Isaiah 3:1

God Will Remove the Leaders

1 For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts ¹is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread And the whole supply of water;

Isaiah 3:1 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 3:1

For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts
These titles of Jehovah, expressive of power and authority, are used to show that he is able to execute what he threatens to do; and the word "behold" is prefixed, to excite attention to what is about to be said: doth take away from Jerusalem, and from Judea;
the present tense is used for the future, because of the certainty of what would be done to the Jews, both in city and country; for as in the preceding chapter ( Isaiah 2:1-22 ) it is foretold what shall befall the antichristian party among the nations of the world, this is a prophecy of the destruction of the Jews by the Romans; at which time there would be a dreadful famine, signified by the taking away the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay
of water;
bread and water being the stay and staff of man's life, which support and maintain it; and, in case of disobedience, a famine was threatened this people very early, and in much such terms as here, ( Leviticus 26:26 ) and as there was a very sore famine at the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, ( Jeremiah 52:6 ) so there was a very dreadful one when the city was besieged by the Romans, as related by Josephus, and predicted by Christ, ( Matthew 24:7 ) .

Isaiah 3:1 In-Context

1 For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread And the whole supply of water;

2 The mighty man and the warrior, The judge and the prophet, The diviner and the elder,

3 The captain of fifty and the honorable man, The counselor and the expert artisan, And the skillful enchanter.

4 And I will make mere lads their princes, And capricious children will rule over them,

5 And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will storm against the elder And the inferior against the honorable.

Cross References

• 1. Leviticus 26:26; Isaiah 5:13; Isaiah 9:20; Ezekiel 4:16

Footnotes

• [a] Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD
• [b] Lit "staff"
• [c] Lit "staff"
• [d] Lit "staff"