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Isaiah 3:16
ESV The Lord said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet,
NIV The Lord says, "The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, strutting along with swaying hips, with ornaments jingling on their ankles.
NASB Moreover, the Lord said, 'Because the daughters of Zion are haughty And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, And go along with mincing steps And jingle the anklets on their feet,
CSB The Lord also says: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, walking with heads held high and seductive eyes, prancing along, jingling their ankle bracelets,
NLT The Lord says, 'Beautiful Zion is haughty: craning her elegant neck, flirting with her eyes, walking with dainty steps, tinkling her ankle bracelets.
KJV 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:
NKJV Moreover the Lord says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, And walk with outstretched necks And wanton eyes, Walking and mincing as they go, Making a jingling with their feet,

What does Isaiah 3:16 mean?

Isaiah is describing the judgment to come on Jerusalem and Judah. God's people have openly and shamelessly sinned against Him (Isaiah 3:9). Now he comes to the "daughters of Zion:" the wealthy women of Jerusalem and Judah.

These women are prideful and conceited. They openly flaunt their wealth and their bodies with clothes, jewelry, and hairstyles. They walk around with heads held high amid their sinful activities instead of being humble or feeling ashamed. They glance around seductively with their eyes. They walk with small steps to make the bangles on their feet jingle and draw attention to their legs. Modern readers might struggle to understand the implication of these images; to someone reading this in Isaiah's time, the women's entire presentation demonstrates both pride in wealth and openness to sexual immorality.

The following verses (Isaiah 3:17–24) reveal that these women are following the pattern of their entire community: attempting to exalt themselves apart from God. They have bought into the belief that their worth is found in the value of their clothes, jewels, and ability to be attractive to men. Isaiah lived in an era where women were almost exclusively dependent on a husband, lacking most options to provide for themselves. These women did not rely on the Lord to provide for their lives. Instead of trusting in Him to provide what they need, they put their faith in their physical attributes.
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