New International Version
Isaiah 3:4
4“I will make mere youths their officials; children will rule over them.”
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)I will make boys their leaders, and toddlers their rulers.
Context of Isaiah 3:4
2the hero and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, 3the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter. “I will make mere youths their officials; children will rule over them.” 5People will oppress each other— man against man, neighbor against neighbor. The young will rise up against the old, the nobody against the honored. 6A man will seize one of his brothers in his father’s house, and say, “You have a cloak, you be our leader; take charge of this heap of ruins!”
Read all of Isaiah 3Isaiah 3:4 word by word
וְנָתַתִּ֥י נְעָרִ֖ים שָׂרֵיהֶ֑ם וְתַעֲלוּלִ֖ים יִמְשְׁלוּ־בָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 3:4
- 1 Kings 3:7“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.
- 2 Chronicles 33:1Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years.
- 2 Chronicles 34:1Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.
- 2 Chronicles 36:2Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.
- Ecclesiastes 10:16Woe to the land whose king was a servant 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
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
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