Isaiah 3:16
in Isaiah 3The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Moreover Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet;
KJV
Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
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This verse in Isaiah 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 15.) And the Lord said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet, the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.
This site's exposition
Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty turns the oracle from Jerusalem's leaders to its wealthy women, the same charge of pride running through both, dress and posture now standing in for the misused power of verses thirteen through fifteen. Stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go describe a deliberate, studied gait, and a tinkling with their feet points to the ankle ornaments the catalogue beginning in verse eighteen will name outright. The pride condemned is not beauty itself but beauty made into a performance of status while the poor named just verses earlier have their faces ground into the dust.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 16) The Lord will make bare the top of the daughters of Zion, and will uncover their hair, and shame will be their adornment. This will also happen to us whose sins are hidden, when that which is written is fulfilled: Nothing hidden that will not be revealed (Luke 8:17). For as long as we are protected by hair and the garment of ignorance, people think of us as whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23), but inside we are full of dead bones, and we appear to have some cleanliness.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 89 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
But shouldest thou enter into a church, thou geest forth, without getting anything but countless leers, and revilings, and curses, not from the beholders only, but also from the prophet. For straightway Isaiah, that hath the fullest voice of all, as soon as he hath seen thee, will cry out, "These things saith the Lord against the princely daughters of Sion; because they walked with a lofty neck, and with winkings of the eyes, and in their walking, trailing their garments, and mincing at the same time with their feet; the Lord shall take off their bravery, and instead of a sweet smell there shall be dust, and instead of a stomacher, thou shalt gird thyself with a cord." These things for thy gorgeous array. For not to them only are these words addressed, but to every woman that doeth like them.
The Medieval Church1 voice
116. And the Lord said. Here the divine judgment against the women is set out. And first, their fault is laid bare, second, their punishment is foretold, where it says, the Lord will make bald (Isa 3:17). The first of these is divided into two: …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Moreover the Lord saith, because the daughters of Zion are haughty,.... The wives or daughters of the rulers, princes, or elders; these were "high", affected to look high and tall, and therefore stretched out their necks, and walked on tiptoes; or "were lifted up" with pride, which is the root and source of all the vanity expressed in their gesture and ornaments.
They are haughty, for they walk with stretched-forth necks, that they may seem tall, or, as thinking nobody good enough to speak to them or to receive a look or a smile from them. Their eyes are wanton, deceiving (so the word is); with their amorous glances they draw men into their snares.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
And wanton eyes “And falsely setting off their eyes with paint” - Hebrew, falsifying their eyes. I take this to be the true meaning and literal rendering of the word; from שקר shakar. The Masoretes have pointed it, as if it were from שקר sakar, a different word.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, &c.--Luxury had become great in Uzziah's prosperous reign (2Ch 26:5). stretched forth--proudly elevated (Ps 75:5). wanton--rather, "making the eyes to glance about," namely, wantonly (Pr 6:13) [MAURER].
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Moreover, the Lord saith - In the previous parts of this prophecy, the prophet had rebuked the princes, magistrates, and the people generally. In the remainder of this chapter, he reproves with great severity the pride, luxury, and effeminacy of the female part of the Jewish community. Some interpreters have understood this as designed to reprove the pride and luxury of the “cities” and “towns” of Judah, regarded as “daughters of Zion;” see the note at Isa 1:8. But this interpretation is far-fetched and absurd. On this principle everything in the Bible might be turned into allegory. The daughters of Zion - Jewish females; they who dwelt in “Zion.” Perhaps he means particularly those who dwelt in Zion, the capital - or the females connected with the court. It is probable that the prophet here refers to the prosperous reign of Uzziah (2Ch 26:5, ...), when by successful commerce luxury would naturally abound. Are haughty - Are proud. And walk with stretched-forth necks - Displaying the neck ostentatiously; elevating or extending it as far as possible. Septuagint, ὑψηλῷ τραχήλῳ hupsēlō trachēlō, with elevated or exalted neck; that is, with that indication of pride and haughtiness which is evinced by a lofty demeanour. ‘When the females dance (in India), they stretch forth their necks, and hold them away, as if their heads were about to fall from their shoulders.’ - “Roberts.” And wanton eyes - עינים וּמשׁקרות ûmeshaqerôth ‛ēynāyı̂m. The word שׁקר shâqar usually means “to lie, to deceive,” and may here refer to the art of alluring by a wanton or fascinating glance of the eye. There has been great diversity of opinion about the meaning of this expression. Lowth proposes to read it, ‘and falsely setting off their eyes with paint,’ in allusion to a custom known to prevail in the East, of coloring the eye-lids with stibium, or the powder of lead ore. […]
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יַ֚עַן | yaan | because | H3282 → | 99 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גָֽבְהוּ֙ | gavehu | they are haughty | H1361 → | 34 times |
| בְּנ֣וֹת | benot | [the] daughters of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| צִיּ֔וֹן | tziyon | Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| וַתֵּלַ֙כְנָה֙ | vatelakhnah | and they have walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| נְטוּי֣וֹת | netvvot | stretched out | H5186 → | 214 times |
| גָּר֔וֹן | garon | of neck | H1627 → | |
| וּֽמְשַׂקְּר֖וֹת | umesakerot | and making seductive glances | H8265 → | |
| עֵינָ֑יִם | ʾeinayim | of eyes | H5869 → | 887 times |
| הָל֤וֹךְ | halokh | walking | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְטָפֹף֙ | vetafof | and mincing along | H2952 → | |
| תֵּלַ֔כְנָה | telakhnah | they walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וּבְרַגְלֵיהֶ֖ם | uveragleihem | and on feet their | H7272 → | 247 times |
| תְּעַכַּֽסְנָה׃ | teakasnah | they tinkle with anklets | H5913 → |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יַ֚עַןbecause
yaanH3282 →99 times
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
גָֽבְהוּ֙they are haughty
gavehuH1361 →34 times
בְּנ֣וֹת[the] daughters of
benotH1323 →588 times
צִיּ֔וֹןZion
tziyonH6726 →154 times
וַתֵּלַ֙כְנָה֙and they have walked
vatelakhnahH1980 →1546 times
נְטוּי֣וֹתstretched out
netvvotH5186 →214 times
גָּר֔וֹןof neck
garonH1627 →
וּֽמְשַׂקְּר֖וֹתand making seductive glances
umesakerotH8265 →
עֵינָ֑יִםof eyes
ʾeinayimH5869 →887 times
הָל֤וֹךְwalking
halokhH1980 →1546 times
וְטָפֹף֙and mincing along
vetafofH2952 →
תֵּלַ֔כְנָהthey walk
telakhnahH1980 →1546 times
וּבְרַגְלֵיהֶ֖םand on feet their
uveragleihemH7272 →247 times
תְּעַכַּֽסְנָה׃they tinkle with anklets
teakasnahH5913 →
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
Isaiah 4:4when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
it leads to
- Malachi 3:2–3
But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
- Ezekiel 22:18–22
“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.
- Ezekiel 36:25
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Zechariah 13:9
This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
- Matthew 3:11–12
I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and…
- Malachi 3:2–3
Through
Proverbs 30:13There is a generation—how haughty are their eyes and pretentious are their glances—
it leads to
- Proverbs 6:17
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
- Isaiah 2:11
The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
- Proverbs 6:17
Through
Luke 23:28But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 8:4
O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.
- Song of Solomon 8:4
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 89; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.