Isaiah 3:19

"In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, the headbands, the crescent necklaces,"

Key Reflection

In Isaiah 3:19, the prophet describes a judgment scene where God removes the ornamental and luxurious items that symbolize societal vanity and pride among the people of Israel. This includes anklets, headbands, and crescent necklaces—accessories that would have been common in the fashion of the time. By stripping away these symbols, Isaiah highlights the emptiness and superficiality of their values as God prepares to bring about a period of hardship and retribution.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

The chains -Margin, “sweet balls.” The word used here is derived from the verbנטףnâṭaph, to drop, to fall in drops, or to distil,” as juice from a plant. Hence, it means that which “resembles drops” - as pearls, or precious stones, used as ornaments for the neck or ears. We retain a similar word as applicable to the ornaments of the ears, by calling them “drops.” The Chaldee renders this “chains,” and so also the Vulgate. The Septuagint understands it of a “hanging” or “pendant” ornament - and this is its undoubted meaning - an ornament pendant like gum distilling from a plant.

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