Isaiah 3:1
in Isaiah 3For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water;
KJV
For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,
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This verse in Isaiah 3
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For - This is a continuation of the previous chapter. The same prophecy is continued, and the force of the argument of the prophet will not be seen unless the chapters are read together; see the Analysis prefixed to Isa. 2. In the close of the second chapter Isa 2:22, the prophet had cautioned his countrymen against confiding in man. In this chapter, a reason is given here why they should cease to do it - to wit, that God would soon take away their kings and princes. The Lord - האדון hā'âdôn; see the note at Isa 1:
This site's exposition
For behold, the Lord GOD
on Isaiah 3:1-3
The oracle opens with the plainest picture of removed support. Verses 2 and 3 then list the leaders taken away in one breath, a society losing every kind of competence at once. The range of the list argues that no single reform could answer a judgment this wide.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Consider whether what follows in the prophet has not received its fulfillment: "The Lord of hosts has taken away from Judah and from Jerusalem, among other things, both the prophet and the wise craftsman"; that is, his Holy Spirit, who builds the church, which is indeed the temple, and household and city of God.… And so in this manner the law and the prophets were until John, but the dews of divine grace were withdrawn from the nation.
(Chapter 3, Verse 1) For behold, the Lord God of hosts will take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the mighty and strong: all the strength of bread and all the strength of water. Thus far, they think it speaks of judgment. What follows speaks of the coming captivity; some interpret it as referring to the Babylonians, others to the Romans. But it is better, as we have said before, to refer all things to the Lord's passion.
The Medieval Church1 voice
97. For behold the sovereign. Here begins the second part, in which he denounces their sin as to the oppression of neighbors. And it is divided into two parts: in the first is the confutation of the oppressors; in the second, the consolation of the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
4 ), and then the bread is not nourishing nor the water refreshing, Hag. i. Christ is the bread of life and the water of life; if he be our stay, we shall find that this is a good part not to be taken away, John iv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Lord of hosts--therefore able to do as He says. doth--present for future, so certain is the accomplishment. stay . . . staff--the same Hebrew word, the one masculine, the other feminine, an Arabic idiom for all kinds of support. What a change from the previous luxuries (Isa 2:7)! Fulfilled in the siege by Nebuchadnezzar and afterwards by Titus (Jer 37:21;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The stay and the staff “Every stay and support” - Hebrew, “the support masculine, and the support feminine:” that is, every kind of support, whether great or small, strong or weak. “Al Kanitz, wal-kanitzah; the wild beasts, male and female. Proverbially applied both to fishing and hunting: i.e., I seized the prey, great or little, good or bad. From hence, as Schultens observes, is explained Isa 3:1, literally, the male and female stay: i.e., the strong and weak, the great and small.” - Chappelow, note on Hariri, Assembly 1. Compare Ecc 2:8. The Hebrew words משען ומשענה mashen umashenah come from the same root שען shaan, to lean against, to incline, to support; and here, being masculine and feminine, they may signify all things necessary for the support both of man and woman. My old MS. understands the staff and stay as meaning particular persons, and translates the verse thus: - Lo forsoth, the Lordschip Lord of Hoostis schal don awey fro Jerusalem and fro Juda the stalworth and the stronge. The two following verses, Isa 3:2, Isa 3:3, are very clearly explained by the sacred historian’s account of the event, the captivity of Jehoiachin by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon: “And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths; none remained save the poorest sort of the people of the land,” 2Ki 24:14. Which is supplied by our version.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
removes from Jerusalem.. This entire section is explained in Tractate Chagigah (14a): Isaiah cursed Israel [i.e., prophesied tribulations for them] with eighteen curses, yet he was not satisfied until he said, (verse 5) “The youth shall behave haughtily against the old, and the base against the honorable.”
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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּי֩ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִנֵּ֨ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הָאָד֜וֹן | haadon | the lord | H113 → | 333 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֗וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| מֵסִ֤יר | mesir | [is] about to remove | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מִירוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ | mirushalim | from Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וּמִ֣יהוּדָ֔ה | umihudah | and from Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| מַשְׁעֵ֖ן | mashen | support | H4937 → | 5 times |
| וּמַשְׁעֵנָ֑ה | umashenah | and support | H4938 → | |
| כֹּ֚ל | kol | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִשְׁעַן־ | mishan- | support of | H4937 → | 5 times |
| לֶ֔חֶם | lechem | food | H3899 → | 298 times |
| וְכֹ֖ל | vekhol | and every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִשְׁעַן־ | mishan- | support of | H4937 → | 5 times |
| מָֽיִם׃ | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
כִּי֩for
kiH3588 →4482 times
הִנֵּ֨הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
הָאָד֜וֹןthe lord
haadonH113 →333 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֗וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
מֵסִ֤יר[is] about to remove
mesirH5493 →299 times
מִירוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙from Jerusalem
mirushalimH3389 →643 times
וּמִ֣יהוּדָ֔הand from Judah
umihudahH3063 →819 times
מַשְׁעֵ֖ןsupport
mashenH4937 →5 times
וּמַשְׁעֵנָ֑הand support
umashenahH4938 →
כֹּ֚לevery
kolH3605 →5413 times
מִשְׁעַן־support of
mishan-H4937 →5 times
לֶ֔חֶםfood
lechemH3899 →298 times
וְכֹ֖לand every
vekholH3605 →5413 times
מִשְׁעַן־support of
mishan-H4937 →5 times
מָֽיִם׃water
mayimH4325 →581 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
Psalms 105:16He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 4:16
Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 41:54
the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt.
- Acts 7:11
Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
- Ezekiel 4:16
Through
Ezekiel 14:13“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to…
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:26
When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 26:26
Through
Leviticus 26:26When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
it leads to
- Micah 6:14
You will eat but not be satisfied, and your hunger will remain with you. What you acquire, you will not preserve; and what you save, I will give to the sword.
- Psalms 105:16
He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
- Micah 6:14
Through
Isaiah 1:24Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will be relieved of My foes and avenge Myself on My enemies.
it leads to
- Isaiah 60:16
You will drink the milk of nations and nurse at the breasts of royalty; you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
- Isaiah 49:26
I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your…
- Isaiah 60:16
About Isaiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
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); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, AGAINST MARCION 3.23 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.