Isaiah 3:12
in Isaiah 3Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 3
Commentary
15 notes on this verseLet us hearken to God, as he proclaims through Isaiah: "O my people, they that call you blessed lead you astray, throw you down headlong." Who is more guilty of throwing the people of God down headlong? He who relies on the power of the free will and scorns the help of the Creator and is secure in his own will, or he who fears the judgment of God at every thought of his precepts?
This site's exposition
Youths oppress My people
Verse 12 continues the picture of verse 4, where mere lads were made rulers. Here youths and women rule, after the loss of the leaders named at verses 2 and 3. The crime the verse names is misleading guidance: "your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths."
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
(Verse 12.) My people have been plundered by their own exactors, and women have been dominated by them. Concerning the women, whom Symmachus alone has interpreted, they are called Nasim () in Hebrew: Aquila and the LXX translated it as ἀπαιτοῦντας, which means exactors; Theodotion translated it as δανειστὰς, which means moneylenders. The prophetic discourse is speaking against the Scribes and Pharisees, who, for the sake of shameful gain, denied the Son of God in order to receive tithes and firstfruits. And he does not call them teachers, scribes, and doctors, but tax collectors (Luke 20), who think that making a profit is piety: and they devour, not only the houses of widows, contrary to the Apostle, but the entire population; and accusing their extravagance and shameful conduct, he calls them not only tax collectors, as if they were demanding money from the unwilling; but also women: because they do everything for the sake of pleasure, and are devoted to indulgence. Therefore, let us be careful that we do not become extortioners among the people; that our senate does not resemble the impious Porphyry ruling over matrons and women in the churches, and that favoritism towards women does not judge the priestly order.
But now, what wounds can the conquered show, what injuries to gaping vitals, what tortures of the limbs, when faith did not fail in combat but perfidy arrived before the combat? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the one who was caught, where the crime is of the will. I do not say this to burden the cases of the brothers but rather to stimulate the brothers to prayers of satisfaction. For since it is written, "They that call you blessed send you into error and destroy the way of your steps," one who consoles the sinner with flattering blandishments furnishes the means for sinning and does not check transgressions but nourishes them. But one who rebukes at the same time that he instructs with firmer counsels urges a brother on to salvation.
Isaiah also, filled with the Holy Spirit, cries out and chides the daughters of Zion who have been defiled by gold and raiment, and he reproves those who have an abundance of harmful riches and withdraw from God for the sake of the pleasures of time.… This, God blames; this, he brands with reproach. By this he declares that they have been defiled; by this they have departed from the true adornment and have merited disgrace and shame. Having put on silk and purple, they cannot put on Christ; adorned with gold and pearls and necklaces, they have lost the adornments of the heart and soul. Who would not detest and shun what has caused another's ruin? Who would seek and take what has served as a sword and weapon for the death of another? If, on draining the cup, he who had taken the potion should die, you would know that what he drank was poison; if, after taking food, he who had taken it should perish, you would know that what could kill, when taken, was deadly. Seeing this you would not eat nor would you drink from that which had been used by those who died. Now what ignorance of the truth it is, what madness of mind to wish for what has always been and still is harmful, and to think that you yourself will not perish from the same causes from which you know that others have perished!
The Lord speaks by the mouth of Isaiah, saying, "O my people, they who call you happy cause you to err and destroy the way of your paths." How do you help me by telling my misdeeds to others? You may, without my knowing of it, hurt someone else by telling of my sins (or rather of those sins you slanderously attribute to me). While you are eager to spread the news everywhere, you may pretend to confide in individual people, giving them the impression that you have not talked to anyone else. This behavior is not intended to correct me but to indulge your own failings. The Lord commands that those who sin against us are to be approached privately or in the presence of a witness. If the one who is confronted continues in sin, then he or she is to be regarded as a heathen and a publican.
Those who are zealous in the service of God, however, do not get a reward of praise, nor indeed do those who are concerned about the laws of God look for this return. For praise is often known to injure many, since it makes them …
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
113. As for my people. Here the oppression of the people is denounced, in as far as it is the sin of the man who oppresses them, and this divided into two parts: in the first, the vice of oppression is set out; in the …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
As for my people, children are their oppressors,.... Or rulers; for נוגש, in the Ethiopic language, signifies a king: or "exactors", as in Isa 60:17 princes are so called, because they exact tribute of their subjects, and sometimes in a tyrannical and oppressive manner, and so get the name of oppressors. The sense is the same with Isa 3:
): " Those who lead thee (the princes, priests, and prophets) mislead thee; they cause thee to err. " Either they preached to them that which was false and corrupt, or, if they preached that which was true and good, they contradicted it by their practices, and the people would soon follow a bad example than a good exhortation.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
), men that have as weak judgments and strong passions as women and children: this was their sin, that their rulers were such, and it became a judgment upon them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The ancient - Whose wisdom was increased by long experience. Oppressed - By thy command or permission of such childish rulers. Thou hast - We are utterly undone, and have neither food nor raiment; but thou hast something left to support the dignity which we offer to thee.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Err “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 them.”
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The right way set forth in the law. "Destroy"--Hebrew, "Swallow up," that is, cause so utterly to disappear that not a vestige of it is left.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
As 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, however, be taken collectively as a noun of multitude, or as denoting more than one. To whom reference is made here cannot easily be determined, but possibly to “Ahaz,” who began to reign when he was twenty years old; 2Ki 16:2. Or it may mean that the “character” of the princes and rulers was that of inexperienced children, unqualified for government. Are their oppressors - literally, ‘are their exactors,’ or their “taxers” - the collectors of the revenue. And women rule over them - This is not to be taken literally, but it means either that the rulers were under the influence of the “harem,” or the females of the court; or that they were effeminate and destitute of vigor and manliness in counsel. The Septuagint and the Chaldee render this verse substantially alike: ‘Thy exactors strip my people as they who gather the grapes strip the vineyard.’ They which lead thee - Hebrew “They who bless thee, or call thee blessed.” (See the margin.) This refers, doubtless, to the public teachers, and the false prophets, who “blessed” or flattered the people, and who promised them safety in their sins. Cause thee to err - Lead you astray; or lead you into sin and danger. And destroy - Hebrew “Swallow up.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Woe to the wicked [who does] evil For he is bad to himself and to others; he brings about harm to himself and to others. [This is found] in Tanchuma (Emor 5).
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
stands to plead [i.e., to judge the case] of Israel standing, so to speak, so as not to be strict in their judgment.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַמִּי֙ | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| נֹגְשָׂ֣יו | nogesav | oppressors its | H5065 → | 23 times |
| מְעוֹלֵ֔ל | meolel | [is] acting like children | H5953 → | |
| וְנָשִׁ֖ים | venashim | and women | H802 → | 781 times |
| מָ֣שְׁלוּ | mashelu | they have ruled | H4910 → | 81 times |
| ב֑וֹ | vo | over it | ||
| עַמִּי֙ | ʾami | O people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מְאַשְּׁרֶ֣יךָ | meashereikha | guides your | H833 → | 16 times |
| מַתְעִ֔ים | matim | [are] misleading | H8582 → | 50 times |
| וְדֶ֥רֶךְ | vederekh | and [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אֹֽרְחֹתֶ֖יךָ | ʾorechoteikha | paths your | H734 → | 58 times |
| בִּלֵּֽעוּ׃ ס | bileu | they have confused | H1104 → | 49 times |
עַמִּי֙people my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
נֹגְשָׂ֣יוoppressors its
nogesavH5065 →23 times
מְעוֹלֵ֔ל[is] acting like children
meolelH5953 →
וְנָשִׁ֖יםand women
venashimH802 →781 times
מָ֣שְׁלוּthey have ruled
masheluH4910 →81 times
ב֑וֹover it
vo
עַמִּי֙O people my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
מְאַשְּׁרֶ֣יךָguides your
meashereikhaH833 →16 times
מַתְעִ֔ים[are] misleading
matimH8582 →50 times
וְדֶ֥רֶךְand [the] way of
vederekhH1870 →707 times
אֹֽרְחֹתֶ֖יךָpaths your
ʾorechoteikhaH734 →58 times
בִּלֵּֽעוּ׃ סthey have confused
bileuH1104 →49 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 15:14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
it leads to
- Luke 6:39
Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
- Isaiah 56:10
Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.
- Matthew 23:16–24
Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
- Malachi 2:8
But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Luke 6:39
Through
Isaiah 3:4“I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.”
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 10:16
Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast in the morning.
- Ecclesiastes 10:16
Through
Nahum 3:13Look at your troops—they are like your women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:30
The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting; they sit in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted; they have become like women. Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze, the bars of her gates are broken.
- Jeremiah 51:30
Through
2 Kings 11:1When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 41:1
In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son…
- 2 Chronicles 22:10–12
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs of the house of Judah.
- Jeremiah 41:1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyprian, Treatise III. On the Lapsed 14; Cyprian, Treatise II. On the Dress of Virgins 13; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 2.24; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; Jerome, LETTER 125.19; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, ON DIVINE PROVIDENCE 9:9 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.