Isaiah 3.

Matthew Henry

The prophet, in this chapter, goes on to foretel the desolations that were coming upon Judah and Jerusalem for their sins, both that by the Babylonians and that which completed their ruin by the Romans, with some of the grounds of God's controversy with them. God threatens, I. To deprive them of all the supports both of their life and of their government (Isa 3:1-3). II. To leave them to fall into confusion and disorder (Isa 3:4, Isa 3:5, Isa 3:12). III. To deny them the blessing of magistracy (Isa 3:6-8). IV. To strip the daughters of Zion of their ornaments (Isa 3:17-24). V. To lay all waste by the sword of war (Isa 3:25, Isa 3:26). The sins that provoked God to deal thus with them were, 1. Their defiance of God (Isa 3:8). 2. Their impudence (Isa 3:9). 3. The abuse of power to oppression and tyranny (Isa 3:12-15). 4. The pride of the daughters of Zion (Isa 3:16). In the midst of the chapter the prophet is directed how to address particular persons. (1.) To assure good people that it should be well with them, notwithstanding those general calamities (Isa 3:10). (2.) To assure wicked people that, however God might, in judgment, remember mercy, yet it should go ill with them (Isa 3:11). O that the nations of the earth, at this day, would hearken to rebukes and warnings which this chapter gives!

1–8. The prophet, in the close of the foregoing chapter, had given a necessary caution to all not to put confidence in man, or any creature; he had also given a general reason for that caution, taken from the frailty of human life and the vanity and weakness of human powers. Here he gives a particular reason for it - God was now about to ruin all their creature-confidences, so that they should meet with nothing but disappointments in all their expectations from them (Isa 3:1): The stay and the staff shall be taken away, all their supports, of what kind soever, all the things they trusted to and looked for help and relief from. Their church and kingdom had now grown old and were going to decay, and they were (after the manner of aged men, Zac 8:4) leaning on a staff: now God threatens to take away their staff, and then they must fall of course, to take away the stays of both the city and the country, of Jerusalem and of Judah, which are indeed stays to one another, and, if one fail, the other feels from it. He that does this is the Lord, the Lord of hosts - Adon, the Lord that is himself the stay or foundation; if that stay depart, all other stays certainly break under us, for he is the strength of them all. He that is the Lord, the ruler, that has authority to do it, and the Lord of hosts, that has the ability to do it, he shall take away the stay and the staff. St. Jerome refers this to the sensible decay of the Jewish nation after they had crucified our Saviour, Rom 11:9, Rom 11:10. I rather take it as a warning to all nations not to provoke God; for if they make him their enemy, he can and will thus make them miserable. Let us view the particulars.
I. Was their plenty a support to them? It is so to any people; bread is the staff of life: but God can take away the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water; and it is just with him to do so when fulness of bread becomes an iniquity (Eze 16:49), and that which was given to be provision for the life is made provision for the lusts. He can take away the bread and the water by withholding the rain, Deu 28:23, Deu 28:24. Or, if he allow them, he can take away the stay of bread and the stay of water by withholding his blessing, by which man lives, and not by bread only, and which is the staff of bread (Mat 4:4.), and then the bread is not nourishing nor the water refreshing, Hag 1:6. Christ is the bread of life and the water of life; if he be our stay, we shall find that this is a good part not to be taken away, Joh 4:14; Joh 6:27.
II. Was their army a support to them - their generals, and commanders, and military men? These shall be taken away, either cut off by the sword or so discouraged with the defeats they meet with that they shall throw up their commissions and resolve to act no more; or they shall be disabled by sickness, or dispirited, so as to be unfit for business; The mighty men, and the man of war, and even the inferior officer, the captain of fifty, shall be removed. It bodes ill with a people when their valiant men are lost. Let not the strong man therefore glory in his strength, nor any people trust too much to their mighty men; but let the strong people glorify God and the city of the terrible nations fear him, who can make them weak and despicable, Isa 25:3.
III. Were their ministers of state a support to them - their learned men, their politicians, their clergy, their wits and virtuoso? These also should be taken away - the judges, who were skilled in the laws, and expert in administering justice, - the prophets, whom they used to consult in difficult cases, - the prudent, who were celebrated as men of sense and sagacity above all others and were assistants to the judges, the diviners (so the word is), those who used unlawful arts, who, though rotten stays, yet were stayed on, (but it may be taken, as we read it, in a good sense), - the ancients, elders in age, in office, - the honourable man, the gravity of whose aspect commands reverence and whose age and experience make him fit to be a counsellor. Trade is one great support to a nation, even manufactures and handicraft trades; and therefore, when the whole stay is broken, the cunning artificer too shall be taken away; and the last is the eloquent orator, the man skilful of speech, who in some cases may do good service, though he be none of the prudent or the ancient, by putting the sense of others in good language. Moses cannot speak well, but Aaron can. God threatens to take these away, that is, 1. To disable them for the service of their country, making judges fools, taking away the speech of the trusty and the understanding of the aged, Job 12:17, etc. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; and we cannot be sure that those who have been serviceable to us shall always be so. 2. To put an end to their days; for the reason why princes are not to be trusted in is because their breath goeth forth, Psa 146:3, Psa 146:4. Note, The removal of useful men by death, in the midst of their usefulness, is a very threatening symptom to any people.
IV. Was their government a support to them? It ought to have been so; it is the business of the sovereign to bear up the pillars of the land, Psa 75:3. But it is here threatened that this stay should fail them. When the mighty men and the prudent are removed children shall be their princes - children in age, who must be under tutors and governors, who will be clashing with one another and making a prey of the young king and his kingdom-children in understanding and disposition, childish men, such as are babes in knowledge, no more fit to rule than a child in the cradle. These shall rule over them, with all the folly, fickleness, and frowardness, of a child. And woe unto thee, O land! when thy king is such a one! Ecc 10:16.
V. Was the union of the subjects among themselves, their good order and the good understanding and correspondence that they kept with one another, a stay to them? Where this is the case a people may do better for it, though their princes be not such as they should be; but it is here threatened that God would send an evil spirit among them too (as Jdg 9:23), which would make them, 1. Injurious and unneighbourly one towards another (Isa 3:5): "The people shall be oppressed every one by his neighbour," and their princes, being children, will take no care to restrain the oppressors or relieve the oppressed, nor is it to any purpose to appeal to them (which is a temptation to every man to be his own avenger), and therefore they bite and devour one another and will soon be consumed one of another. Then homo homini lupus - man becomes a wolf to man; jusque datum sceleri - wickedness receives the stamp of law; nec hospes ab hospite tutus - the guest and the host are in danger from each other. 2. Insolent and disorderly towards their superiors. It is as ill an omen to a people as can be when the rising generation among them are generally untractable, rude, and ungovernable, when the child behaves himself proudly against the ancient, whereas he should rise up before the hoary head and honour the face of the old man, Lev 19:32. When young people are conceited and pert, and behave scornfully towards their superiors, their conduct is not only a reproach to themselves, but of ill consequence to the public; it slackens the reins of government and weakens the hands that hold them. It is likewise ill with a people when persons of honour cannot support their authority, but are affronted by the base and beggarly, when judges are insulted and their powers set at defiance by the mob. Those have a great deal to answer for who do this.
VI. It is some stay, some support, to hope that, though matters may be now ill-managed, yet other may be raised up, who may manage better? Yet this expectation also shall be frustrated, for the case shall be so desperate that no man of sense or substance will meddle with it.
1. The government shall go a begging, Isa 3:6. Here, (1.) It is taken for granted that there is no way of redressing all these grievances, and bringing things into order again, but by good magistrates, who shall be invested with power by common consent, and shall exert that power for the good of the community. And it is probable that this was, in many places, the true origin of government; men found it necessary to unite in a subjection to one who was thought fit for such a trust, in order to the welfare and safety of them all, being aware that they must either be ruled or ruined. Here therefore is the original contract: "Be thou our ruler, and we will be subject to thee, and let this ruin be under thy hand, to be repaired and restored, and then to be preserved and established, and the interests of it advanced, Isa 58:12. Take care to protect us by the sword of war from being injured from abroad, and by the sword of justice from being injurious to another, and we will bear faith and true allegiance to thee." (2.) The case is represented as very deplorable, and things as having come to a sad pass; for, [1.] Children being their princes, every man will think himself fit to prescribe who shall be a magistrate, and will be for preferring his own relations; whereas, if the princes were as they should be, it would be left entirely to them to nominate the rulers, as it ought to be. [2.] Men will find themselves under a necessity even of forcing power into the hands of those that are thought to be fit for it: A man shall take hold by violence of one to make him a ruler, perceiving him ready to resist the motion: nay, he shall urge it upon his brother; whereas, commonly, men are not willing that their equals should be their superiors, witness the envy of Joseph's brethren. [3.] It will be looked upon as ground sufficient for the preferring of a man to be a ruler that he has clothing better than his neighbours - a very poor qualification to recommend a man to a place of trust in the government. It was a sign that the country was much impoverished when it was a rare thing to find a man that had good clothes, or could afford to buy himself an alderman's gown or a judge's robes; and it was proof enough that the people were very unthinking when they had so much respect to a man in gay clothing, with a gold ring (Jam 2:2, Jam 2:3), that, for the sake thereof, they would make him their ruler. It would have been some sense to have said, "Thou hast wisdom, integrity, experience; be thou our ruler." But it was a jest to say, Thou hast clothing; be thou our ruler. A poor wise man, though in vile raiment, delivered a city, Ecc 9:15. We may allude to this to show how desperate the case of fallen man was when our Lord Jesus was pleased to become our brother, and, though he was not courted, offered himself to be our ruler and Saviour, and to take this ruin under his hand.
2. Those who are thus pressed to come into office will swear themselves off, because, though they are taken to be men of some substance, yet they know themselves unable to bear the charges of the office and to answer the expectations of those that choose them (Isa 3:7): He shall swear (shall lift up the hand, the ancient ceremony used in taking the oath) I will not be a healer; make not me a ruler. Note, Rulers must be healers, and good rulers will be so; they must study to unite their subjects, and not to widen the differences that are among them. Those only are fit for government that are of a meek, quiet, healing, spirit. They must also heal the wounds that are given to any of the interests of their people, by suitable applications. But why will he not be a ruler? Because in my house is neither bread nor clothing. (1.) If he said true, it was a sign that men's estates were sadly ruined when even those who made the best appearance really wanted necessaries - a common case, and a piteous one. Some who, having lived fashionably, are willing to put the best side outwards, are yet, if the truth were known, in great straits, and go with heavy hearts for want of bread and clothing. (2.) If he did not speak truth, it was a sign that men's consciences were sadly debauched, when, to avoid the expense of an office, they would load themselves with the guilt of perjury, and (which is the greatest madness in the world) would damn their souls to save their money, Mat 16:26. (3.) However it was, it was a sign that the case of the nation was very bad when nobody was willing to accept a place in the government of it, as despairing to have either credit or profit by it, which are the two things aimed at in men's common ambition of preferment.
3. The reason why God brought things to this sad pass, even among his own people (which is given either by the prophet or by him that refused to be a ruler); it was not for want of good will to his country, but because he saw the case desperate and past relief, and it would be to no purpose to attempt it (Isa 3:8): Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen; and they may thank themselves. They have brought their destruction upon their own heads, for their tongue and their doings are against the Lord; in word and action they broke the law of God and therein designed an affront to him; they wilfully intended to offend him, in contempt of his authority and defiance of his justice. Their tongue was against the Lord, for they contradicted his prophets; and their doings were no better, for they acted as they talked. It was an aggravation of their sin that God's eye was upon them, and that his glory was manifested among them; but they provoked him to his face, as if the more they knew of his glory the greater pride they took in slighting it, and turning it into shame. And this, this, is it for which Jerusalem is ruined. Note, The ruin both of persons and people is owing to their sins. If they did not provoke God, he would do them no hurt, Jer 25:6.

9–15. Here God proceeds in his controversy with his people. Observe,
I. The ground of his controversy. It was for sin that God contended with them; if they vex themselves, let them look a little further and they will see that they must thank themselves: Woe unto their souls! For they have rewarded evil unto themselves. Alas for their souls! (so it may be read, in a way of lamentation), for they have procured evil to themselves, Isa 3:9. Note, The condition of sinners is woeful and very deplorable. Note, also, It is the soul that is damaged and endangered by sin. Sinners may prosper in their outward estates, and yet at the same time there may be a woe to their souls. Note, further, Whatever evils befals sinners it is of their own procuring, Jer 2:19. That which is here charged upon then is, 1. That the shame which should have restrained them from their sins was quite thrown off and they had grown impudent, Isa 3:9. This hardens men against repentance, and ripens them for ruin, as much as anything: The show of their countenance doth witness against them that their minds are vain, and lewd, and malicious; their eyes declare plainly that they cannot cease from sin, Pe2 2:14. One may look them in the face and guess at the desperate wickedness that there is in their hearts: They declare their sin as Sodom, so impetuous, so imperious, are their lusts, and so impatient of the least check, and so perfectly are all the remaining sparks of virtue extinguished in them. The Sodomites declared their sin, not only by the exceeding greatness of it (Gen 13:13), so that it cried to heaven (Gen 18:20), but by their shameless owning of that which was most shameful (Gen 19:5); and thus Judah and Jerusalem did: they were so far from hiding it that they gloried in it, in the bold attempts they made upon virtue, and the victory they gained over their own convictions. They had a whore's forehead (Jer 3:3) and could not blush, Jer 6:15. Note, Those that have grown impudent in sin are ripe for ruin. Those that are past shame (we say) are past grace, and then past hope. 2. That their guides, who should direct them in the right way, put them out of the way (Isa 3:12): "Those who lead thee (the princes, priests, and prophets) mislead thee; they cause thee to err." Either they preached to them that which was false and corrupt, or, if they preached that which was true and good, they contradicted it by their practices, and the people would soon follow a bad example than a good exhortation. Thus they destroyed the ways of their paths, pulling down with one hand what they built up with the other. Que te beatificant - Those that call thee blessed cause thee to err; so some read it. Their priests applauded them, as if nothing were amiss among them, cried Peace, peace, to them, as if they were in no danger; and thus they caused them to go on in their errors. 3. That their judges, who should have patronized and protected the oppressed, were themselves the greatest oppressors, Isa 3:14, Isa 3:15. The elders of the people, and the princes, who had learning and could not but know better things, who had great estates and were not under the temptation of necessity to encroach upon those about them, and who were men of honour and should have scorned to do a base thing, yet they have eaten up the vineyard. God's vineyard, which they were appointed to be the dressers and keepers of, they burnt (so the word signifies); they did as ill by it as its worst enemies could do, Psa 80:16. Or the vineyards of the poor they wrested out of their possession, as Jezebel did Naboth's, or devoured the fruits of them, fed their lusts with that which should have been the necessary food of indigent families; the spoil of the poor was hoarded up in their houses; when God came to search for stolen goods there he found it, and it was a witness against them. It was to be had, and they might have made restitution, but would not. God reasons with these great men (Isa 3:15): "What mean you, that you beat my people into pieces? What cause have you for it? What good does it do you?" Or, "What hurt have they done you? Do you think you had power given you for such a purpose as this?" Note, There is nothing more unaccountable, and yet nothing which must more certainly be accounted for, than the injuries and abuses that are done to God's people by their persecutors and oppressors. "You grind the faces of the poor; you put them to as much pain and terror as if they were ground in a mill, and as certainly reduce them to dust by one act of oppression after another." Or, "Their faces are bruised and crushed with the blows you have given them; you have not only ruined their estates, but have given them personal abuses." Our Lord Jesus was smitten on the face, Mat 26:67.
II. The management of this controversy. 1. God himself is the prosecutor (Isa 3:13): The Lord stands up to plead, or he sets himself to debate the matter, and he stands to judge the people, to judge for those that were oppressed and abused; and he will enter into judgment with the princes, Isa 3:14. Note, The greatest of men cannot exempt or secure themselves from the scrutiny and sentence of God's judgment, nor demur to the jurisdiction of the court of heaven. 2. The indictment is proved by the notorious evidence of the fact: "Look upon the oppressors, and the show of their countenance witnesses against them (Isa 3:9); look upon the oppressed, and you see how their faces are battered and abused," Isa 3:15. 3. The controversy is already begun in the change of the ministry. To punish those that had abused their power to bad purposes God sets those over them that had not sense to use their power to any good purposes: Children are their oppressors, and women rule over them (Isa 3:12), men that have as weak judgments and strong passions as women and children: this was their sin, that their rulers were such, and it became a judgment upon them.
III. The distinction that shall be made between particular persons, in the prosecution of this controversy (Isa 3:10, Isa 3:11): Say to the righteous, It shall be well with thee. Woe to the wicked; it shall be ill with him. He had said (Isa 3:9), they have rewarded evil to themselves, in proof of which he here shows that God will render to every man according to his works. Had they been righteous, it would have been well with them; but, if it be ill with them, it is because they are wicked and will be so. Thus God stated the matter to Cain, to convince him that he had no reason to be angry, Gen 4:7. Or it may be taken thus: God is threatening national judgments, which will ruin the public interests. Now, 1. Some good people might fear that they should be involved in that ruin, and therefore God bids the prophets comfort them against those fears: "Whatever becomes of the unrighteous nation, let the righteous man know that he shall not be lost in the crowd of sinners; the Judge of all the earth will not slay the righteous with the wicked (Gen 18:25); no, assure him, in God's name, that it shall be well with him. The property of the trouble shall be altered to him, and he shall be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger. He shall have divine supports and comforts, which shall abound as afflictions abound, and so it shall be well with him." When the whole stay of bread is taken away, yet in the day of famine the righteous shall be satisfied; they shall eat the fruit of their doings - they shall have the testimony of their consciences for them that they kept themselves pure from the common iniquity, and therefore the common calamity is not the same thing to them that it is to others; they brought no fuel to the flame, and therefore are not themselves fuel for it. 2. Some wicked people might hope that they should escape that ruin, and therefore God bids the prophets shake their vain hopes: "Woe to the wicked; it shall be ill with him, Isa 3:11. To him the judgments shall have sting, and there shall be wormwood and gall in the affliction and misery." There is a woe to wicked people, and, though they may think to shelter themselves from public judgments, yet it shall be ill with them; it will grow worse and worse with them if they repent not, and the worst of all will be at last; for the reward of their hands shall be given them, in the day when every man shall receive according to the things done in the body.

16. The prophet's business was to show all sorts of people what they had contributed to the national guilt and what share they must expect in the national judgments that were coming. Here he reproves and warns the daughters of Zion, tells the ladies of their faults; and Moses, in the law, having denounced God's wrath against the tender and delicate woman (the prophets being a comment upon the law, Deu 28:56), he here tells them how they shall smart by the calamities that are coming upon them. Observe,
I. The sin charged upon the daughters of Zion, Isa 3:16. The prophet expressly vouches God's authority for what he said. lest it should be thought it was unbecoming in him to take notice of such things, and should be resented by the ladies: The Lord saith it. "Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, let them know that God takes notice of, and is much displeased with, the folly and vanity of proud women, and his law takes cognizance even of their dress." Two things that here stand indicted for - haughtiness and wantonness, directly contrary to that modesty, shamefacedness, and sobriety, with which women ought to adorn themselves, Ti1 2:9. They discovered the disposition of their mind by their gait and gesture, and the lightness of their carriage. They are haughty, for they walk with stretched-forth necks, that they may seem tall, or, as thinking nobody good enough to speak to them or to receive a look or a smile from them. Their eyes are wanton, deceiving (so the word is); with their amorous glances they draw men into their snares. They affect a formal starched way of going, that people may look at them, and admire them, and know they have been at the dancing-school, and have learned the minuet-step. They go mincing, or nicely tripping, not willing to set so much as the sole of their foot to the ground, for tenderness and delicacy. They make a tinkling with their feet, having, as some think, chains, or little bells, upon their shoes, that made a noise: they go as if they were fettered (so some read it), like a horse tramelled, that he may learn to pace. Thus Agag came delicately, Sa1 15:32. Such a nice affected mien is not only a force upon that which is natural, and ridiculous before men, men of sense; but as it is an evidence of a vain mind, it is offensive to God. And two things aggravated it here: 1. That these were the daughters of Zion, the holy mountain, who should have behaved with the gravity that becomes women professing godliness. 2. That it should seem, by the connexion, they were the wives and daughters of the princes who spoiled and oppressed the poor (Isa 3:14, Isa 3:15) that they might maintain the pride and luxury of their families.
II. The punishments threatened for this sin; and they answer the sin as face answers to face in a glass, Isa 3:17, Isa 3:18. 1. They walked with stretched-forth necks, but God will smite with a scab the crown of their head, which shall lower their crests, and make them ashamed to show their heads, being obliged by it to cut off their hair. Note, Loathsome diseases are often sent as the just punishment of pride, and are sometimes the immediate effect of lewdness, the flesh and the body being consumed by it. 2. They cared not what they laid out in furnishing themselves with great variety of fine clothes; but God will reduce them to such poverty and distress that they shall not have clothes sufficient to cover their nakedness, but their uncomeliness shall be exposed through their rags. 3. They were extremely fond and proud of their ornaments; but God will strip them of those ornaments, when their houses shall be plundered, their treasures rifled, and they themselves led into captivity. The prophet here specifies many of the ornaments which they used as particularly as if he had been the keeper of their wardrobe or had attended them in their dressing-room. It is not at all material to enquire what sort of ornaments these respectively were and whether the translations rightly express the original words; perhaps 100 years hence the names of some of the ornaments that are now in use in our own land will be as little understood as some of those here mentioned now are. Fashions alter, and so do the names of them; and yet the mention of them is not in vain, but is designed to expose the folly of the daughters of Zion; for, (1.) Many of these things, we may suppose, were very odd and ridiculous, and, if they had not been in fashion, would have been hooted at. They were fitter to be toys for children to play with than ornaments for grown people to go to Mount Zion in. (2.) Those things that were decent and convenient, as the linen, the hoods, and the veils, needed not be provided in such abundance and variety. It is necessary to have apparel and proper that all should have it according to their rank; but what occasion was there for so many changeable suits of apparel (Isa 3:22), that they might not be seen two days together in the same suit? "They must have (as the homily against excess of apparel speaks) one gown for the day, another for the night - one long, another short - one for the working day, another for the holy-day - one of this colour, another of that colour - one of cloth, another of silk or damask - one dress afore dinner, another after - one of the Spanish fashion, another Turkey - and never content with sufficient." All this, as it is an evidence of pride and vain curiosity, so must needs spend a great deal in gratifying a base lust that ought to be laid out in works of piety and charity; and it is well if poor tenants be not racked, or poor creditors defrauded to support it. (3.) The enumeration of these things intimates what care they were in about them, how much their hearts were upon them, what an exact account they kept of them, how nice and critical they were about them, how insatiable their desire was of them, and how much of their comfort was bound up in them. A maid could forget none of these ornaments, though they were ever so many (Jer 2:32), but they would report them as readily, and talk of them with as much pleasure, as if they had been things of the greatest moment. The prophet did not speak of these things as in themselves sinful (they might lawfully be had and used), but as things which they were proud of and should therefore be deprived of.
III. They were very nice and curious about their clothes; but God would make those bodies of theirs, which were at such expense to beautify and make easy, a reproach and burden to them (Isa 3:24): Instead of sweet smell (those tablets, or boxes, of perfume, houses of the soul or breath, as they are called, Isa 3:20, margin) there shall be stink, garments grown filthy with being long worn, or from some loathsome disease or plasters for the cure of it. Instead of a rich embroidered girdle used to make the clothes sit tight, there shall be a rent, a rending of the clothes for grief, or old rotten clothes rent into rags. Instead of well-set hair, curiously plaited and powdered, there shall be baldness, the hair being plucked off or shaven, as was usual in times of great affliction (Isa 15:2; Jer 16:6), or in great servitude, Eze 29:18. Instead of a stomacher, or a scarf or sash, there shall be a girding of sackcloth, in token of deep humiliation; and burning instead of beauty. Those that had a good complexion, and were proud of it, when they are carried into captivity shall be tanned and sun-burnt; and it is observed that the best faces are soonest injured by the weather. From all this let us learn, 1. Not to be nice and curious about our apparel, not to affect that which is gay and costly, nor to be proud of it. 2. Not to be secure in the enjoyment of any of the delights of sense, because we know not how soon we may be stripped of them, nor what straits we may be reduced to.
IV. They designed by these ornaments to charm the gentlemen, and win their affections (Pro 7:16, Pro 7:17), but there shall be none to be charmed by them (Isa 3:25): Thy men shall fall by the sword, and the mighty in the war, The fire shall consume them, and then the maidens shall not be given in marriage; as it is, Psa 78:63. When the sword comes with commission the mighty commonly fall first by it, because they are most forward to venture. And, when Zion's guards are cut off, no marvel that Zion's gates lament and mourn (Isa 3:26), the enemies having made themselves masters of them; and the city itself, being desolate, being emptied or swept, shall sit upon the ground like a disconsolate widow. If sin be harboured within the walls, lamentation and mourning are near the gates.

Adam Clarke

The first five verses of this chapter allude to the subject of the last; and contain earnest exhortations to repentance, with gracious promises of pardon, notwithstanding every aggravation of guilt, Jer 3:1-5. At the sixth verse a new section of prophecy commences, opening with a complaint against Judah for having exceeded in guilt her sister Israel, already cast off for her idolatry, Jer 3:6-11. She is cast off, but not forever; for to this same Israel, whose place of captivity (Assyria) lay to the north of Judea, pardon is promised on her repentance, together with a restoration to the Church of God, along with her sister Judah, in the latter days, Jer 3:12-20. The prophet foretells the sorrow and repentance of the children of Israel under the Gospel dispensation, Jer 3:21. God renews his gracious promises, Jer 3:22; and they again confess their sins. In this confession their not deigning to name the idol Baal, the source of their calamities, but calling him in the abstract shame, or a thing of shame, is a nice touch of the perusal extremely beautiful and natural, Jer 3:22-25.

John Gill

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 3

In this chapter the Jews are threatened with various calamities, on account of their sins, which would issue in their entire ruin and destruction. They are threatened with a famine, Isa 3:1 with a removal of useful men in church and state, and in common life, Isa 3:2 with ignorant and effeminate governors; the consequences of which would be oppression and insolence, Isa 3:4 yea, that such would be their state and condition, that men, though naturally ambitious of honour, would refuse to have the government of them, Isa 3:6 the reasons of these calamities, and of this ruin and fall of them, are their evil words and actions against the Lord, which were highly provoking to him; and their impudence in sinning like Sodom, which was to their own harm, Isa 3:8 yet, in the midst of all this, it is the will of God that the righteous should be told it shall be well with them, with the reason of it; when it shall be ill with the wicked, as a just recompence of reward, Isa 3:10 the errors and mistakes of the people are attributed to their childish and effeminate governors, Isa 3:12 wherefore the Lord determines to plead their cause, and contend with their elders and rulers, because they had spoiled and devoured the poor, Isa 3:13 and particularly the women are threatened, for their pride and luxury, to have their ornaments taken from them, which are particularly mentioned, Isa 3:16 and the chapter is concluded with a prophecy, that their mighty men should perish by the sword in war, and the city should be desolate, Isa 3:25.

1. For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,.... These titles of Jehovah, expressive of power and authority, are used to show that he is able to execute what he threatens to do; and the word "behold" is prefixed, to excite attention to what is about to be said:

doth take away from Jerusalem, and from Judea; the present tense is used for the future, because of the certainty of what would be done to the Jews, both in city and country; for as in the preceding chapter Isa 2:1 it is foretold what shall befall the antichristian party among the nations of the world, this is a prophecy of the destruction of the Jews by the Romans; at which time there would be a dreadful famine, signified by the taking away

the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water; bread and water being the stay and staff of man's life, which support and maintain it; and, in case of disobedience, a famine was threatened this people very early, and in much such terms as here, Lev 26:26 and as there was a very sore famine at the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, Jer 52:6 so there was a very dreadful one when the city was besieged by the Romans, as related by Josephus, and predicted by Christ, Mat 24:7.

2. The mighty man, and man of war,.... The meaning is either that these should die in war, as thousands of them did; or that men fit to be generals of armies should be removed by death before this time, so that they should have none to go out with their armies, and meet the enemy:

the judge and the prophet; there should be none to sit upon the bench, and administer justice to the people in civil affairs, and to determine causes relating to life and death; and none to instruct them in religious matters, and deliver the mind and will of God to them; and before this time the Jews were under the Roman jurisdiction, and had a Roman governor over them, and had not power to judge in capital cases, in matters of life and death, as they suggest, Joh 18:31 and they say (z), that forty years before the destruction of the temple this power was taken from them; and at the time that Jerusalem was besieged, and taken by the Romans, and before that, they had no prophets among them; for though there were prophets in the Christian churches, yet none among them; this shows that this prophecy cannot be understood of the Babylonish captivity, because there were prophets then, as Jeremy, Ezekiel, and Daniel, but of Jerusalem's destruction by the Romans:

and the prudent and the ancient: with whom are wisdom, and who are fit to give advice and counsel in matters of difficulty; but these would be removed by famine or sword. The first of these words is used sometimes in an ill sense, for a diviner or soothsayer, Deu 18:10. The Jewish writers (a) interpret it of a king, according to Pro 16:10 and it is certain they were without one at this time, and have been ever since, Hos 3:4.

(z) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 15. 1. Sanhedrin, fol. 41. 1. and Beracot, fol. 58. 1. (a) T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 14. 1. Jarchi in loc.

3. The captain of fifty,.... A semi-centurion, such an one as in Kg2 1:9. So far should there be from being captains of thousands, and of hundreds, that there should not be one of fifty:

and the honourable man; by birth, breeding, and behaviour, through riches and greatness; and one of power and authority among the people, and in their favour and esteem:

and the counsellor; one able to give advice in matters of moment and difficulty, and in controversy between man and man; it suggests that nothing should be done with advice and counsel, with wisdom and discretion, but all tumult and sedition, as the history of these times shows: the Jews (b) interpret this of one that knows how to intercalate years, and fix the months: and the

cunning artificer: in any kind of metal, old, silver, brass, and iron, and in any sort of wood, and in any kind of manual and mechanical business; which would now be laid aside, shops shuts up, and all trade and business neglected and discouraged, occasioned partly by the siege without, and chiefly by their internal divisions and robberies, and by their zealots and cutthroats, which swarmed among them. The Septuagint render it, "the wise architect", or "masterbuilder"; the same word is used by the apostle in Co1 3:10,

and the eloquent orator; who has the tongue of the learned, and can speak a word in season to the distressed; or who is able to plead at the bar the cause of the injured and oppressed, the widow and the fatherless. Aben Ezra interprets it of one that is skilful in enchanting serpents; that charms wisely, as in Psa 58:5 it may be rendered, "one that understands enchantment" (c): with the Septuagint it is a "prudent hearer"; sad is the case of a nation when men of so much usefulness are taken away from them. See Kg2 24:15.

(b) T. Bab. Chagiga & Jarchi, ut supra. (fol. 14. 1. Jarchi in loc.) (c) "intelligentem incantationis", Vatablus.

4. And I will give children to be their princes,.... Either in age, or in understanding, who are really so, or act like such; and in either sense, when this is the case, it is an unhappiness to a nation, Ecc 10:16,

and babes shall rule over them; which is the same as before. The Targum is,

"the weak shall rule over them;''

such who are weak in their intellectuals, or are of mean pusillanimous spirits, "effeminate", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; and so as "children" are opposed to the "ancient", that should be taken away, these are opposed to "men of might" and courage, who would now be wanting: or "men of illusions", as in the margin; such as were subtle as foxes, and should deceive them, and impose upon them, and were audacious and impudent, and would mock at them, and despise them. So Jarchi and Abarbinel; and according to this sense of the word the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, "mockers shall rule over them".

5. And the people shall be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbour,.... There being no governors, or such as were unfit for government, no decorum was kept and observed, but a mere anarchy; and so everyone did as he pleased, as when there was no king in Israel; and everyone rushed into the house of his neighbour, and plundered his goods; this was the case of Jerusalem, at the time of the siege, it abounding with robbers and spoilers:

the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient; show no respect to them, nor honour them, as the law requires in Lev 19:32 but behave insolently towards them; and so the Jews say (d), that when the son of David is come, as he now would be, young men shall make ashamed the faces of old men, and old men shall stand before young men:

and the base against the honourable; persons of a mean birth and extract would rise up against and insult such as were men of families and fortune, of noble birth and of high degree.

(d) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 97. 1.

6. When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father,.... One of the same country, kindred, and family; for only one of their brethren, and not a stranger, might rule over them, Deu 17:15 this taking hold of him may design not so much a literal taking hold of his person, his hand or garment, much less using any forcible measures with him; though indeed the Jews would have took Christ by force, who was one of their brethren, and would have made him a temporal king, which he refused, as this man did here spoken of, Joh 6:15 but rather an importunate desire and entreaty, urging him, as follows,

saying, thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler; that is, he had good and rich clothing, fit for a ruler or civil magistrate to appear in, which everyone had not, and some scarce any in those troublesome times:

and let this ruin be under thy hand; that is, let thy care, concern, and business, be to raise up the almost ruined state of the city and nation; and let thy hand be under it, to support and maintain it. The Targum is,

"and this power shall be under thy hand;''

thou shalt have power and government over the nation, and the honour and greatness which belong unto it, and all shall be subject unto thee. The Septuagint renders it, "let my meat be under thee", or "from thee", as the Arabic version.

7. In that day shall he swear,.... Or "lift up", that is, his hand (e), which was a gesture used in swearing, and therefore is so rendered; the meaning is, that he shall at once immediately give an answer, and for the solemn confirmation of it shall say an oath with it, saying,

I will not be a healer, or "a binder"; that is, of wounds, of political wounds, made in the nation, and which were incurable. See Isa 1:6 for the meaning is, that he neither was fit to be, nor could he be, a healer of the distempered state of the nation, it was so desperately bad. The Targum is,

"I am not fit to be a head or governor;''

and so Kimchi explains it of a governor, who, he says, is so called, because he binds and imprisons those that transgress his commands; and to this sense Jarchi and Abarbinel:

for in my house is neither bread nor clothing; not a sufficiency of either to support such grandeur and dignity; not enough to keep a proper table, and a suitable equipage:

make me not a ruler of the people; this shows that the state of the nation must be very bad indeed, that men, who are naturally ambitious of power and honour, should refuse government when offered to them.

(e) "attollet manum", Piscator.

8. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen, This is a reason given why the government of them is refused; they were fallen into such a ruinous condition, that there was no probability of recovering them. And the reason of this their fall and ruin is,

because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord; against the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they reproached and vilified as an impostor, a blasphemer, and a seditious person; and whom they spit upon, buffeted, scourged, and crucified:

to provoke the eyes of his glory; whose glory, as seen by some in the days of his humiliation, was as the glory of the only begotten of the Father; and, upon his ascension, he was crowned with glory and honour: and as his eyes saw, as well as his ears heard, all their blasphemy and wickedness; so they refusing to have him to reign over them, he was provoked to come in his kingdom with power, and cause his wrath to fall upon them to the uttermost, in the destruction of their country, city, and temple.

9. The shew of their countenance doth witness against them,.... The word translated "shew" is only used in this place. Some derive it from "to know", in the conjugations Piel and Hiphil; and render it, "the knowledge of their countenance" (f); that is, that which may be known by their countenances; the countenance oftentimes shows what is in the heart, the cruel disposition of the mind, the pride and vanity of it, the uncleanness and lasciviousness that is in it; to this our version agrees, and which is confirmed by the Chaldee paraphrase,

"the knowledge of their countenance in judgment doth testify against them;''

as they appear there, so it may be judged of them; their guilt flies in their face, and fills them with shame and confusion; and so the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "the shame of their face"; but others derive it from which has the signification of hardness in the Arabic language, and as it is thought by some to have in Job 19:3 and render it, "the hardness of their countenance"; so R. Joseph Kimchi, and others (g), meaning their impudence (h); not only their words and actions, but their impudent looks, show what they are; which agrees with what follows:

and they declare their sin as Sodom, and

hide it not; commit it openly, without fear or shame; glory in it, and boast of it, as the Jews did in their crucifixion of Christ, and their evil treatment of him:

woe to their soul, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves; they have brought upon themselves, soul and body, the just recompence of reward; they have been the cause of their own ruin, and have wronged their own souls.

(f) "cognitio vultus eorum", Munster, Vatablus, V. L. (g) "Obfermatio", Janius & Tremellius; "durities", Piscator. (h) So Schindler renders the Arabic word, "hacar", impudence. Vid. Castel. Lexic. col. 846.

10. Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him,.... The Lord always has some righteous ones, in the worst of times, whom he can and does distinguish, single out, and take care of; and it is his will that they should be comforted by his prophets and ministers, who seem to be the persons to whom these words are directed, lest they should be distressed with what is said unto, and what they see is coming upon, the world, or upon a nation in general: and it will be, and is well with such, when calamities are on a nation, in a time of famine, war, or pestilence, under any affliction whatever at death, and at judgment, and to all eternity; the Lord has the highest regard for them; Christ's righteousness, by which they are denominated righteous, secures them from wrath, and entitles them to glory; they are blessed now, and will be happy hereafter. So the Targum,

"say ye to the righteous, ye are blessed,''

pronounce them such as they are: some render it, "say to the righteous, that he do good" (i); exhort him, excite and encourage him, to it; such who have believed in Christ for righteousness ought to be careful to maintain good works: others, "say to the righteous", own him, speak well of him, "for it is good"; or say to him, "that he is good" (k), a happy man. The Septuagint and Arabic versions, very foreign from the text, and sense of it, render the words, "saying, let us bind the just man, for he is unprofitable to us"; as if they were the words of the wicked Jews, respecting Christ, the just One, so called sarcastically by them: and the reason of the righteous man's happiness follows:

for they shall eat the fruit of their doings: both of what Christ has done for them, as their Head and representative, by whose righteousness they are justified; and of what they have done themselves, under the influence of his Spirit and grace; which being done from a principle of grace, are rewarded with a reward of grace, and not of debt; such enjoy a peace of conscience now, which is the work and effect of righteousness, and shall receive the reward of the inheritance, which is not of the law, but by promise, and of faith, and so by grace.

(i) "quod bene agat", Vatablus. (k) "Dicite justum, quod bonus beatusque est", Cocceius.

11. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him,.... In time, and to eternity, in times of public calamity, and under all afflictions, and adverse dispensations of Providence; he has no God to go to; all that befalls him is in wrath; at death he is driven away in his wickedness; at judgment he will be bid to depart as cursed, and his portion will be in the lake of fire, with devils and damned spirits for ever. Some (l) render it, "woe to the wicked, evil"; or who is evil, who is exceedingly bad, a very great sinner, the chief of sinners, such as the Sodomites were, sinners before the Lord exceedingly, Gen 13:13 to whom these men are compared, Isa 3:9. So the Targum,

"woe to the ungodly, whose works are evil:''

the Jews, as they distinguish between a good man and a righteous man, so between a wicked man and an evil man; there are, say they (m), a righteous good man, and a righteous man that is not good; but he that is good to God, and good to men, he is a righteous good man; he that is good to God, and not good to men, he is a righteous man, that is not good; and there are a wicked evil man, and a wicked man that is not evil; he that is evil to God, and evil to men, he is a wicked evil man; he that is evil to God, and not evil to men, he is a wicked man that is not evil. See Rom 5:7.

for the reward of his hands shall be given him; in righteous judgment, in strict justice, as a just recompense of reward; nor shall he have reason to complain of unrighteousness in God.

(l) "vae impio malo", Munster, Vatablus; so Ben Melech. (m) T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 40. 1.

12. As for my people, children are their oppressors,.... Or rulers; for in the Ethiopic language, signifies a king: or "exactors", as in Isa 60:17 princes are so called, because they exact tribute of their subjects, and sometimes in a tyrannical and oppressive manner, and so get the name of oppressors. The sense is the same with Isa 3:4. The words may be rendered, "as for my people, everyone of their governors, is a child" (n); not in age, but in understanding:

and women rule over them, or "over him" (o); either over the people of Israel, as Alexandra before Hyrcanus, and Helena queen of the Adiabenes; or over the child their governor, as women had great influence over their husbands, the governors of Judea, in those times, as Herodias, Bernice, and Drusilla; or it may be understood of men, weak, effeminate, and given to pleasure:

O my people, they which lead thee: as the former may design their political governors, this their ecclesiastic rulers, who were to direct and lead them in the paths of religion and truth. Some render the words, "who praise thee", as the Targum; "or bless you", or "call you blessed", as the Septuagint and Arabic versions, though guilty of the most flagitious crimes:

cause thee to err, or wander from the way of God's commandments,

and destroy the way of the paths, by turning them out of the right way; by enjoining them the traditions of the elders; by taking away the key of knowledge from them, and not suffering them to go into the kingdom of heaven, or attend the ministry of the Gospel and ordinances; as did the Scribes and Pharisees, who were blind leaders of the blind.

(n) "exactorum ejus quisque parvulus est", Piscator. (o) "in eum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "in illum", Cocceius.

13. The Lord standeth up to plead,.... His own cause, or the cause of his son against the Jews that rejected him, and the Scribes and Pharisees that led them to an ill opinion of him:

and standeth to judge the people. Both expressions show indignation and resentment; he rises up out of his place, and stands up in defence of his cause, and avenges himself on a wicked and ungrateful people: it seems to have reference to the judgments of God on the people of the Jews, the tribes of Israel.

14. The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof,.... Both civil and ecclesiastical; the princes, chief priests, and elders of the people, who set themselves and took counsel together against the Lord and his Christ; would not suffer the people to be gathered to him; sought his life, and at last took it away.

For ye have eaten up the vineyard, or burnt it (p); the house of Israel, and of Judah compared to a vineyard, in a following chapter; and so the Targum,

"ye have oppressed my people;''

these are the husbandmen our Lord speaks of, that beat the servants that were sent for the fruits of the vineyard, and at last killed the heir, Mat 21:34.

The spoil of the poor is in your houses; the Pharisees devoured widows' houses, and filled their own, with the spoil of them, Mat 23:14.

(p) "succendistis", Vatablus, Montanus.

15. What mean ye, that ye beat my people to pieces,.... Reduce them to the utmost poverty; so the Targum,

"wherefore do ye impoverish my people?''

as they did by exacting tithes of all that they possessed; by requiring large sums for their long prayers; and by various traditions they enjoined them to observe:

and grind the faces of the poor? either by smiting them on the cheek, as Christ, who became poor for our sakes, was smitten by them; or by bringing them into such low circumstances, by their exorbitant demands, that they had not sufficiency of food to eat; by which means their faces became pale, thin, and meagre:

saith the Lord God of Hosts: who saw all their actions, and was able to plead his people's cause, and take vengeance on their oppressors.

16. Moreover the Lord saith, because the daughters of Zion are haughty,.... The wives or daughters of the rulers, princes, or elders; these were "high", affected to look high and tall, and therefore stretched out their necks, and walked on tiptoes; or "were lifted up" with pride, which is the root and source of all the vanity expressed in their gesture and ornaments.

And walk with stretched forth necks or "throats"; looking high, and above others, and upon them with contempt and disdain; this is a sign of pride; see Psa 75:5,

and wanton eyes; either winking with their eyes to others to follow them to their houses, as Kimchi interprets it; so Jarchi thinks it is expressive of their looks, as we, of wanton looks; and the Septuagint render it, "with winking of eyes"; so the Syriac and Arabic versions, or painting their eyes; so the Targum,

"they walk with their eyes painted,''

as Jezebel painted her face, Kg2 9:30 in the Talmudic language, is used (q) for vermilion, or red lead, with which they painted their eyes, as they did also with (r) black lead.

Walking and mincing as they go: jumping and dancing as children in the streets; or using the like gesture as those who beat upon a drum; or walking in even paces, in a soft and delicate manner; all which senses Kimchi (s) observes in the word. The whole is rendered by the Septuagint, "and in the walk of their feet", or as they walk "together, drawing their coats" upon the ground after them, which makes a noise. The Targum is, "with hair rolled up", bound up and plaited.

And making a tinkling with their feet; having a sort of bells hanging on them, as Kimchi thinks, which made a noise as they went. Of the word here used, and the sense of it; see Gill on Isa 3:18. The Targum renders it, "provoking with their feet"; either the lust of men; or the anger of the Lord, as the Syriac version; the Septuagint and Arabic versions, "playing with the feet".

(q) T. Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 18. 1. Misn. Sabbat. c. 12. sect. 4. Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. (r) Targum on 2 Kings ix. 30. (s) Sepher Shorash. rad.

17. Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,.... This is opposed to the lifting up of their heads in that haughty manner they did, and to the binding, and plaiting, and curling of their hair, which now will fall off, through the scab or leprosy upon them, or must be obliged to be shaven off.

And the Lord will discover their secret parts; the Vulgate Latin renders it, "their hair", which is their glory, Co1 11:6. The Targum is, "and the Lord shall take away their glory". The Syriac and Arabic versions render it "their sex", that which distinguishes their sex; of which Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret it; than which nothing could be more distressing and intolerable, being worse than baldness of the head, and yet common with captives; and the Septuagint render it "their habit": the meaning is, they shall be stripped of their fine apparel, and be clothed in rags, so that their nakedness shall be seen. An enumeration of the several particulars follows.

18. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet,.... With which they made a tinkling as they went, Isa 3:16 it being about the shoe, and made a noise; or seeing the word used signifies "stocks", and is so rendered Pro 7:22, it may design some sort of attire about the feet, as golden chains, as the Talmudists say (t), which being fastened to both, directed their motion in walking, and prevented them taking too large steps: or rather these may intend some ornaments of the feet, used by the eastern nations; which, according to Golius, as related by De Dieu on the place, were plates of gold, one or two fingers broad, and sometimes four, which were put about the ankles of infants of rich families; not to make a tinkling, nor to direct their walk, but for ornament, and to distinguish them from the meaner sort. The Targum renders it, "the ornament of the shoes"; these were put about the place where the shoes were tied; and in the Talmud (u) the word is explained by "shoes"; which the gloss interprets of wooden shoes: the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, are, "the ornament of their clothing"; as if this was the general name for the particulars that follow:

and their cauls: the attire of the head, of network: the word is used in the Misnah (v) for the ornament of cauls; which was, as one of their commentators (w) says, a picture made upon the caul for ornament; it was placed upon the forehead, and reached from ear to ear; and it was made by itself, so that it might be removed, and put upon another caul. Under these cauls they plaited their hair; hence the Septuagint render the word "the plaiting and the curls"; and to the same purpose the Syriac and Arabic versions.

And their round tires like the moon; these were not tires for the head, as our version suggests; much less were they clasps, buckles, or strings for the shoes, in the form of a half moon; such as were the "lunuloe" which the Roman senators had on their feet, to distinguish them from the common people; and were used by Evander and the Arcadians, to show that they sprung from the moon; which custom the noblemen of Rome followed; and some say (x) they put them under their feet, see Rev 12:1 but these were ornaments wore about the necks, such as those which were found upon the necks of the kings of Midian, and even upon the necks of their camels, Jdg 8:21 where the same word is used as here; they were no other than bracelets, necklaces, or golden chains, in the form of the moon; and the word is in the Talmud (y) rendered "chains". See also footnote (z).

(t) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 63. 2. Maimon. in Misn. Sabbat, c. 6. sect. 4. (u) T. Hieros. Sabbat, fol. 8. 2. (v) Misn. Sabbat, c. 28. sect. 10. & Negaim, c. 11. sect. 11. (w) Bartenora in Misn. Sabbat, ib. (x) Vid. Scacch, Sacrer. Eleaochr. Myrothec. 1. c. 49. col. 248. (y) T. Hieros. Sabbat, fol. 8. 2. (z) Vid. Bynaeus de Calceis Heb. l. 1. c. 9.

19. The chains,.... According to Kimchi and R. Levi ben Gersom on Jdg 8:26 these were drop bottles, or vessels of gold, in which were put stacte or balsam; and the former says here, they were such in which balsam was put, and women hung about their necks; though, he observes, some interpret them of chains, which were made of small stones of bdellium; hence pure bdellium is called in the Arabic tongue and so Jarchi renders the word "chains"; and they are called by this name, because they hang about the neck, and drop upon the breast, and are in the form of precious stones, bored and strung:

and the bracelets; hand bracelets, according to the Targum; such as Abraham's servant gave to Rebekah, Gen 24:22,

and the mufflers; these were veils which covered the whole face, excepting the eyes, the same that we call masks: it is said (a) of the Arabian women, that they went out that is, as Bartenora explains it, they were veiled about the head, so that the whole face was covered, excepting their eyes; though Maimonides interprets them of little bells, which the Arabian women went out with; the Targum here explains the word by "women's veils"; though some think only the "spangles" which were on them are meant, so called from their trembling and shaking motion.

(a) Misn. Sabbat, c. 6. sect. 6.

20. The bonnets,.... This word is used sometimes for the tire of the heads of men, Eze 24:17 and even for the bonnets of the priests, Exo 39:28. The Targum renders the word "crowns"; the Jewish women wore golden crowns on their heads, in the form of the city of Jerusalem, with which they might not go out on a sabbath day (b):

and the ornaments of the legs; and so the Targum,

"the chains or bracelets of the feet;''

with which Jarchi and Kimchi agree; but the word is used for a bracelet on the arm in Sa2 1:10 and Aben Ezra so interprets it here:

and the headbands: the, word is rendered "attire" in Jer 2:32 according to Jarchi, they were short binders with which the hair was bound up, and some of them were wrought with gold; but with Aben Ezra they were binders about the neck or throat:

and the tablets; in the Hebrew text, "the houses of the soul" (c); and were, as Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi think, ornaments which women hung between their breasts on the heart, or over against it; they seem rather to be smelling bottles, as the Vulgate Latin version renders the words, which they carried in their bosoms to refresh the spirits, and fetch back the soul or breath when fainting and almost gone; the Targum renders it "earrings", by which we render the following:

and the earrings; so Jarchi and Kimchi, who suggest they are so called because the ear is the place where whispering and muttering is used, which this word has the signification of; but, according to Aben Ezra, they were writings written in gold, and silver, by way of enchantment or charm; and the Arabic version renders the word, "boxes of amulets" or "charms"; the word signifies enchantments, see Psa 58:5.

(b) Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. (c) "domos animae", i.e. "olfactoriola", Cocceius; so V. L.

21. The rings,.... On their finger, as Aben Ezra observes:

and nose jewels; the same with the jewels on the forehead or nose, Eze 16:12 not that they hung upon the nose, but were fastened upon the forehead, and hung down to the nose, see Gen 24:22; an allusion to this is in Pro 11:22 though Austin says it was a custom of the women of Mauritania to put jewels in their nose; and which is still kept in Persia, Arabia, and other countries, as travellers affirm.

22. The changeable suits of apparel,.... To put on and off upon occasion; Kimchi says they were beautiful garments, and so they stand opposed to filthy ones, Zac 3:3.

and the mantles: or "cloaks", as the Targum; Jarchi translates the word by "bedclothes", or coverings for the bed, such as tapestry, rugs, quilts, &c. which were worked with purple; hence the Septuagint makes use of words to express it by of such a signification:

and the wimples; according to Jarchi, these were "towels" or linen cloths, with which they wiped their hands; but, according to Kimchi, they were "veils" with which women covered themselves; and so the word is rendered in Rut 3:15 and elsewhere (d) he observes, that some interpret it of "gloves"; some think "aprons" are meant: our English word "wimples" comes from the Dutch word "wimpel", a muffler, or plaited linen cloth, which nuns wear to cover their necks and breasts; the word is also used for a streamer or flag:

and the crisping pins: with which they used to part their hair, and curl their locks, and keep them so: according to Kimchi, they were "purses"; and such made of silk, and wrought with gold and silver, may very well be reckoned among the ornaments of women; and the word is rendered "bags" in Kg2 5:23 some think needle cases are meant; the word by which the Targum explains it seems to design "hooks" or "clasps", with which women clasped their garments, that they might be kept close about them.

(d) In Sepher Shorash. rad.

23. The glasses,.... Looking glasses, by which they dressed themselves, see Exo 38:8 and so Kimchi explains the word; but elsewhere (e) he says it signifies thin garments, so called because the flesh is seen through them, being so exceeding thin; which sense is favoured by the Septuagint version, which renders it by garments which the Lacedemonians wore, which were so thin and transparent, that the naked body might be seen through them:

and the fine linen; of which several of their garments and ornaments were made, and particularly their veils, with which they veiled themselves, as Jarchi observes:

and the hoods; the word is used for a diadem and mitre, Isa 62:3 the Targum renders it "crowns"; and such the Jewish women wore; see Gill on Isa 3:20 and particularly newly married women (f):

and the veils; so the word is rendered in Sol 5:7 with which women covered their heads, either through modesty, or as a token of subjection to their husbands, see Gen 24:65 but, according to the Targum and Kimchi, these were thin garments which women wore in summertime; Jarchi says they are the same which the French call "fermelan", and are of gold, which they put about the cloak the woman is covered with; perhaps they were a sort of umbrellas, to keep off the heat of the sun.

(e) Ib. (In Sepher Shorash.) rad. (f) Misn. Sota, c. 9. sect. 14.

24. And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be a stink,.... Instead of "spice", or in the place where they put spices, carried musk, or had their smelling bottles, of precious and aromatic ointment, balsam, and myrrh, and such like things (g), namely, in their bosoms, there should be a "stink" or putrefaction, arising from ulcers and diseases of the body, Zac 14:12 the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it "dust"; or this may refer to the anointing of their hair with ointment of myrrh and other things, which gave an agreeable scent; but instead of this there would be a scab, giving an ill scent, Isa 3:17.

and instead of a girdle a rent; such as is made in times of mourning and distress, or by the enemy. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, a "rope"; instead of fine curious girdles, wrought with gold and silver, they should have nothing but a rope about their loins. The Targum is,

"in the place where they bind the girdles, shall be marks of smiting;''

stripes, cuts, see Isa 10:34 as either by blows from the enemy, by whom they should be taken, or by the hand of God, being smitten with sores and ulcers, so that they should not be able to bear girdles upon them; or "holes", in their clothes or skin:

and instead of well set hair baldness; instead of plaited hair, and curled locks, kept in order, there would be scabs, ulcers, leprosy, or such diseases as would cause the hair to fall off, and leave a baldness. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "instead of the golden ornament of the head, thou shall have baldness for thy works"; and the Syriac version, "instead of gems, incisions":

and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; the word for a "stomacher" is only used in this place; according to Kimchi, it signifies a very broad girdle; but Aben Ezra says it was a thin garment embroidered, which was put over all the rest of the clothes; perhaps something like a "mantelet". The Septuagint version renders it, "instead of the garment worked with purple"; and so the Syriac version, "instead of their hyacinths, or purples"; and the Arabic version, "instead of thy silken garment thou shall be girt with sackcloth"; which was usually done in times of distress and mourning:

and burning instead of beauty; either through the scorching beams of the sun, being stripped of their hoods and veils; or rather this is to be understood of carbuncles, and such like hot burning ulcers in their faces, which once were beautiful, and they prided themselves in; though the Hebrew word seems rather to be a preposition than a noun; so Jarchi, whose note is,

"for this is fit to be unto them instead of beauty, with which they have prided themselves,''

or have lifted up themselves; and so in his gloss upon the Talmud (h), where this clause, with the context, is cited and paraphrased,

"for all these things shall come unto thee instead of thy beauty;''

and this clause may be read in connection with the following, "because of beauty", or "instead of beauty, thy men shall fall", &c. and so the Targum,

"this vengeance shall be taken on them, because they have committed fornication in their beauty; thy beautiful men shall be killed by the sword.''

The Syriac version is, "because their beauty shall be corrupted", and those versions which seem to have left out this clause, yet retain something of it in the beginning of the next verse Isa 3:25. The Vulgate Latin version is, "thy most beautiful men also shall fall by the sword". The Septuagint and Arabic versions begin it thus, "and thy beautiful son, whom thou lovest, shall fall by the sword".

(g) Misn. Sabbat, c. 6. sect. 3. (h) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 62. 2.

25. Thy men shall fall by the sword,.... Of the Romans; which would be a punishment to the women for their pride and luxury, being deprived thereby of their husbands:

and thy mighty in the war; of Vespasian and Titus, and which the Jews (i) call , "the war of Vespasian": in which great multitudes of men, even of mighty men, were slain.

(i) Misn. Sabbat, c. 6. sect. 3.

26. And her gates shall lament and mourn,.... These being utterly destroyed; or there being none to pass through them, meaning the gates of the city of Jerusalem:

and she being desolate; clear of inhabitants, quite emptied, and exhausted of men; being laid even with the ground, and her children within her, Luk 19:44.

shall sit upon the ground; being levelled with it, and not one stone cast upon another; alluding to the posture of mourners, Job 2:13. Our countryman, Mr. Gregory (k), thinks that the device of the coin of the emperor Vespasian, in the reverse of it, upon taking Judea, which was a woman sitting on the ground, leaning back, to a palm tree, with this inscription, "Judea Capta", was contrived out of this prophecy; and that he was helped to it by Josephus, the Jew, then in his court. The whole prophecy had its accomplishment, not in the Babylonish captivity, as Jarchi suggests, much less in the times of Ahaz, as Kimchi and Abarbinal suppose, but in the times of Jerusalem's destruction by the Romans.

(k) Notes and Observations, &c, p. 26, 27.

Next: Isaiah Chapter 4

JFB

(Isa. 3:1-26)

For--continuation of Isa 2:22.

Lord of hosts--therefore able to do as He says.

doth--present for future, so certain is the accomplishment.

stay . . . staff--the same Hebrew word, the one masculine, the other feminine, an Arabic idiom for all kinds of support. What a change from the previous luxuries (Isa 2:7)! Fulfilled in the siege by Nebuchadnezzar and afterwards by Titus (Jer 37:21; Jer 38:9).

2. Fulfilled (Kg2 24:14).

prudent--the Hebrew often means a "soothsayer" (Deu 18:10-14); thus it will mean, the diviners, on whom they rely, shall in that day fail. It is found in a good sense (Pro 16:10), from which passage the Jews interpret it a king; "without" whom Israel long has been (Hos 3:4).

ancient--old and experienced (Kg1 12:6-8).

3. captain of fifty--not only captains of thousands, and centurions of a hundred, but even semi-centurions of fifty, shall fail.

honourable--literally, "of dignified aspect."

cunning--skilful. The mechanic's business will come to a standstill in the siege and subsequent desolation of the state; artisans are no mean "stay" among a nation's safeguards.

eloquent orator--rather, as Vulgate, "skilled in whispering," that is, incantation (Psa 58:5). See Isa 8:19, below; and on "prudent," see on Isa 3:2.

4. children--in ability for governing; antithesis to the "ancient" (see Isa 3:12; Ecc 10:16).

babes--in warlike might; antithesis to "the mighty" and "man of war."

5. The anarchy resulting under such imbecile rulers (Isa 3:4); unjust exactions mutually; the forms of respect violated (Lev 19:32).

base--low-born. Compare the marks of "the last days" (Ti2 3:2).

6. Such will be the want of men of wealth and ability, that they will "take hold of" (Isa 4:1) the first man whom they meet, having any property, to make him "ruler."

brother--one having no better hereditary claim to be ruler than the "man" supplicating him.

Thou hast clothing--which none of us has. Changes of raiment are wealth in the East (Kg2 5:5).

ruin--Let our ruined affairs be committed to thee to retrieve.

7. swear--literally, "lift up," namely, his hand; the gesture used in solemn attestation. Or, his voice, that is, answer; so Vulgate.

healer--of the body politic, incurably diseased (Isa 1:6).

neither . . . clothing--so as to relieve the people and maintain a ruler's dignity. A nation's state must be bad indeed, when none among men, naturally ambitious, is willing to accept office.

8. Reason given by the prophet, why all shrink from the government.

eyes of his glory--to provoke His "glorious" Majesty before His "eyes" (compare Isa 49:5; Hab 1:13). The Syriac and LOWTH, by a slight change of the Hebrew, translate, "the cloud of His glory," the Shekinah.

9. show--The Hebrew means, "that which may be known by their countenances" [GESENIUS and WEISS]. But MAURER translates, "Their respect for person"; so Syriac and Chaldee. But the parallel word "declare" favors the other view. KIMCHI, from the Arabic, translates "their hardness" (Job 19:3, Margin), or impudence of countenance (Jer 3:3). They have lost not only the substance of virtue, but its color.

witness--literally, "corresponds" to them; their look answers to their inner character (Hos 5:5).

declare-- (Jde 1:13). "Foaming out their own shame"; so far from making it a secret, "glorying" in it (Phi 3:19).

unto themselves--Compare "in themselves" (Pro 1:31; Pro 8:36; Jer 2:19; Rom 1:27).

10. The faithlessness of many is no proof that all are faithless. Though nothing but croaking of frogs is heard on the surface of the pool, we are not to infer there are no fish beneath [BENGEL]. (See Isa 1:19-20).

fruit of doings-- (Pro 1:31) in a good sense (Gal 6:8; Rev 22:14). Not salvation by works, but by fruit-bearing faith (Isa 45:24; Jer 23:6). GESENIUS and WEISS translate, Declare as to the righteous that, &c. MAURER, "Say that the righteous is blessed."

11. ill--antithesis to "well" (Isa 3:10); emphatic ellipsis of the words italicized. "Ill!"

hands--his conduct; "hands" being the instrument of acts (Ecc 8:12-13).

12. (See Isa 3:4).

oppressors--literally, "exactors," that is, exacting princes (Isa 60:17). They who ought to be protectors are exactors; as unqualified for rule as "children," as effeminate as "women." Perhaps it is also implied that they were under the influence of their harem, the women of their court.

lead--Hebrew, "call thee blessed"; namely, the false prophets, who flatter the people with promises of safety in sin; as the political "rulers" are meant in the first clause.

way of thy paths-- (Jer 6:16). The right way set forth in the law. "Destroy"--Hebrew, "Swallow up," that is, cause so utterly to disappear that not a vestige of it is left.

13. standeth up--no longer sitting in silence.

plead--indignant against a wicked people (Isa 66:16; Eze 20:35).

14. ancients--Hence they are spoken of as "taken away" (Isa 3:1-2).

vineyard--the Jewish theocracy (Isa 5:1-7; Psa 80:9-13).

eaten up--"burnt"; namely, by "oppressive exactions" (Isa 3:12). Type of the crowning guilt of the husbandmen in the days of Jesus Christ (Mat 21:34-41).

spoil . . . houses-- (Mat 23:14).

15. What right have ye to beat, &c. (Psa 94:5; Mic 3:2-3).

grind--by exactions, so as to leave them nothing.

faces--persons; with the additional idea of it being openly and palpably done. "Presence," equivalent to "face" (Hebrew).

16. Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, &c.--Luxury had become great in Uzziah's prosperous reign (Ch2 26:5).

stretched forth--proudly elevated (Psa 75:5).

wanton--rather, "making the eyes to glance about," namely, wantonly (Pro 6:13) [MAURER]. But LOWTH, "falsely setting off the eyes with paint." Women's eyelids in the East are often colored with stibium, or powder of lead (see on Job 42:14; Jer 4:30, Margin).

mincing--tripping with short steps.

tinkling--with their ankle-rings on both feet, joined by small chains, which sound as they walk, and compel them to take short steps; sometimes little bells were attached (Isa 3:18, Isa 3:20).

17. smite with a scab--literally, "make bald," namely, by disease.

discover--cause them to suffer the greatest indignity that can befall female captives, namely to be stripped naked, and have their persons exposed (Isa 47:3; compare with Isa 20:4).

18. bravery--the finery.

tinkling--(See Isa 3:16).

cauls--network for the head. Or else, from an Arabic root, "little suns," answering to the "tires" or neck-ornaments, "like the moon" (Jdg 8:21). The chumarah or crescent is also worn in front of the headdress in West Asia.

19. chains--rather, pendants, hanging about the neck, and dropping on the breast.

mufflers--veils covering the face, with apertures for the eyes, close above and loosely flowing below. The word radically means "tremulous," referring to the changing effect of the spangles on the veil.

20. bonnets--turbans.

ornaments of the legs--the short stepping-chains from one foot to another, to give a measured gait; attached to the "tinkling ornaments" (Isa 3:16).

headbands--literally, "girdles."

tablets--rather, "houses of the breath," that is, smelling boxes [Vulgate].

earrings--rather, amulets suspended from the neck or ears, with magic formulÃ&brvbr inscribed; the root means to "whisper" or "conjure."

21. nose jewels--The cartilage between the nostrils was bored to receive them; they usually hung from the left nostril.

22. Here begin entire articles of apparel. Those before were single ornaments.

changeable--from a root, "to put off"; not worn commonly; put on and off on special occasions. So, dress-clothes (Zac 3:4).

mantles--fuller tunics with sleeves, worn over the common one, reaching down to the feet.

wimples--that is, mufflers, or hoods. In Rut 3:15, "veils"; perhaps here, a broad cloak, or shawl, thrown over the head and body.

crisping pins--rather, money bags (Kg2 5:23).

23. glasses--mirrors of polished metal (Exo 38:8). But the Septuagint, a transparent, gauze-like, garment.

hoods--miters, or diadems (Isa 62:3; Zac 3:5).

veils--large enough to cover the head and person. Distinct from the smaller veils ("mufflers") above (Gen 24:65). Token of woman's subjection (Co1 11:10).

24. stink--arising from ulcers (Zac 14:12).

girdle--to gird up the loose Eastern garments, when the person walked.

rent--the Septuagint, better, a "rope," an emblem of poverty; the poor have nothing else to gird up their clothes with.

well-set hair-- (Pe1 3:3-4).

baldness-- (Isa 3:17).

stomacher--a broad plaited girdle.

sackcloth-- (Sa2 3:31).

burning--a sunburnt countenance, owing to their hoods and veils being stripped off, while they had to work as captives under a scorching sun (Sol 1:6).

25. Thy men--of Jerusalem.

26. gates--The place of concourse personified is represented mourning for the loss of those multitudes which once frequented it.

desolate . . . sit upon . . . ground--the very figure under which Judea was represented on medals after the destruction by Titus: a female sitting under a palm tree in a posture of grief; the motto, JudÃ&brvbra capta (Job 2:13; Lam 2:10, where, as here primarily, the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar is alluded to).

that day--the calamitous period described in previous chapter.

seven--indefinite number among the Jews. So many men would be slain, that there would be very many more women than men; for example, seven women, contrary to their natural bashfulness, would sue to (equivalent to "take hold of," Isa 3:6) one man to marry them.

eat . . . own bread--foregoing the privileges, which the law (Exo 21:10) gives to wives, when a man has more than one.

reproach--of being unwedded and childless; especially felt among the Jews, who were looking for "the seed of the woman," Jesus Christ, described in Isa 4:2; Isa 54:1, Isa 54:4; Luk 1:25.

Next: Isaiah Chapter 4