Isaiah 3:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skillful magician and the expert in charms.

NIV: the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter.

NASB: The captain of fifty and the esteemed person, The counselor and the expert artisan, And the skillful enchanter.

CSB: commanders of fifty and dignitaries, counselors, cunning magicians, and necromancers.

NLT: army officers and high officials, advisers, skilled sorcerers, and astrologers.

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

NKJV: The captain of fifty and the honorable man, The counselor and the skillful artisan, And the expert enchanter.

God's people have been unfaithful to Him, so says the prophet Isaiah. They have put their trust in everything but the Lord to provide wealth, security, and meaning for their lives (Isaiah 2:12–18). Isaiah is describing how the Lord will remove everything they have trusted in, including strong men and leaders from their society (Isaiah 3:2).

This passage has listed the people God will take away from Jerusalem and Judah. Now Isaiah adds to that list. The Lord will remove the military leaders. These were the men experienced in leading Judah's fighters into battle. The people will be helpless to fight back against their enemies without these leaders.

The Lord will also remove the counselor, the "skillful magician"—perhaps better translated "skilled craftsmen"—and the "expert in charms." These were the men thought to be the wise and respectable ones. The spiritual services provided by magicians and charms experts were forbidden by the Lord. But the people were full of these superstitions received from the neighboring nations (Isaiah 2:6) . The point is that the Lord will remove every form of support His people were leaning on, including both the good and the vile.

Isaiah 3:1–15 describes what will happen when God removes all the men of importance from Jerusalem . From soldiers to commanders and judges to charms experts. Those left behind will soon turn on each other for survival, oppressing the poor and old. Any man offered the role of Jerusalem's leader will refuse, knowing he cannot bring healing or provision to God's people. The Lord will bring charges against Judah's current leaders for mistreating the poor and taking everything from them.

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).