Isaiah 3:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

NIV: and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls.

NASB: papyrus garments, undergarments, headbands, and veils.

CSB: garments, linen clothes, turbans, and shawls.

NLT: mirrors, fine linen garments, head ornaments, and shawls.

KJV: The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.

NKJV: and the mirrors; The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes.

Isaiah now concludes his list of the finery which the Lord promised to take away from the proud and wealthy women of Judah. He finishes his list with a few more items. The mirrors were likely handheld. The linen garments may have been undergarments. Turbans could also be translated as "tiaras," and veils as "shawls."

This list is not meant to condemn the items it contains. Godly women are not forbidden from wearing jewelry or nice clothes or using mirrors. It is possible to be stylish and enjoy putting together your appearance without being sinful. In the context of Isaiah's passage, how these women presented themselves was a representation of their rejection of God in their hearts. That inner rejection bled into how they presented themselves.

These women made use of all these fine things to try to exalt themselves above others without relying on God. They were marked by conceited, over-sexualized attitudes (Isaiah 3:16–17). In addition, some of their items displayed symbols of false gods and the occultic spirituality of their time. These women were hoping in false gods and charms to provide for them and protect them.

God's people, both men and women, must not allow the culture to set standards of dress for them with no thought to whether we are bringing glory to God by our appearance and actions.

Isaiah 3:16–4:1 describes the wealthy women of Jerusalem and Judah from the Lord's perspective. He describes them as conceited, casting seductive looks all around. Because of their open rebellion, the Lord will take away all their adornments, from their moon-god crescent ornaments to their veils. When the judgment comes, their perfume will be replaced by stench and their styled hair with baldness. They will wear sackcloth with rope belts. They will be destitute and lonely enough to beg any living man to simply say he is their husband. Jerusalem's men will fall in battle, leaving the city exposed. Jerusalem will sit empty and in mourning.

Isaiah reveals that the Lord will take away all the qualified men from Judah and Jerusalem in His judgment. This includes military, political, and spiritual leaders. After they're gone, the people will turn on each other to survive, trying to convince anyone with the slightest advantage to be their leader. The Lord makes his case against Judah's leaders for taking from the poor instead of providing for them. The Lord will take away from Judah's women all the adornments they displayed in public in their arrogance and immorality. Jerusalem's men will fall, and she will be left empty.

Isaiah 3 picks up where the last verse in Isaiah 2 left off (Isaiah 2:22). There Isaiah warned the people not to trust in mere men and now he proclaims that the Lord will remove all the qualified men from Jerusalem. Those left behind will turn on each other. The Lord will bring charges against Jerusalem's current leaders for mistreating the poor. Because the wealthy women of Jerusalem and Judah are arrogant and immoral, the Lord will take away all their adornments, replacing hair with baldness and beauty with enemy brands. Jerusalem's men will die, leaving her broken and empty. This likely refers to the eventual invasion of Jerusalem and the capture of her people (2 Kings 24:14).

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).