Isaiah 3:1–15

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

3For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,

^aTakes away from Jerusalem and from Judah

^bThe ¹stock and the store,

The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water;

^2cThe mighty man and the man of war,

The judge and the prophet,

And the diviner and the elder;

³The captain of fifty and the ²honorable man,

The counselor and the skillful artisan,

And the expert enchanter.

⁴“I will give ^dchildren ³to be their princes,

And ⁴babes shall rule over them.

⁵The people will be oppressed,

Every one by another and every one by his neighbor;

The child will be insolent toward the ⁵elder,

And the ⁶base toward the honorable.”

⁶When a man takes hold of his brother

In the house of his father, saying,

“You have clothing;

You be our ruler,

And let these ruins be under your ⁷power,”

⁷In that day he will protest, saying,

“I cannot cure your ills,

For in my house is neither food nor clothing;

Do not make me a ruler of the people.”

⁸For ^eJerusalem stumbled,

And Judah is fallen,

Because their tongue and their doings

Are against the Lord,

To provoke the eyes of His glory.

⁹The look on their countenance witnesses against them,

And they declare their sin as ^fSodom;

They do not hide it.

Woe to their soul!

For they have brought evil upon themselves.

¹⁰“Say to the righteous ^gthat it shall be well with them,

^hFor they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

¹¹Woe to the wicked! ⁱIt shall be ill with him,

For the reward of his hands shall be ⁸given him.

¹²As for My people, children are their oppressors,

And women rule over them.

O My people! ^jThose who lead you ⁹cause you to err,

And destroy the way of your paths.”

Oppression and Luxury Condemned

¹³The Lord stands up ^kto ¹plead,

And stands to judge the people.

¹⁴The Lord will enter into judgment

With the elders of His people

And His princes:

“For you have ²eaten up ^lthe vineyard;

The plunder of the poor is in your houses.

¹⁵What do you mean by ^mcrushing My people

And grinding the faces of the poor?”

Says the Lord God of hosts.