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Selected Verse: Isaiah 3:26 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 3:26	Strong Concordance	And her gates [06607] shall lament [0578] and mourn [056]; and she being desolate [05352] shall sit [03427] upon the ground [0776].
	King James	And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
gates--The place of concourse personified is represented mourning for the loss of those multitudes which once frequented it. desolate . . . sit upon . . . ground--the very figure under which Judea was represented on medals after the destruction by Titus: a female sitting under a palm tree in a posture of grief; the motto, JudÃ&brvbr;a capta (Job 2:13; Lam 2:10, where, as here primarily, the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar is alluded to). that day--the calamitous period described in previous chapter. seven--indefinite number among the Jews. So many men would be slain, that there would be very many more women than men; for example, seven women, contrary to their natural bashfulness, would sue to (equivalent to "take hold of," Isa 3:6) one man to marry them. eat . . . own bread--foregoing the privileges, which the law (Exo 21:10) gives to wives, when a man has more than one. reproach--of being unwedded and childless; especially felt among the Jews, who were looking for "the seed of the woman," Jesus Christ, described in Isa 4:2; Isa 54:1, Isa 54:4; Luk 1:25.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

gates--The place of concourse personified is represented mourning for the loss of those multitudes which once frequented it.

desolate . . . sit upon . . . ground--the very figure under which Judea was represented on medals after the destruction by Titus: a female sitting under a palm tree in a posture of grief; the motto, JudÃ&brvbr;a capta (Job 2:13; Lam 2:10, where, as here primarily, the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar is alluded to).

that day--the calamitous period described in previous chapter.

seven--indefinite number among the Jews. So many men would be slain, that there would be very many more women than men; for example, seven women, contrary to their natural bashfulness, would sue to (equivalent to "take hold of," Isa 3:6) one man to marry them.

eat . . . own bread--foregoing the privileges, which the law (Exo 21:10) gives to wives, when a man has more than one.

reproach--of being unwedded and childless; especially felt among the Jews, who were looking for "the seed of the woman," Jesus Christ, described in Isa 4:2; Isa 54:1, Isa 54:4; Luk 1:25.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
And her gates - Cities were surrounded with walls, and were entered through gates opening into the principal streets. Those gates became, of course, the places of chief confluence and of business; and the expression here means, that in all the places of confluence, or amidst the assembled people, there should be lamentation on account of the slain in battle, and the loss of their mighty men in war. And she - Jerusalem is often represented as a female distinguished for beauty. It is here represented as a female sitting in a posture of grief. Being desolate, shall sit upon the ground - To sit on the ground, or in the dust, was the usual posture of grief and mourning, denoting great depression and humiliation; Lam 2:10; Lam 3:28; Jer 15:17; Job 3:13; Ezr 9:3-5. It is a remarkable coincidence, that in the medals which were made by the Romans to commemorate the captivity of Judea and Jerusalem, Judea is represented under the figure of a female sitting in a posture of grief, under a palm tree, with this inscription - judea capta. The passage here, however, refers not to the captivity by the Romans, but to the first destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. It is a tender and most affecting image of desolation. During the captivity at Babylon, it was completely fulfilled; and for ages since, Judea might be appropriately represented by a captive female sitting pensively on the ground.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
What the prophet here foretells to the daughter of Zion he sees in Isa 3:26 fulfilled upon her: "Then will her gates lament and mourn, and desolate is she, sits down upon the ground." The gates, where the husbands of the daughters of Zion, who have now fallen in war, sued at one time to gather together in such numbers, are turned into a state of desolation, in which they may, as it were, be heard complaining, and seen to mourn (Isa 14:31; Jer 14:2; Lam 1:4); and the daughter of Zion herself is utterly vacated, thoroughly emptied, completely deprived of all her former population; and in this state of the most mournful widowhood or orphanage, brought down from her lofty seat (Isa 47:1) and princely glory (Jer 13:18), she sits down upon the ground, just as Judaea is represented as doing upon Roman medals that were struck after the destruction of Jerusalem, where she is introduced as a woman thoroughly broken down, and sitting under a palm-tree in an attitude of despair, with a warrior standing in front of her, the inscription upon the medal being Judaea capta, or devicta. The Septuagint rendering is quite in accordance with the sense, viz., καὶ καταλειφθἠση μόνη καὶ εἰς την̀ γῆν ἐδαφισθήση (cf., Luk 19:44), except that תּשׁב is not the second person, but the third, and נקּתה the third pers. pret. niph. for נקּתה - a pausal form which is frequently met with in connection with the smaller distinctive accents, such as silluk and athnach (here it occurs with tiphchah, as, for example, in Amo 3:8). The clause "sits down upon the ground" is appended ἀσυνδἔτως - a frequent construction in cases where one of two verbs defines the other in a manner which is generally expressed adverbially (vid., Ch1 13:2, and the inverted order of the words in Jer 4:5; cf., Isa 12:6): Zion sits upon the earth in a state of utter depopulation.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Gates - The gates of Zion or Jerusalem, which, by a figure, are said to lament, to imply the great desolation of the place; that there would be no people to go out and come in by the gates, as they used to do. Shall sit - Like a mournful woman bewailing the loss of her husband and children.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Sit upon the ground - Sitting on the ground was a posture that denoted mourning and deep distress. The prophet Jeremiah (Lam 2:8) has given it the first place among many indications of sorrow, in the following elegant description of the same state of distress of his country: - "The elders of the daughter of Sion sit on the ground, they are silent: They have cast up dust on their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; The virgins of Jerusalem have bowed down their heads to the ground." "We find Judea," says Mr. Addison, (on Medals, Dial. ii), "on several coins of Vespasian and Titus, in a posture that denotes sorrow and captivity. I need not mention her sitting on the ground, because we have already spoken of the aptness of such a posture to represent an extreme affliction. I fancy the Romans might have an eye on the customs of the Jewish nation, as well as those of their country, in the several marks of sorrow they have set on this figure. The psalmist describes the Jews lamenting their captivity in the same pensive posture: 'By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, when we remembered thee, O Zion.' But what is more remarkable, we find Judea represented as a woman in sorrow sitting on the ground, in a passage of the prophet, that foretells the very captivity recorded on this medal." Mr. Addison, I presume, refers to this place of Isaiah; and therefore must have understood it as foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation by the Romans: whereas it seems plainly to relate, in its first and more immediate view at least, to the destruction of the city by Nebuchadnezzar, and the dissolution of the Jewish state under the captivity at Babylon. - L. Several of the coins mentioned here by Mr. Addison are in my own collection: and to such I have already referred in this work. I shall describe one here. On the obverse a fine head of the emperor Vespasian with this legend, Imperator Julius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunitia Potestate Pater Patriae, Consul VIII. On the reverse a tall palm tree, emblem of the land of Palestine, the emperor standing on the left, close to the tree, with a trophy behind him; on the right, Judea under the figure of a female captive sitting on the ground, with her head resting on her hand, the elbow on her knee, weeping. Around is this legend, Judea Capta. Senates Consulto. However this prediction may refer proximately to the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, I am fully of opinion that it ultimately refers to the final ruin of the Jewish state by the Romans. And so it has been understood by the general run of the best and most learned interpreters and critics.

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²⁵ [3754] Thus [3779] hath [4160] the Lord [2962] dealt [4160] with me [3427] in [1722] the days [2250] wherein [3739] he looked on [1896] me, to take away [851] my [3450] reproach [3681] among [1722] men [444].

⁴ Fear [03372] not; for thou shalt not be ashamed [0954]: neither be thou confounded [03637]; for thou shalt not be put to shame [02659]: for thou shalt forget [07911] the shame [01322] of thy youth [05934], and shalt not remember [02142] the reproach [02781] of thy widowhood [0491] any more.

¹ Sing [07442], O barren [06135], thou that didst not bear [03205]; break forth [06476] into singing [07440], and cry aloud [06670], thou that didst not travail with child [02342]: for more [07227] are the children [01121] of the desolate [08074] than the children [01121] of the married wife [01166], saith [0559] the LORD [03068].

² In that day [03117] shall the branch [06780] of the LORD [03068] be beautiful [06643] and glorious [03519], and the fruit [06529] of the earth [0776] shall be excellent [01347] and comely for [08597] them that are escaped [06413] of Israel [03478].

¹⁰ If he take [03947] him another [0312] wife; her food [07607], her raiment [03682], and her duty of marriage [05772], shall he not diminish [01639].

⁶ When a man [0376] shall take hold [08610] of his brother [0251] of the house [01004] of his father [01], saying, Thou hast clothing [08071], be thou our ruler [07101], and let this ruin [04384] be under thy hand [03027]:

¹⁰ The elders [02205] of the daughter [01323] of Zion [06726] sit [03427] upon the ground [0776], and keep silence [01826]: they have cast up [05927] dust [06083] upon their heads [07218]; they have girded [02296] themselves with sackcloth [08242]: the virgins [01330] of Jerusalem [03389] hang down [03381] their heads [07218] to the ground [0776].

¹³ So they sat down [03427] with him upon the ground [0776] seven [07651] days [03117] and seven [07651] nights [03915], and none spake [01696] a word [01697] unto him: for they saw [07200] that his grief [03511] was very [03966] great [01431].

³ And when I heard [08085] this thing [01697], I rent [07167] my garment [0899] and my mantle [04598], and plucked off [04803] the hair [08181] of my head [07218] and of my beard [02206], and sat down [03427] astonied [08074].
⁴ Then were assembled [0622] unto me every one that trembled [02730] at the words [01697] of the God [0430] of Israel [03478], because of the transgression [04604] of those that had been carried away [01473]; and I sat [03427] astonied [08074] until the evening [06153] sacrifice [04503].
⁵ And at the evening [06153] sacrifice [04503] I arose up [06965] from my heaviness [08589]; and having rent [07167] my garment [0899] and my mantle [04598], I fell [03766] upon my knees [01290], and spread out [06566] my hands [03709] unto the LORD [03068] my God [0430],

¹³ For now should I have lain still [07901] and been quiet [08252], I should have slept [03462]: then had I been at rest [05117],

¹⁷ I sat [03427] not in the assembly [05475] of the mockers [07832], nor rejoiced [05937]; I sat [03427] alone [0910] because [06440] of thy hand [03027]: for thou hast filled [04390] me with indignation [02195].

²⁸ He sitteth [03427] alone [0910] and keepeth silence [01826], because he hath borne [05190] it upon him.

⁶ Cry out [06670] and shout [07442], thou inhabitant [03427] of Zion [06726]: for great [01419] is the Holy One [06918] of Israel [03478] in the midst [07130] of thee.

⁵ Declare [05046] ye in Judah [03063], and publish [08085] in Jerusalem [03389]; and say [0559], Blow [08628] ye the trumpet [07782] in the land [0776]: cry [07121], gather together [04390], and say [0559], Assemble [0622] yourselves, and let us go [0935] into the defenced [04013] cities [05892].

² And David [01732] said [0559] unto all the congregation [06951] of Israel [03478], If it seem good [02895] unto you, and that it be of the LORD [03068] our God [0430], let us send [07971] abroad [06555] unto our brethren [0251] every where, that are left [07604] in all the land [0776] of Israel [03478], and with them also to the priests [03548] and Levites [03881] which are in their cities [05892] and suburbs [04054], that they may gather [06908] themselves unto us:

⁸ The lion [0738] hath roared [07580], who will not [03808] fear [03372]? the Lord [0136] GOD [03069] hath spoken [01696], who can but prophesy [05012]?

⁴⁴ And [2532] shall lay [1474] thee [4571] even with the ground [1474], and [2532] thy [4675] children [5043] within [1722] thee [4671]; and [2532] they shall [863] not [3756] leave [863] in [1722] thee [4671] one stone [3037] upon [1909] another [3037]; because [473] [3739] thou knewest [1097] not [3756] the time [2540] of thy [4675] visitation [1984].

¹⁸ Say [0559] unto the king [04428] and to the queen [01377], Humble [08213] yourselves, sit down [03427]: for your principalities [04761] shall come down [03381], even the crown [05850] of your glory [08597].

¹ Come down [03381], and sit [03427] in the dust [06083], O virgin [01330] daughter [01323] of Babylon [0894], sit [03427] on the ground [0776]: there is no throne [03678], O daughter [01323] of the Chaldeans [03778]: for thou shalt no more [03254] be called [07121] tender [07390] and delicate [06028].

⁴ The ways [01870] of Zion [06726] do mourn [057], because none come [0935] to the solemn feasts [04150]: all her gates [08179] are desolate [08074]: her priests [03548] sigh [0584], her virgins [01330] are afflicted [03013], and she is in bitterness [04843].

² Judah [03063] mourneth [056], and the gates [08179] thereof languish [0535]; they are black [06937] unto the ground [0776]; and the cry [06682] of Jerusalem [03389] is gone up [05927].

³¹ Howl [03213], O gate [08179]; cry [02199], O city [05892]; thou, whole Palestina [06429], art dissolved [04127]: for there shall come [0935] from the north [06828] a smoke [06227], and none shall be alone [0909] in his appointed times [04151].

²⁶ And her gates [06607] shall lament [0578] and mourn [056]; and she being desolate [05352] shall sit [03427] upon the ground [0776].

⁸ The LORD [03068] hath purposed [02803] to destroy [07843] the wall [02346] of the daughter [01323] of Zion [06726]: he hath stretched out [05186] a line [06957], he hath not withdrawn [07725] his hand [03027] from destroying [01104]: therefore he made the rampart [02426] and the wall [02346] to lament [056]; they languished [0535] together [03162].