Isaiah 3 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Understand these things I am telling you. The Master, the Lord All-Powerful, will take away all the things Judah and Jerusalem depend on. God will take away all the food and all the water.

² God will take away all the heroes and great soldiers. God will take away all the judges, {\cf2\super [27]} the prophets, {\cf2\super [28]} the people that do magic, and the elders. {\cf2\super [29]}

³ God will take away the military leaders and the government leaders. God will take away the skilled counselors and the wise men that do magic and try to tell the future.

⁴ \{God says,\} “I will cause young boys to be your leaders.

⁵ Every person will be against every other person. Young people will not respect older people. Common people will not respect the important people.”

⁶ At that time, a person will grab one of his brothers from his own family. That person will tell the brother, “You have a coat, {\cf2\super [30]} so you will be our leader. You will be the leader over all these ruins.”

⁷ But that brother will stand and say, “I can’t help you. I don’t have enough food or clothes in my house. You will not make me your leader.”

⁸ This will happen because Jerusalem has stumbled \{and has done wrong\}. Judah has fallen \{and has stopped following God\}. The things they say and do are against the Lord. The Lord’s glorious eyes clearly see all these things.

⁹ The faces of the people show that they are guilty of doing wrong. And they are proud of their sin. They are like the people of Sodom {\cf2\super [31]} —they don’t care who sees their sin. It will be very bad for them. They have brought much trouble to themselves.

¹⁰ Tell the good people that good things will happen to them. They will receive a reward for the good things they do.

¹¹ But it will be very bad for the evil people. Much trouble will come to them. They will be punished for all the wrong things they have done.

¹² Children will defeat my people. Women will rule over my people. My people, your guides lead you in the wrong way. They turn you away from the right way.

¹³ The Lord will stand to judge the people.

¹⁴ The Lord will give his judgment against the elders {\cf2\super [32]} and leaders for the things they have done.

¹⁵ What gives you the right to hurt my people? What gives you the right to push the faces of the poor people into the dirt?” My Master, the Lord All-Powerful said these things.

¹⁶ The Lord says, “The women in Zion {\cf2\super [33]} have become very proud. They walk around with their heads in the air, acting like they are better than other people. Those women flirt with their eyes. And they dance around making noise with their ankle bracelets.”

¹⁷ My Master will make sores on the heads of those women in Zion. {\cf2\super [34]} The Lord will make the women lose all their hair.

¹⁸ At that time, the Lord will take away all the things they are proud of: the beautiful ankle bracelets, the necklaces that look like the sun and the moon,

¹⁹ the earrings, bracelets, and veils (face coverings),

²⁰ the scarves, the ankle chains, the sashes worn around their waists, the bottles of perfume, and the charms, {\cf2\super [35]}

²¹ the signet rings, {\cf2\super [36]} and the nose-rings,

²² You should stop trusting other people to save you. They are only people—and people die. \{So, you should not think they are strong like God.\}

²³ the mirrors, linen dresses, turbans, and long shawls.

²⁴ \{Those women now have\} sweet smelling perfume, but \{at that time, their perfume will become\} moldy and rotten. \{Now they wear\} belts. But \{at that time, they will have only\} ropes to wear. Now they have their hair fixed fancy ways. But \{at that time\}, their heads will be shaved—they will have no hair. {\cf2\super [37]} \{Now they have\} party dresses. \{But at that time, they will have\} only clothes to show sadness. They have beauty marks on their faces now. \{But at that time, they will have another mark.\} It will be a mark burned into their skin.