Isaiah 3:18
in Isaiah 3In that day the Lord will take away their finery: their anklets and headbands and crescents;
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, and the cauls, and the crescents;
KJV
In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
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This verse in Isaiah 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verseOrnaments about their feet “The ornaments of the feet rings” - The late learned Dr. Hunt, professor of Hebrew and Arabic in the University of Oxford, has very well explained the word עכס both verb and noun, in his very ingenious Dissertation on Prov, Isa 7:22, Isa 7:23. The verb means to skip, to bound, to dance along, and the noun, those ornaments of the feet which the Eastern ladies wore; chains or rings, which made a tinkling sound as they moved nimbly in walking.
This site's exposition
Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion
on Isaiah 3:17-23
Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion turns judgment onto the very finery just described, and verses eighteen through twenty three list what will be taken away, more than twenty items of ancient Judean dress and adornment named by their own words, anklets, headbands and crescent ornaments, chains and bracelets and veils, bonnets, leg ornaments and perfume boxes, rings and nose jewels, festive robes, mantles, mirrors and fine linen. The list is the fullest catalogue of women's material culture in the whole book, and the older commentators treat it as real inventory of the period's fashion rather than invented excess, each item identifiable in the dress of the ancient Near East. Its very length is the point of the judgment, an entire wardrobe built for display removed piece by piece, nothing held back.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
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.
(Verse 18-21.) And necklaces, and torcs, and pendants, and bracelets, and headbands, and diadems, and girdles, and brooches, and perfume vials, and earrings, and rings and gems hanging from the forehead. It describes the necklaces of women, and through these the insignia of cities: or, according to the anagoge, the various ornaments of virtues. Women have tiny bulla-shaped pendants that resemble the moon, which we transfer to the ornaments of the Church, which is illuminated by the sun of justice.
The Medieval Church1 voice
119. In that day. Here he takes away artificial adornments from them: and first, things which pertain to the adornment of their members, second, things which pertain to the care of adornments, where it says, crisping pins, and looking-glasses (Isa 3:22). Concerning the first, he …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Cauls - It is agreed by all, that this and several words that follow, were ornaments used in those times. And it is of no concern, exactly to understand the nature and differences of them. The moon - There were in ancient times, and at this day there are some ornaments worn, which carry a manifest resemblance to the moon or half moon.
In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It is not at all material to enquire what sort of ornaments these respectively were and whether the translations rightly express the original words; perhaps 100 years hence the names of some of the ornaments that are now in use in our own land will be as little understood as some of those here mentioned now are.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
bravery--the finery. tinkling--(See Isa 3:16). cauls--network for the head. Or else, from an Arabic root, "little suns," answering to the "tires" or neck-ornaments, "like the moon" (Jud 8:21). The chumarah or crescent is also worn in front of the headdress in West Asia.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In that day - That is, in the time when he would inflict this exemplary punishment on them - probably the calamitous times of the Babylonian captivity. The Lord will take away - By the agents that he shall choose to employ in this work. - The prophet proceeds to specify the various ornaments that composed the female apparel in his time. It is not easy to describe them particularly, nor is it necessary. The “general” meaning of the passage is plain: and it is clear from this, that they greatly abounded in ornaments. The bravery - This word “we” apply to valor or courage. The word here used, however, meaus “ornament, adorning,” or “glory.” Of their tinkling ornaments - This is the same word which is used in Isa 3:16, and refers to the chains or clasps with which they ornamented their feet and ankles, and which made a tinkling noise as they walked. And their cauls - Margin, ‘net-works.’ The Septuagint is the same. It is commonly supposed to mean “caps of net-work” worn on the head. According to others, the word refers to small “suns” or “spangles” worn on the hair, answering to the following word “moons.” ‘The caul is a strap, or girdle, about four inches long, which is placed on the top of the head, and which extends to the brow, in a line with the nose. The one I have examined is made of gold, and has many joints; it contains forty-five rubies, and nine pearls, which give it a net-work appearance.’ - “Roberts.” Their round tires like the moon - Hebrew “moons.” This refers to small ornaments in the shape of crescents, or half-moons, commonly worn on the neck. They were also sometimes worn by men, and even by camels; Jdg 8:21 (margin), Jdg 8:26. […]
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּיּ֨וֹם | baiyom | in the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֜וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יָסִ֣יר | yasir | he will remove | H5493 → | 299 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֗י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| אֵ֣ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תִּפְאֶ֧רֶת | tiferet | [the] splendor of | H8597 → | 51 times |
| הָעֲכָסִ֛ים | haakhasim | the anklets | H5914 → | |
| וְהַשְּׁבִיסִ֖ים | vehashevisim | and the amulets | H7636 → | |
| וְהַשַּׂהֲרֹנִֽים׃ | vehasaharonim | and the ornaments | H7720 → |
בַּיּ֨וֹםin the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֜וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יָסִ֣ירhe will remove
yasirH5493 →299 times
אֲדֹנָ֗י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
אֵ֣ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
תִּפְאֶ֧רֶת[the] splendor of
tiferetH8597 →51 times
הָעֲכָסִ֛יםthe anklets
haakhasimH5914 →
וְהַשְּׁבִיסִ֖יםand the amulets
vehashevisimH7636 →
וְהַשַּׂהֲרֹנִֽים׃and the ornaments
vehasaharonimH7720 →
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
Judges 8:21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent…
it leads to
- Psalms 83:11
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
- Judges 8:26
The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels, in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks…
- Revelation 9:6
In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them.
- Psalms 83:11
Through
Judges 8:26The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels, in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks…
it leads to
- Revelation 18:12
cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;
- John 19:2
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.
- Jeremiah 10:9
Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.
- Revelation 18:16
saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
- Esther 8:15
Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted…
- Revelation 18:12
About Isaiah
This page draws on 11 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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 89; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.