerable suffered. The Book of Mormon records the same pattern among the Nephites, whose pride in “costly apparel” came with neglect of the poor (Jacob 2:13; Alma 4:6–8; Alma 31:27–28).

17 Therefore the LORD will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.

18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,

Word & Language #

A 1611 fashion catalog

Verses 18–23 list twenty-one items of women’s finery. Several of the Hebrew words appear nowhere else, so translators have had to guess, and the King James choices are charmingly dated.

Verses 18–23 list twenty-one items of women’s finery. Several of the Hebrew words appear nowhere else, so translators have had to guess, and the King James choices are charmingly dated. Modern scholarship suggests:

tinkling ornaments about their feet: ankle bracelets
cauls: headbands or hairnets
round tires like the moon: crescent-shaped pendants, possibly amulets
mufflers: veils
bonnets: headdresses
tablets: literally “houses of the soul,” probably perfume boxes
earrings: probably charms or amulets
changeable suits of apparel: festive robes
wimples: shawls
crisping pins: handbags or purses (the same word describes the bags that held silver in 2 Kgs. 5:23)
glasses: polished bronze hand mirrors
vails: veils or light mantles

The sheer length of the list is part of the point. Isaiah is itemizing the inventory the Lord will take away.

19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,

20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,

21 The rings, and nose jewels,

22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,

23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils.

24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.

History & Setting #

The captive’s brand

Verse 24 is a series of five exchanges, each turning a luxury into its opposite: perfume becomes the stench of rot; an elegant sash becomes a rope (as on a captive); styled hair…

Verse 24 is a series of five exchanges, each turning a luxury into its opposite: perfume becomes the stench of rot; an elegant sash becomes a rope (as on a captive); styled hair becomes a shaved head (a sign of mourning or of captivity); a rich robe becomes sackcloth; and beauty becomes burning.

The Hebrew phrase is very short: ki tachat yofi, “for instead of beauty.” The word ki may here mean “branding.” Conquerors sometimes branded or marked captives. Whatever the exact detail, the picture is of women led away as captives. Isaiah will later reverse all of this for the redeemed: the Lord gives “beauty for ashes” (Isa. 61:3).

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

26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.

History & Setting #

Jerusalem sitting in the dust

The city itself becomes a mourning woman sitting on the ground, the ancient posture of grief (Lam. 2:10; Job 2:13).

The city itself becomes a mourning woman sitting on the ground, the ancient posture of grief (Lam. 2:10; Job 2:13). The “gates” lament because the gates were where the city’s life happened: trade, courts, and gatherings. Now they are empty.

This image became an actual symbol. After Rome destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70, the emperor Vespasian minted coins inscribed Judaea Capta (“Judea captured”) showing a woman sitting in mourning beneath a palm tree. Isaiah later invites the same woman to rise from the dust: “Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem” (Isa. 52:2).

Seeing Christ in Isaiah 3

Isaiah 3 describes a society with every support removed and no one willing to bind its wounds. That is the dark background against which Christ shines in Isaiah.

He is the stay and staff that cannot be taken away. The Psalmist says “thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4). He is the Healer who does not refuse the job (verse 7): He came “to bind up the brokenhearted” (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18). He is the Advocate who stands up to plead the cause of the poor (verse 13). And He is the one who exchanges the ashes of verse 24 for beauty (Isa. 61:3).

The chapter strips Jerusalem of everything it leaned on so it can learn to lean on Him.

Liken it to yourself

What “stays” (supports) do I lean on most: income, health, reputation, a particular leader, my own competence? What would I have left if the Lord took them away?
Verse 7’s refusal, “I will not be an healer,” is sometimes easier than stepping up. Is there a wound in my family or ward that I can see but have decided isn’t my job to bind?
The Lord asks in verse 15, “What mean ye that ye… grind the faces of the poor?” Does anything in my spending or my indifference, even unintentionally, press on someone else?
The chapter isn’t against beauty; it’s against pride and display. What would it look like for my appearance and possessions to express gratitude instead of status?

Worth exploring next

The Nephite parallel. Read Alma 4:6–15 and Hel. 4:11–13 alongside Isaiah 3. How did pride and neglect of the poor follow the same pattern among the Nephites?
Reversals. Compare Isa. 3:24 with Isa. 61:3. What does the Lord give back to Zion in place of everything lost here?
Leaders. Contrast the leaders of Isaiah 3 with the shepherd the Lord promises in Isa. 40:11 and Ezek. 34:1–16.

This chapter elsewhere in scripture

Nephi’s text of this chapter (2 Ne. 13) reads differently from the King James Version in 18 verses. The BoM markers show the 9 where more than a small word changes.

2 Ne. 13 — Nephi quotes the entire chapter.
2 Kgs. 24:10–16 — The deportation of Jerusalem’s leaders and craftsmen by Babylon.

Sources & further reading

Donald W. Parry, Jay A. Parry, and Tina M. Peterson, Understanding Isaiah, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1998.
John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, New International Commentary on the Old Testament, 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986–1998.
Terry B. Ball and Nathan Winn, Making Sense of Isaiah: Insights and Modern Applications, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009.
Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, Provo, UT: FARMS, 1998.
Chapter 13: The Establishment of Zion (Isaiah 1–12), Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (2003).

I’ve studied Isaiah 3