Isaiah 4:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.”

NIV: In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, 'We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!'

NASB: For seven women will take hold of one man on that day, saying, 'We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our disgrace!'

CSB: On that day seven women will seize one man, saying, "We will eat our own bread and provide our own clothing. Just let us bear your name. Take away our disgrace."

NLT: In that day so few men will be left that seven women will fight for each man, saying, 'Let us all marry you! We will provide our own food and clothing. Only let us take your name so we won’t be mocked as old maids.'

KJV: And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

NKJV: And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; Only let us be called by your name, To take away our reproach.”

Scholars suggest this verse belongs at the end of Isaiah chapter 3, since it completes Isaiah's description of what will happen to the proud and wealthy women of Jerusalem and Judah. Isaiah has written that all the ornaments of their beauty will be taken away by the Lord. The foreign invaders who kill and carry off their husbands will leave them behind bald and wearing sackcloth and the brand of the enemy. A "brand," in this context, means a mark on the skin much like the symbols burned into the hide of cattle.

Some men, however, will survive the battles and be left behind when the best and brightest of Judah are carried off into captivity. Many more women will be left behind, though their husbands have been killed, along with perhaps their children.

Because of the nature of this era, those women will be left destitute and humiliated. They no longer have a husband and cannot return to the homes of their fathers. Single women had no standing in society at this time, especially if they had children. Some of them may even have had children as the result of sexual assault by the enemy invaders, making their rejection by the community even more intense.

These women are now so desperate to be made legitimate in their society, through having a husband, that they will compete for whatever men are left available. Isaiah depicts seven grabbing at one man and offering to marry him without expecting him to provide anything for them at all. They will pledge to provide their own support—the exact opposite of a typical ancient marriage arrangement—if only he will give them a valid place in the community. These formerly arrogant women who flaunted their wealth, position, and status will be brought so low as to be begging men to give them the merest form of respectability by marrying them.

These women represent a sinful human instinct in all of us. That is to be independent of the Lord and to glorify ourselves in the eyes of those around us. The Lord wants His people to understand they are fully dependent on Him. His people are to trust Him to provide them all the significance and provision they need. Drawing security from another source only leads to disappoint. He is willing to bring hard circumstances into the lives of His children to draw them close again (Hebrews 12:3–11).

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.

After concluding his words about the desperate situation following the Lord's judgment for the formerly wealthy women of Judah, Isaiah returns to picturing a time in Israel's distant future: when the branch of the Lord, the Messiah, will reside in the land as the pride of Israel's survivors. Unlike now, Israel will be a holy people cleansed of all sin and the bloodstains of Jerusalem. This will be done by a "spirit of judgment and burning", perhaps endured by the Messiah on the cross. Then a cloud by day and fire by night will rest over the glory of the Lord on Mount Zion.

Isaiah 4 begins with a phrase which is meant to end the previous chapter. Isaiah describes the desperate situation for the formerly arrogant and rich women of Judah. Isaiah then describes the time in Israel's far future when the fruit of the land, the Messiah, is among them. Then the people will have been made holy by the Lord, cleansed of their filth by a "spirit of judgment and burning". Cloud and fire will hang over the glory of the Lord at Mount Zion. Later chapters will give more details about this future time.

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).