Isaiah 3:24
And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
Original Language Analysis
וְהָיָה֩
H1961
וְהָיָה֩
Strong's:
H1961
Word #:
1 of 19
to exist, i.e., be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)
תַ֨חַת
H8478
תַ֨חַת
Strong's:
H8478
Word #:
2 of 19
the bottom (as depressed); only adverbially, below (often with prepositional prefix underneath), in lieu of, etc
בֹּ֜שֶׂם
And it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell
H1314
בֹּ֜שֶׂם
And it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell
Strong's:
H1314
Word #:
3 of 19
fragrance; by implication, spicery; also the balsam plant
יִֽהְיֶ֗ה
H1961
יִֽהְיֶ֗ה
Strong's:
H1961
Word #:
5 of 19
to exist, i.e., be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)
וְתַ֨חַת
H8478
וְתַ֨חַת
Strong's:
H8478
Word #:
6 of 19
the bottom (as depressed); only adverbially, below (often with prepositional prefix underneath), in lieu of, etc
וְתַ֨חַת
H8478
וְתַ֨חַת
Strong's:
H8478
Word #:
9 of 19
the bottom (as depressed); only adverbially, below (often with prepositional prefix underneath), in lieu of, etc
מַעֲשֶׂ֤ה
and instead of well set
H4639
מַעֲשֶׂ֤ה
and instead of well set
Strong's:
H4639
Word #:
10 of 19
an action (good or bad); generally, a transaction; abstractly, activity; by implication, a product (specifically, a poem) or (generally) property
מִקְשֶׁה֙
hair
H4748
מִקְשֶׁה֙
hair
Strong's:
H4748
Word #:
11 of 19
something turned (rounded), i.e., a curl (of tresses)
וְתַ֥חַת
H8478
וְתַ֥חַת
Strong's:
H8478
Word #:
13 of 19
the bottom (as depressed); only adverbially, below (often with prepositional prefix underneath), in lieu of, etc
פְּתִיגִ֖יל
and instead of a stomacher
H6614
פְּתִיגִ֖יל
and instead of a stomacher
Strong's:
H6614
Word #:
14 of 19
probably a figured mantle for holidays
שָׂ֑ק
of sackcloth
H8242
שָׂ֑ק
of sackcloth
Strong's:
H8242
Word #:
16 of 19
properly, a mesh (as allowing a liquid to run through), i.e., coarse loose cloth or sacking (used in mourning and for bagging); hence, a bag (for grai
Cross References
Ezekiel 27:31And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.Lamentations 2:10The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.Isaiah 15:3In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.Isaiah 22:12And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:Micah 1:16Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.Amos 8:10And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.Leviticus 26:16I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.1 Peter 3:3Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;Esther 2:12Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)Revelation 16:9And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Historical Context
These descriptions match conquest and exile conditions: lack of hygiene (stink), torn clothing from battle, baldness from stress or mourning rituals, sackcloth of grief, and branding or scarring of captives.
Questions for Reflection
- How does this graphic reversal illustrate the principle that pride precedes a fall?
- What 'burning instead of beauty' might result from our current prideful pursuits?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
The fivefold reversal—sweet smell to stink, girdle to rent (tear), well set hair to baldness, stomacher (sash) to sackcloth, beauty to burning—depicts total humiliation. Each element inverts former glory: fragrance becomes stench, beauty becomes disfigurement, fine clothing becomes mourning garb. The phrase 'burning instead of beauty' likely refers to branding marks of slavery or scars from conquest. This complete reversal demonstrates that divine judgment precisely targets pride's manifestations.