Isaiah 3:17
the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will make their foreheads bare."
So the Lord
The phrase "So the Lord" indicates a direct action from God, emphasizing His sovereignty and authority. In Hebrew, "Lord" is often translated from "Yahweh," the covenant name of God, which underscores His eternal presence and faithfulness. This introduction sets the tone for divine judgment, reminding the reader of God's ultimate control over the affairs of humanity, especially His chosen people.

will bring sores
The Hebrew word for "sores" can be translated as "scabs" or "wounds," suggesting a physical manifestation of judgment. This imagery is both literal and symbolic, representing the consequences of sin and rebellion. Historically, physical ailments were often seen as a sign of divine displeasure. The sores signify a stripping away of pride and beauty, a humbling of those who have exalted themselves.

on the heads
The "heads" symbolize leadership, authority, and identity. In ancient cultures, the head was considered the seat of honor and dignity. By targeting the head, the judgment is both personal and communal, affecting the very essence of the people. This act serves as a humbling reminder that no position or status is immune to God's corrective measures.

of the daughters of Zion
"Daughters of Zion" refers to the women of Jerusalem, representing the city and its inhabitants. Zion is a poetic and prophetic name for Jerusalem, often symbolizing the spiritual center of God's people. The focus on the daughters highlights the societal impact of sin, as women were often seen as the bearers of culture and tradition. Their judgment reflects the broader moral and spiritual decay of the nation.

and the LORD
The repetition of "the LORD" reinforces the certainty and seriousness of the pronouncement. It is a reminder of God's unchanging nature and His commitment to justice. The use of His covenant name again emphasizes His relationship with His people, even in judgment.

will make their foreheads bare
The "foreheads" are a prominent and visible part of the body, often associated with identity and character. To make them "bare" suggests a removal of adornment and protection, exposing vulnerability and shame. In ancient times, a bare forehead could symbolize disgrace or mourning. This act signifies a stripping away of false security and superficial beauty, calling the people to repentance and humility before God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Lord (Yahweh)
The sovereign God of Israel, who is executing judgment.

2. Daughters of Zion
Refers to the women of Jerusalem, representing the people of Judah and their societal behaviors.

3. Zion
A term often used to denote Jerusalem, the city of God, and by extension, the people of Israel.

4. Judgment
The event of divine retribution for the people's pride and moral decay.
Teaching Points
The Consequences of Pride
Pride leads to downfall. The daughters of Zion are judged for their arrogance, reminding us that God opposes the proud.

God's Sovereignty in Judgment
God is just and sovereign, and His judgments are righteous. We must recognize His authority and live in reverence.

The Call to Humility
As believers, we are called to humility, recognizing our dependence on God and avoiding the pitfalls of self-exaltation.

The Importance of Inner Beauty
The stripping away of external adornments in judgment highlights the importance of cultivating inner beauty and godliness.

Repentance and Restoration
While judgment is severe, it is also a call to repentance. God desires restoration and transformation of His people.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the judgment on the daughters of Zion in Isaiah 3:17 reflect the broader theme of pride and its consequences in the Bible?

2. In what ways can we identify and address areas of pride in our own lives to avoid similar judgments?

3. How does the concept of God's sovereignty in judgment challenge or comfort you in your personal walk with Him?

4. What practical steps can we take to cultivate inner beauty and godliness, as opposed to focusing on external appearances?

5. How can the themes of repentance and restoration in Isaiah 3:17 encourage us in our spiritual growth and relationship with God?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 3:16
Provides context by describing the pride and haughtiness of the daughters of Zion, leading to the judgment in verse 17.

Isaiah 3:18-24
Continues the theme of judgment, detailing the removal of finery and luxuries, symbolizing the stripping away of pride.

1 Peter 5:5
Encourages humility, contrasting the pride of the daughters of Zion with the call for believers to clothe themselves with humility.

Proverbs 16:18
Warns that pride precedes destruction, aligning with the judgment pronounced in Isaiah 3:17.
A Jerusalem Fashion PlateT. De Witt Talmage, D. D.Isaiah 3:16-24
A Mincing GaitF. Delitzsch.Isaiah 3:16-24
Comely Clothing NaturalT. De Witt Talmage, D. D.Isaiah 3:16-24
Costume and MoralsT. De Witt Talmage, D. D.Isaiah 3:16-24
God-Defying Extravagance of Modern SocietyT. De Witt Talmage, D. D.Isaiah 3:16-24
Pride of Beauty and Attire ReprovedIsaiah 3:16-24
The Wanton EyesA. B. Davidson, LL. D.Isaiah 3:16-24
Wanton EyesF. Delitzsch.Isaiah 3:16-24
The Vanity of VanityW. Clarkson Isaiah 3:16-26
People
Isaiah
Places
Jerusalem, Sodom, Zion
Topics
Afflict, Bald, Bare, Brings, Crown, Daughters, Discover, Disease, Exposeth, Foreheads, Heads, Lay, Scab, Scabbed, Scabs, Scalp, Scalps, Secret, Simplicity, Smite, Sores, Uncover, Women, Zion
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 3:17

     5128   baldness
     5155   hair
     5947   shame

Isaiah 3:13-17

     5270   court

Isaiah 3:16-17

     8805   pride, results

Isaiah 3:16-24

     5476   property
     8308   modesty

Library
A Paradox of Selling and Buying
'Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.'--ISAIAH iii. 3. THE first reference of these words is of course to the Captivity. They come in the midst of a grand prophecy of freedom, all full of leaping gladness and buoyant hope. The Seer speaks to the captives; they had 'sold themselves for nought.' What had they gained by their departure from God?--bondage. What had they won in exchange for their freedom?-- only the hard service of Babylon. As Deuteronomy puts it:
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Marching Orders
'Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. 12. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your reward.'--ISAIAH iii. 11, 12. These ringing notes are parts of a highly poetic picture of that great deliverance which inspired this prophet's most exalted strains. It is described with constant allusion to the first Exodus,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Christian view of Sorrow
"A man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief" Is. Iii. 3. There is one great distinction between the productions of Heathen and of Christian art. While the first exhibits the perfection of physical form and of intellectual beauty, the latter expresses, also, the majesty of sorrow, the grandeur of endurance, the idea of triumph refined from agony. In all those shapes of old there is nothing like the glory of the martyr; the sublimity of patience and resignation; the dignity of the thorn-crowned Jesus.
E. H. Chapin—The Crown of Thorns

The Personal History of Herod - the Two Worlds in Jerusalem.
It is an intensely painful history, [581] in the course of which Herod made his way to the throne. We look back nearly two and a half centuries to where, with the empire of Alexander, Palestine fell to his successors. For nearly a century and a half it continued the battle-field of the Egyptian and Syrian kings (the Ptolemies and the Seleucidæ). At last it was a corrupt High-Priesthood - with which virtually the government of the land had all along lain - that betrayed Israel's precious trust.
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

How those are to be Admonished who Praise the Unlawful Things of which they are Conscious, and those who While Condemning Them, in no Wise Guard
(Admonition 32.) Differently to be admonished are they who even praise the unlawful things which they do, and those who censure what is wrong, and yet avoid it not. For they who even praise the unlawful things which they do are to be admonished to consider how for the most part they offend more by the mouth than by deeds. For by deeds they perpetrate wrong things in their own persons only; but with the mouth they bring out wickedness in the persons of as many as there are souls of hearers, to
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

"But Whereunto Shall I Liken this Generation?"
Matth. xi. 16.--"But whereunto shall I liken this generation?" When our Lord Jesus, who had the tongue of the learned, and spoke as never man spake, did now and then find a difficulty to express the matter herein contained. "What shall we do?" The matter indeed is of great importance, a soul matter, and therefore of great moment, a mystery, and therefore not easily expressed. No doubt he knows how to paint out this to the life, that we might rather behold it with our eyes, than hear it with our
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Brief Memoir of Thomas Watson
Compiled by C. H. Spurgeon Thomas Watson's Body of Practical Divinity is one of the most precious of the peerless works of the Puritans; and those best acquainted with it prize it most. Watson was one of the most concise, racy, illustrative, and suggestive of those eminent divines who made the Puritan age the Augustan period of evangelical literature. There is a happy union of sound doctrine, heart-searching experience and practical wisdom throughout all his works, and his Body of Divinity is, beyond
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Of Civil Government.
OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT. This chapter consists of two principal heads,--I. General discourse on the necessity, dignity, and use of Civil Government, in opposition to the frantic proceedings of the Anabaptists, sec. 1-3. II. A special exposition of the three leading parts of which Civil Government consists, sec. 4-32. The first part treats of the function of Magistrates, whose authority and calling is proved, sec. 4-7. Next, the three Forms of civil government are added, sec. 8. Thirdly, Consideration
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Letter Li to the virgin Sophia
To the Virgin Sophia He praises her for having despised the glory of the world: and, setting forth the praises, privileges, and rewards of Religious Virgins, exhorts her to persevere. Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, to the Virgin Sophia, that she may keep the title of virginity and attain its reward. I. Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised (Prov. xxxi. 31). I rejoice with you, my daughter, in the glory of your virtue, whereby, as I hear, you
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

"All Our Righteousnesses are as Filthy Rags, and we all do Fade as a Leaf, and Our Iniquities, Like the Wind, have Taken us Away. "
Isaiah lxiv. 6, 7.--"All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Not only are the direct breaches of the command uncleanness, and men originally and actually unclean, but even our holy actions, our commanded duties. Take a man's civility, religion, and all his universal inherent righteousness,--all are filthy rags. And here the church confesseth nothing but what God accuseth her of, Isa. lxvi. 8, and chap. i. ver.
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"Thou Shalt Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother. "
From this Commandment we learn that after the excellent works of the first three Commandments there are no better works than to obey and serve all those who are set over us as superiors. For this reason also disobedience is a greater sin than murder, unchastity, theft and dishonesty, and all that these may include. For we can in no better way learn how to distinguish between greater and lesser sins than by noting the order of the Commandments of God, although there are distinctions also within the
Dr. Martin Luther—A Treatise on Good Works

Concerning Salutations and Recreations, &C.
Concerning Salutations and Recreations, &c. [1273] Seeing the chief end of all religion is to redeem men from the spirit and vain conversation of this world and to lead into inward communion with God, before whom if we fear always we are accounted happy; therefore all the vain customs and habits thereof, both in word and deed, are to be rejected and forsaken by those who come to this fear; such as taking off the hat to a man, the bowings and cringings of the body, and such other salutations of that
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

The Prophet Micah.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. Micah signifies: "Who is like Jehovah;" and by this name, the prophet is consecrated to the incomparable God, just as Hosea was to the helping God, and Nahum to the comforting God. He prophesied, according to the inscription, under Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. We are not, however, entitled, on this account, to dissever his prophecies, and to assign particular discourses to the reign of each of these kings. On the contrary, the entire collection forms only one whole. At
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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