Isaiah 3:5
in Isaiah 3The people will oppress one another, man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the young will rise up against the old, and the base against the honorable.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the old man, and the base against the honorable.
KJV
And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.
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This verse in Isaiah 3
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Verse 5.) And the people will fall, man against man, each one against his neighbor: the young will rise up against the old, and the lowly against the noble. When the young become leaders and mockers of the Lord, as the prophetic word describes, then no order of dignity, age, or knowledge will be preserved; but the young will rebel against the elderly, and the lowly against the noble, and they will fall together. And that Apostolic saying will be fulfilled: biting each other, you have been consumed by each other (Galatians 5:15).
This site's exposition
I will make mere lads
on Isaiah 3:4-7
Verse 4 names the judgment that follows the removal of leaders, "mere lads" as rulers, incompetent rule in place of none. A man begs his own brother to lead, because no one qualified is left. The brother refuses, "I am not a healer," having no food or clothing.
This site's exposition
the young will rise up against the old
With mere lads as their leaders in verse 4, the people oppress one another, and the young rise up against the old. Leviticus 19:32 told Israel to honor the aged. Barnes read it as anarchy in a land where law has lost its force.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
105. The effect of the government in the disturbance of the people is touched on in three ways. First, universal dissension, hence he says: the people shall fall, from the unity of peace through which they are a people, one to another, that is, one …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the people shall be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbour,....
It is likewise ill with a people when persons of honour cannot support their authority, but are affronted by the base and beggarly, when judges are insulted and their powers set at defiance by the mob.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And the people shall be oppressed - This describes the state of anarchy and confusion which would exist under the reign of children and babes Isa 3:4, when all law would be powerless, and all rights violated, and when the feeble would be oppressed and borne down by the strong. The word used here, properly denotes that “unjust exactions or demands” would be made, or that the people would be “urged” to fulfill them. Every one by another - In turn they shall oppress and vex one another.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנִגַּ֣שׂ | venigas | and it will oppress | H5065 → | 23 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בְּאִ֖ישׁ | beish | <in> a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְאִ֣ישׁ | veish | and each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בְּרֵעֵ֑הוּ | bereehu | <in> neighbor his | H7453 → | 188 times |
| יִרְהֲב֗וּ | yirhavu | they will act insolently | H7292 → | |
| הַנַּ֙עַר֙ | hanaar | the youth[s] | H5288 → | 239 times |
| בַּזָּקֵ֔ן | bazaken | in the old [person] | H2205 → | 178 times |
| וְהַנִּקְלֶ֖ה | vehanikleh | and the lightly esteemed | H7034 → | |
| בַּנִּכְבָּֽד׃ | banikhbad | in the honored | H3513 → | 113 times |
וְנִגַּ֣שׂand it will oppress
venigasH5065 →23 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אִ֥ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
בְּאִ֖ישׁ<in> a person
beishH376 →1663 times
וְאִ֣ישׁand each
veishH376 →1663 times
בְּרֵעֵ֑הוּ<in> neighbor his
bereehuH7453 →188 times
יִרְהֲב֗וּthey will act insolently
yirhavuH7292 →
הַנַּ֙עַר֙the youth[s]
hanaarH5288 →239 times
בַּזָּקֵ֔ןin the old [person]
bazakenH2205 →178 times
וְהַנִּקְלֶ֖הand the lightly esteemed
vehaniklehH7034 →
בַּנִּכְבָּֽד׃in the honored
banikhbadH3513 →113 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
Malachi 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud…
it leads to
- James 5:8–9
You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
- Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- Deuteronomy 5:11
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Deuteronomy 27:19
‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- James 5:8–9
Through
James 5:4Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:13
You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.
- Jeremiah 22:13
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,
- Deuteronomy 24:14–15
Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.
- Leviticus 19:13
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; 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.