Isaiah 3:12

"Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them, for the deeds of their hands will be paid back to them."

Key Reflection

In Isaiah 3:12, the prophet issues a dire warning against the wicked, describing an impending disaster that reflects divine retribution. The verse suggests that the sins committed by these individuals will inevitably lead to their downfall—a consequence that is both just and inevitable, as it is a direct result of their own actions. This reflects a broader theme in Isaiah where the moral failings of Jerusalem’s elite are condemned, emphasizing the idea that societal ills stem from internal corruption rather than external forces.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

As for my people, children are their oppressors -This refers, doubtless, to their civil rulers. They who “ought” to have been their “protectors,” oppressed them by grievous taxes and burdens. But whether this means that the rulers of the people were “literally” minors, or that they were so in “disposition and character,” has been a question. The original word is in the singular number (מעוללme‛ôlēl), and means a “child,” or an infant. It may, however, be taken collectively as a noun of multitude, or as denoting more than one. To whom reference is made here cannot easily be determined, but possibly to “Ahaz,” who began to reign when he was twenty years old;2 Kings 16:2.

More from Isaiah 3

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