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Isaiah 3:6
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4 “I will give achildren to be their princes,
And1 babes shall rule over them. 
5 The people will be oppressed,
Every one by another and every one by his neighbor;
The child will be insolent toward the1 elder,
And the1 base toward the honorable.” 
6 When a man takes hold of his brother
In the house of his father, saying,
“You have clothing;
You be our ruler,
And let these ruins be under your1 power,” 
7 In that day he will protest, saying,
“I cannot cure your ills,
For in my house is neither food nor clothing;
Do not make me a ruler of the people.”
8 For aJerusalem stumbled,
And Judah is fallen,
Because their tongue and their doings
Are against the Lord,
To provoke the eyes of His glory. 
9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as aSodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves. 
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
<< Isaiah 3:5   Isaiah 3:7 >>

What Does Isaiah 3:6 Mean?



Isaiah 3:6-7

The prophet paints a picture of a society that, because of its rejection of God's way, has lost its ability to produce leaders in every sector. Someone must lead, thus the leadership positions are filled by children—immature, inexperienced, and self-involved adults who act like children—and women. These "women" can be literal women, or they can represent men who act like women.

The example Isaiah gives in verses 6-7 is quite picturesque. He imagines a group of people living amidst the crumbling remains of a once-proud city. One of them, unwilling himself to lead, implores his brother to take the responsibility of ruling those left after the repeated disasters that strike a wicked, disintegrating nation. The brother glances around and says, "Don't look at me! I've got nothing to offer! I have no idea how to even begin to fix this mess!" One is left with the impression that, since no one will stand up to lead, the desolation will continue.

God clearly points the finger of blame directly at the "women" who lead the people. They cause the nation to go astray in two ways: by implementing ungodly programs themselves or by weakly standing by as others do so. We have seen this happen in the nations of Israel over the past several decades, and the results are plain: They have rent the fabric of society and torn the nations' religious underpinnings to shreds.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Let Boys Be Boys!




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Isaiah 3:6:

Isaiah 3:7-9


 
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