Logos Bible Study

Isaiah 3:16–24

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Washing Away Impurity

3:16The Lord says,

“The women39 of Zion are proud.

They walk with their heads high40

and flirt with their eyes.

They skip along41

and the jewelry on their ankles jingles.42

3:17So43 the sovereign master44 will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women45 with skin diseases,46

the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.”47

3:1848 At that time49 the sovereign master will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry,50 neck ornaments, crescent shaped ornaments, 3:19earrings, bracelets, veils, 3:20headdresses, ankle ornaments, sashes, sachets,51 amulets, 3:21rings, nose rings, 3:22festive dresses, robes, shawls, purses, 3:23garments, vests, head coverings, and gowns.52

3:24A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices,53

a rope will replace a belt,

baldness will replace braided locks of hair,

a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe,

and a prisoner’s brand will replace beauty.

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Footnotes

  1. 39 Heb “daughters” (so , , ).
  2. 40 Heb “with an outstretched neck.” They proudly hold their heads high so that others can see the jewelry around their necks.
  3. 41 Heb “walking and skipping, they walk.”
  4. 42 Heb “and with their feet they jingle.”
  5. 43 In the Hebrew text vv. 16–17 and one long sentence, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud and walk …, the sovereign master will afflict.…” In v. 17 the Lord refers to himself in the third person.
  6. 44 The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 18 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
  7. 45 Heb “the daughters of Zion.”
  8. 46 Or “a scab” (, ); , , “sores.”
  9. 47 The precise meaning of this line is unclear because of the presence of the rare word פֹּת (pot). Since the verb in the line means “lay bare, make naked,” some take פֹּת as a reference to the genitals (cf. , , , ). (In 1 Kgs 7:50 a noun פֹּת appears, with the apparent meaning “socket.”) J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [], 1:, n. 2), basing his argument on alleged Akkadian evidence and the parallelism of the verse, takes פֹּת as “forehead.”
  10. 48 The translation assumes that the direct quotation ends with v. 17. The introductory formula “in that day” and the shift from a poetic to prosaic style indicate that a new speech unit begins in v. 18.
  11. 49 Or “in that day” ().
  12. 50 Or “the beauty of [their] ankle jewelry.”
  13. 51 Heb “houses of breath.” בַּיִת defines them as “scent-bottles”; cf. , “perfume boxes.”
  14. 52 The precise meaning of many of the words in this list is uncertain. The rhetorical purpose for such a lengthy list is to impress on the audience the guilt of these women with their proud, materialistic attitude, whose husbands and fathers have profited at the expense of the poor.
  15. 53 Heb “and it will be in place of spices there will be a stench.” The nouns for “spices” and “stench” are right next to each other in the for emphatic contrast. The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in .

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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,

therefore the Lord will strike with a scab

the heads of the daughters of Zion,

and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.

In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; the signet rings and nose rings; the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

Instead of perfume there will be rottenness;

and instead of a belt, a rope;

and instead of well-set hair, baldness;

and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth;

and branding instead of beauty.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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.

Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;

the Lord will make their scalps bald.”

In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, the earrings and bracelets and veils, the headdresses and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, the signet rings and nose rings, the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls.

Instead of fragrance there will be a stench;

instead of a sash, a rope;

instead of well-dressed hair, baldness;

instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;

instead of beauty, branding.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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,

the Lord will put scabs on the heads

of the daughters of Zion,

and the Lord will shave their foreheads bare.

On that day the Lord will strip their finery: ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents, pendants, bracelets, veils, headdresses, ankle jewelry, sashes, perfume bottles, amulets, signet rings, nose rings, festive robes, capes, cloaks, purses, garments, linen clothes, turbans, and shawls.

Instead of perfume there will be a stench;

instead of a belt, a rope;

instead of beautifully styled hair, baldness;

instead of fine clothes, sackcloth;

instead of beauty, branding.

NLTNew Living Translation

The Lord says, “Beautiful Zion is haughty:

craning her elegant neck,

flirting with her eyes,

walking with dainty steps,

tinkling her ankle bracelets.

So the Lord will send scabs on her head;

the Lord will make beautiful Zion bald.”

On that day of judgment

the Lord will strip away everything that makes her beautiful:

ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces,

earrings, bracelets, and veils;

scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes,

perfumes, and charms;

rings, jewels,

party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses;

mirrors, fine linen garments,

head ornaments, and shawls.

Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, she will stink.

She will wear a rope for a sash,

and her elegant hair will fall out.

She will wear rough burlap instead of rich robes.

Shame will replace her beauty.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And Yahweh said: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,

and they walk with outstretched neck,

and they give flirting glances with their eyes,

mincing along as they go,

and with their feet they rattle their bangles,

the Lord will make the heads of the daughters of Zion scabby,

and Yahweh will lay their foreheads bare.”

In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets

and the headbands and the crescent necklaces,

the pendants and the bracelets and the veils,

the headdresses and the armlets and the sashes,

and the perfume boxes and the amulets,

the signet rings and the nose rings,

the festal robes and the mantles,

and the cloaks and the handbags,

and the mirrors and the linen garments,

and the turbans and the wraps.

And this shall happen: There will be

a stench instead of perfume,

and a rope instead of a sash,

and baldness instead of a well-set hairdo,

and a clothing wrap of sackcloth instead of a rich robe,

branding instead of beauty.

KJV 1900King James Version

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:

Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,

And the Lord will discover their secret parts.

In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet,

And their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,

The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,

The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands,

And the tablets, and the earrings,

The rings, and nose jewels,

The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles,

And the wimples, and the crisping pins,

The glasses, and the fine linen,

And the hoods, and the vails.

And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink;

And instead of a girdle a rent;

And instead of well set hair baldness;

And instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth;

And burning instead of beauty.