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23 garments, vests, head coverings, and gowns.[a]

24 A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices,[b]
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.
25 Your[c] men will fall by the sword,
your strong men will die in battle.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 3:23 tn The precise meaning of many of the words in this list is uncertain.sn 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.
  2. Isaiah 3:24 tn 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 MT for emphatic contrast. The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
  3. Isaiah 3:25 tn The pronoun is feminine singular, suggesting personified Zion, as representative of its women, is the addressee. The reference to “her gates’ in v. 26 makes this identification almost certain.
  4. Isaiah 3:25 tn Heb “your strength in battle.” The verb in the first clause provides the verbal idea for the second clause.