Isaiah 3:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And her gates shall lament and mourn; empty, she shall sit on the ground.

NIV: The gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.

NASB: And her gates will lament and mourn, And she will sit deserted on the ground.

CSB: Then her gates will lament and mourn; deserted, she will sit on the ground.

NLT: The gates of Zion will weep and mourn. The city will be like a ravaged woman, huddled on the ground.

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

NKJV: Her gates shall lament and mourn, And she being desolate shall sit on the ground.

In this passage, Isaiah has shifted from describing the terrible fate of the self-glorifying women of Judah to describing Jerusalem as a woman. He has written in the previous verse (Isaiah 3:25) that all her mighty men will fall in battle, leaving her exposed to the onslaught of the invading armies.

Now Isaiah describes her gates as mourning. She will be deprived of all dignity. Nobody comes in and out of the gates any longer. At the time of the Babylonian invasion (2 Kings 24:14), nearly everyone of any substance who is not killed will be marched away into exile, leaving the city nearly vacant and destitute, a ruined city on a hill.

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).

Accessed 5/3/2024 8:29:14 AM