God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 3:17
17The Lord will cause sores ⌞to appear⌟ on the heads of the women of Zion, and the Lord will make their foreheads bare.
Isaiah 3:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion; the Lord will make their scalps bald.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)therefore the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the Lord will strike with a scab The crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, And the Lord will uncover their secret parts.”
Context of Isaiah 3:17
15The Almighty Lord of Armies asks, “How can you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor ⌞into the ground⌟?” 16The Lord adds, “The women of Zion are arrogant. They walk with their noses in the air, making seductive glances, taking short little steps, jingling the ankle bracelets on their feet.” The Lord will cause sores ⌞to appear⌟ on the heads of the women of Zion, and the Lord will make their foreheads bare. 18On that day the Lord will take away their fine things: jingling anklets, headbands, crescent-shaped necklaces, 19pendants, bracelets, scarfs,
Read all of Isaiah 3Isaiah 3:17 word by word
וְשִׂפַּ֣ח אֲדֹנָ֔י קָדְקֹ֖ד בְּנ֣וֹת צִיּ֑וֹן וַיהוָ֖ה פָּתְהֵ֥ן יְעָרֶֽה׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Therefore the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- will smite with a scabשִׂפַּחsâphach ώâphach · cause a scab uponH5596
- the crown of the headקׇדְקֹדqodqôd · crownH6936
- of the daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- of Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
- and the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- will discoverעָרָה‛ârâh · to uncoverH6168
- their secret partsפֹּתpôth pôthâh · hingeH6596
Cross-references for Isaiah 3:17
- Leviticus 13:20The priest will examine it. If it looks deeper than the rest of the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest must declare the person unclean. An infectious skin disease has developed in the boil.
- Deuteronomy 28:27The Lord will strike you with the same boils that plagued the Egyptians. He will strike you with hemorrhoids, sores, and itching that won’t go away.
- Revelation 16:2The first angel poured his bowl over the earth. Horrible, painful sores appeared on the people who had the brand of the beast and worshiped its statue.
- Isaiah 20:4The king of Assyria will lead away both the young and the old—captives from Egypt and exiles from Sudan. They will be barefoot and naked. Their buttocks will be exposed in order to disgrace Egypt.
- Isaiah 47:2Take millstones and grind flour. Remove your veil. Take off your skirt. Uncover your legs, and cross the river.
- Jeremiah 13:22If you ask yourself, “Why do these things happen to me?” it’s because you have so many sins. Your clothes have been torn off and your limbs are bare.
- Ezekiel 16:36This is what the Almighty Lord says: You exposed yourself and uncovered your naked body when you gave yourself to your lovers and to all your disgusting idols. You also killed your children and sacrificed their blood to these idols.
- Ezekiel 23:25I will direct my burning anger against you so that they will deal with you in anger. They will cut off your nose and ears and kill everyone who remains. They will take your sons and your daughters and burn down whatever is left.
- Micah 1:11Pass by, naked and ashamed, inhabitants of Shaphir. Don’t come out, inhabitants of Zaanan. Beth Ezel is in mourning. It will take its support away from you.
- Nahum 3:5“I am against you, Nineveh,” declares the Lord of Armies. “I will lift up your dress over your face. I will show nations your naked body and kingdoms your disgrace.
Commentaries on Isaiah 3:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17The Lord will smite "Will the Lord humble" - , Septuagint; and so Syriac and Chaldee. For שפח sippach they read שפל shaphal . Instead of יהוה Yehovah, many MSS. have אדני Adonai . Will discover their secret parts "Expose their nakedness" - It was the barbarous custom of the conquerors of those times to strip their captives naked, and to make them travel in that condition, exposed to the inclemency of the weather; and the worst of all, to the intolerable…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab - There is some diversity of rendering to this expression. The Septuagint reads it: The Lord will humble the principal daughters of Zion‘ - those who belong to the court, or to the families of the princes. The Chaldee, The Lord will prostrate the glory of the daughters of Zion.‘ The Syriac is the same. The Hebrew word שׂפח s'ı̂phach translated will smite with a scab,‘ means to “make bald,” particularly to make the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-26Verses 16-26 The prophet reproves and warns the daughters of Zion of the sufferings coming upon them. Let them know that God notices the folly and vanity of proud women, even of their dress. The punishments threatened answered the sin. Loathsome diseases often are the just punishment of pride. It is not material to ask what sort of ornaments they wore; many of these things, if they had not been in fashion, would have been ridiculed then as now. Their…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-25take away their finery: In a reversal of fortune, the affluent (wealthy) and proud people of Jerusalem would suffer disgrace (public shame). Wealthy women often wore expensive and beautiful clothing or jewelry (Isaiah 3:18). This finery probably included amulets (small objects people believed could protect them from evil). The people wore these items to keep harm away. But these objects could not prevent the disaster of judgment. These beautiful items…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. 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 (Is 47:3; compare with Is 20:4).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 3:17
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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