Isaiah 3:16 - Meaning and Application

The prophet’s task was to show every kind of person what they had added to the nation’s guilt, and what share they should expect in the coming judgment. Here he rebukes and warns the daughters of Zion, the women of Jerusalem, and points out their faults. Moses had already warned in the law that God would judge the soft and delicate woman too (Deuteronomy 28:56), and the prophets often explain and apply the law, so he now tells these women how they will suffer in the disasters ahead.

Notice first the sin charged against the daughters of Zion, as Isaiah 3:16 says. The prophet clearly says he speaks with God’s authority, so no one could think it was improper for him to speak about such matters, or take offense on the ladies’ behalf: “The Lord says it.” Whether they listen or refuse, they should know that God sees and strongly dislikes the pride and vanity of proud women, and his law even judges their dress. Two things are charged against them here, haughtiness and wantonness, meaning a flirtatious, unguarded way of acting. Both go against the modesty, self-respect, and good sense that should mark women who claim to honor God (1 Timothy 2:9).

They showed what was in their hearts by the way they walked and carried themselves. They were haughty, walking with stretched-out necks, as if they wanted to seem taller, or as if no one were good enough to speak to them or even get a look or a smile. Their eyes were wanton, meaning they looked at people in a way that deceived and enticed them into sin. They affected a stiff, showy way of walking so people would notice and admire them, as if they were displaying the fact that they had been to dancing school and learned fashionable steps.

They went with small, dainty steps, almost as if they did not want the sole of their foot to touch the ground. They made a tinkling sound with their feet, perhaps from chains or little bells on their shoes. Or they walked as if they were bound up, like a horse trained to move in a certain way. That is how Agag, the Amalekite king, came delicately before Samuel (1 Samuel 15:32). Such a forced and affected manner is ridiculous to sensible people, and because it shows a vain mind, it is offensive to God.

Two things made this sin worse. First, these were the daughters of Zion, women from the holy mountain, and they should have shown the gravity that fits women who profess godliness. Second, it seems from the context that they were the wives and daughters of the princes who robbed and crushed the poor (Isaiah 3:14, Isaiah 3:15), so that they could keep up the pride and luxury of their households.

The punishments threatened for this sin fit the sin itself, as one face matches another in a mirror (Isaiah 3:17, Isaiah 3:18). They walked with stretched-out necks, but God will strike the crown of their head with a scab. That will bring down their proud bearing and shame them so much that they will not want to show their heads, since they will have to cut off their hair. Loathsome diseases are often sent as a just punishment for pride, and sometimes for sexual sin, wasting away the body and flesh.

They cared nothing for how much they spent on fine clothing, but God would reduce them to such poverty and distress that they would not have enough clothes to cover themselves. Their shame would be exposed through their rags. They were also very attached to their ornaments, but God would strip them away when their houses were plundered, their wealth taken, and they themselves carried into captivity. The prophet lists many of their ornaments as if he had watched them dress. It does not really matter exactly what each item was, or whether later translators got every name right. Fashions change, and the names of fashions change too, so some of the ornaments used today may be just as hard to identify a hundred years from now.

The mention of these things is still useful, because it exposes the folly of the daughters of Zion. Some of these items were probably strange and silly, and if they had not been fashionable, people would have laughed at them. They were more fitting as children’s toys than as ornaments for grown women going to Mount Zion. Even the decent and useful things, like linen, hoods, and veils, did not need to be owned in such abundance and variety. Clothing is necessary, and people should have it according to their station, but what need was there for so many different outfits, so that they would not be seen in the same dress two days in a row?

All this shows pride and vain curiosity, and it must have used up a great deal of money that should have gone to godly living and generosity. It is well if poor tenants were not squeezed, or poor creditors cheated, in order to support such spending. The long list of ornaments also shows how much attention they gave to them, how fixed their hearts were on them, how carefully they counted and discussed them, how exacting they were, and how unsatisfied their desires were. A maid could remember them all, even if there were many (Jeremiah 2:32), and could talk about them with as much pleasure as if they were matters of great importance. The prophet is not saying these things were sinful in themselves, since they might be lawfully used. He is saying they became sinful because the women were proud of them, and therefore they would be stripped of them.

They were very careful and fussy about their clothes, but God would turn the bodies they spent so much on beautifying into a shame and a burden to them (Isaiah 3:24). Instead of sweet perfume, there would be stink, from clothes worn too long, from some foul disease, or from the plasters used to treat it. Instead of a rich embroidered belt, there would be a rent, either the tearing of clothes in grief or old, rotten garments torn into rags. Instead of carefully arranged, braided, and powdered hair, there would be baldness, because the hair would be pulled out or shaved off, as was common in great sorrow (Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah 16:6), or in deep humiliation and slavery (Ezekiel 29:18).

Instead of a fine undergarment, scarf, or sash, they will wear sackcloth, a sign of deep shame. Instead of beauty, there will be burning, meaning a dark, sun-scorched face. Those who once took pride in their good looks will be carried into captivity and left weather-beaten, and it is often true that the best faces are hurt by the weather first.

From this, we should learn two things. First, we should not be fussy or vain about our clothing, or chase after expensive, flashy dress. We should not be proud of it. Second, we should not feel safe in enjoying earthly pleasures, because we do not know how soon they may be taken away, or how hard our circumstances may become.

These ornaments were also meant to attract men and win their affection (Proverbs 7:16, 17), but there will be no one left to be charmed by them (Isaiah 3:25). Their men will fall by the sword, and their strong warriors will die in battle. Fire will destroy them, and then the young women will not be given in marriage, as in Psalm 78:63.

When God gives the sword its commission, the strong usually fall first, because they are the ones most ready to risk themselves. And when Zion's guards are cut down, it is no surprise that Zion's gates mourn and lament (Isaiah 3:26), because enemies have taken control of them. The city itself, laid waste and emptied out, will sit on the ground like a grieving widow. If sin is allowed inside the walls, mourning and sorrow are close behind at the gates.