Isaiah 3:4

Isaiah 3:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
• New International Version (NIV)“I will make mere youths their officials; children will rule over them.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“I will give children to be their princes, And babes shall rule over them.

Context of Isaiah 3:4

2The mighty man and the warrior, The judge and the prophet, The diviner and the elder, 3The captain of fifty and the esteemed person, The counselor and the expert artisan, And the skillful enchanter. And I will make mere boys their leaders, And mischievous children will rule over them, 5And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will assault the elder, And the contemptible person will assault the one honored. 6When a man lays hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying, “You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler! And these ruins will be under your authority,”

Isaiah 3:4 word by word

וְנָתַתִּ֥י נְעָרִ֖ים שָׂרֵיהֶ֑ם וְתַעֲלוּלִ֖ים יִמְשְׁלוּ־בָֽם׃Read the interlinear

• And I will makeנָתַןnâthan · to give: makeH5414
• boysנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
• their leadersשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• mischievousתַּעֲלוּלִיםta‛ălûl · capriceH8586
• will ruleמָשַׁלmâshal · to ruleH4910

Cross-references for Isaiah 3:4

• 1 Kings 3:7And now, Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am like a little boy; I do not know how to go out or come in.
• 2 Chronicles 33:1Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
• 2 Chronicles 34:1Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem.
• 2 Chronicles 36:2Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem.
• Ecclesiastes 10:16Woe to you, land whose king is a boy, and whose princes feast in the morning.

Commentaries on Isaiah 3:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4I will give children to be their princes "I will make boys their princes" - This also was fully accomplished in the succession of weak and wicked princes, from the death of Josiah to the destruction of the city and temple, and the taking of Zedekiah, the last of them, by Nebuchadnezzar. Babes shall rule over them - Dymennysche men schul lordschopen to hem. - Old MS. Bible.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And I will give children - Not children in respect to age so much as in regard to talent for governing. I will commit the land to the government of weak and imbecile princes. This would naturally occur when the wise and great were removed; compare Ecclesiastes 10:16: Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child;‘ compare Isaiah 3:12. And babes shall rule … - That is, babes in experience and knowledge. This was fully accomplished in the succession of weak…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Conditions would be so severe that even boys and toddlers could become candidates for office. Isaiah might have meant that adult leaders would be so reduced in number that only children would be left to take on the role. Alternatively, he might have meant that the new leaders would be as immature, unwise, strong-willed, and inexperienced as children.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. children--in ability for governing; antithesis to the "ancient" (see Is 3:12; Ec 10:16). babes--in warlike might; antithesis to "the mighty" and "man of war."Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 3:4

• Famine
• Jerusalem
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Ancient
• Babe
• Base
• Bravery
• Cunning
• Fruit
• Girding
• Grind
• Ornament
• Stay

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