Isaiah 3:20
in Isaiah 3their headdresses, ankle chains, and sashes; their perfume bottles and charms;
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
the headtires, and the ankle chains, and the sashes, and the perfume-boxes, and the amulets;
KJV
The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
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This verse in Isaiah 3
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe tablets - The words בתי הנפש bottey hannephesh, which we translate tablets, and Bishop Lowth, perfume boxes, literally signify houses of the soul; and may refer to strong scented bottles used for pleasure and against fainting; similar to bottles with otto of roses, worn by the ladies of the East to the present time.
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
121. And bonnets. Here he places adornments of the head; and first, those for the top of the head: bonnets, adornments of the head like a crown: she put a bonnet upon her head (Jdt 10:3). Second, as to the hair, he says, bodkins, certain …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The bonnets,.... This word is used sometimes for the tire of the heads of men, Eze 24:17 and even for the bonnets of the priests, Exo 39:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The bonnets - The “tiara, head-dress, or turban.” The word comes from the verb “to adorn.” The “turban” is almost universally worn in the East. It was worn by the priests, Exo 39:28; by the bridegroom, Isa 61:10; Eze 24:17; and by women. Its form is well known. And the ornaments for the legs - The word used here is derived from a verb signifying “to walk, to go,” particularly to walk in a stately and formal manner - with a measured step, הצעדות hatse‛ādôth, from צעד tsâ‛ad; and thus refers to a proud and lofty gait. The “ornament” which is here referred to is supposed to have been a short chain extending from one foot to the other, worn by the Eastern women to give them a measured and stately gait. - “Gesenius.” This “chain” is supposed to have been attached by hooks or clasps to the ‘tinkling ornaments’ mentioned in Isa 3:16. Safieri mentions these ornaments, and thus describes them: ‘The word denotes a small chain, with which females, when they walk, connect their feet, in order to make their steps equal.’ Happily these ornaments are unknown in modern times, at least in Western countries. They are still retained in the East. And the head-bands - This word means “girdles” of any kind, still commonly worn on the head. A picture in the book illustrates one of the usual forms of the head-band. And the tablets - The Hebrew is, as in the margin, ‘the houses of the soul.’ The word translated “soul” means also the “breath;” and hence, as one of its meanings, that which is “breathed,” “or which is smelled; “scent; fragrancy, odor.” The word “houses” here may denote also “boxes” - as boxes of perfumes. The phrase here means, undoubtedly, “smelling boxes” or “bottles,” containing perfumes or fragrant odors. The word “tablets” has no meaning here. And the ear-rings - It is by no means certain that the original means ear-rings. […]
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַפְּאֵרִ֤ים | hapeerim | the head-dresses | H6287 → | 7 times |
| וְהַצְּעָדוֹת֙ | vehatzeadot | and the ankle chains | H6807 → | |
| וְהַקִּשֻּׁרִ֔ים | vehakkishurim | and the sashes | H7196 → | |
| וּבָתֵּ֥י | uvatei | and [the] houses of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ | hanefesh | the breath | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וְהַלְּחָשִֽׁים׃ | vehalechashim | and the amulets | H3908 → | 5 times |
הַפְּאֵרִ֤יםthe head-dresses
hapeerimH6287 →7 times
וְהַצְּעָדוֹת֙and the ankle chains
vehatzeadotH6807 →
וְהַקִּשֻּׁרִ֔יםand the sashes
vehakkishurimH7196 →
וּבָתֵּ֥יand [the] houses of
uvateiH1004 →2046 times
הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁthe breath
hanefeshH5315 →754 times
וְהַלְּחָשִֽׁים׃and the amulets
vehalechashimH3908 →5 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
Exodus 32:2So Aaron told them, “Take off the gold earrings that are on your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”
it leads to
- Judges 8:24–27
Then he added, “Let me make a request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his plunder.” (For the enemies had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 12:35–36
Furthermore, the Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold, and for clothing.
- Judges 8:24–27
Through
Hosea 2:13I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, when she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers. But Me she forgot,” declares…
it leads to
- Judges 3:7
So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
- Hosea 13:6
When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.
- Hosea 13:1
When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel. But he incurred guilt through Baal, and he died.
- Hosea 11:2
But the more I called Israel, the farther they departed from Me. They sacrificed to the Baals and burned incense to carved images.
- Jeremiah 7:9
Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,
- Judges 3:7
Through
Genesis 35:4So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem.
it leads to
- Judges 9:6
Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered beside the oak at the pillar in Shechem and proceeded to make Abimelech their king.
- Judges 9:6
About Isaiah

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); 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) and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.
