American Standard Version
Isaiah 3:12
12As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
Isaiah 3:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
- New International Version (NIV)Youths oppress my people, women rule over them. My people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path.
- English Standard Version (ESV)My people—infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.
- New King James Version (NKJV)As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths.”
Context of Isaiah 3:12
10Say ye of the righteous, that it shall be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; for what his hands have done shall be done unto him. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. 13Jehovah standeth up to contend, and standeth to judge the peoples. 14Jehovah will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and the princes thereof: It is ye that have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses:
Read all of Isaiah 3Isaiah 3:12 word by word
עַמִּי֙ נֹגְשָׂ֣יו מְעוֹלֵ֔ל וְנָשִׁ֖ים מָ֣שְׁלוּ ב֑וֹ עַמִּי֙ מְאַשְּׁרֶ֣יךָ מַתְעִ֔ים וְדֶ֥רֶךְ אֹֽרְחֹתֶ֖יךָ בִּלֵּֽעוּ׃ סRead the interlinear
Cross-references for Isaiah 3:12
- Isaiah 3:4And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
- 2 Kings 11:1Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
- Nahum 3:13Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women; the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire hath devoured thy bars.
- Isaiah 9:15The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
- Numbers 6:23Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel: ye shall say unto them,
- Jeremiah 5:31the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
- Matthew 15:14Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit.
Commentaries on Isaiah 3:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Err "Pervert" - בלעו billeu, "swallow." Among many unsatisfactory methods of accounting for the unusual meaning of this word in this place, I choose Jarchi's explication, as making the best sense. "Read בללו billalu, 'confound.' Syriac." - Dr. Judd. "Read בהלו beholu, 'disturb or trouble.'" - Secker. So Septuagint. This verse might be read, "The collectors of grapes shall be their oppressors; and usurers (noshim, instead of nashim, women) shall rule over…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12As for my people, children are their oppressors - This refers, doubtless, to their civil rulers. They who “ought” to have been their “protectors,” oppressed them by grievous taxes and burdens. But whether this means that the rulers of the people were “literally” minors, or that they were so in “disposition and character,” has been a question. The original word is in the singular number (מעולל me‛ôlēl ), and means a “child,” or an infant. It may…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-15Verses 10-15 The rule was certain; however there might be national prosperity or trouble, it would be well with the righteous and ill with the wicked. Blessed be God, there is abundant encouragement to the righteous to trust in him, and for sinners to repent and return to him. It was time for the Lord to show his might. He will call men to a strict account for all the wealth and power intrusted to and abused by them. If it is sinful to disregard the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-12These verses continue discussing judgment against Israel's leaders (see Isaiah 1:23–25). Removing leaders at all levels would let the mob take over. Chaos and famine would turn Judah and Jerusalem into a social wasteland.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. (See Is 3:4). oppressors--literally, "exactors," that is, exacting princes (Is 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…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 3:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries