Isaiah 3 · Verse 4

Isaiah 3:4

And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
Isaiah 3:4, King James Version

Isaiah 3:4 in other translations

BSB“I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.”
WEBI will give boys to be their princes, and children shall rule over them.
ASVAnd I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
YLTAnd I have made youths their heads, And sucklings rule over them.
DARBYAnd I will appoint youths as their princes, and children shall rule over them.
BBEAnd I will make children their chiefs, and foolish ones will have rule over them.
WebsterAnd I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

What does Isaiah 3:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. children--in ability for governing; antithesis to the "ancient" (see Is 3:12; Ec 10:16). babes--in warlike might; antithesis to "the mighty" and "man of war."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 I will give children to be their princes "I will make boys their princes" - This also was fully accomplished in the succession of weak and wicked princes, from the death of Josiah to the destruction of the city and temple, and the taking of Zedekiah, the last of them, by Nebuchadnezzar. Babes shall rule over them - Dymennysche men schul lordschopen to hem. - Old MS. Bible.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 3:1-9

The calamities about to come upon the land. (Is. 3:1-9) The wickedness of the people. (Is. 3:10-15) The distress of the proud, luxurious women of Zion. (Is. 3:16-26) Verses 1-9 God was about to deprive Judah of every stay and support. The city and the land were to be made desolate, because their words and works had been rebellious against the Lord; even at his holy temple. If men do not stay themselves upon God, he…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 3:1-9 →

Isaiah 3:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְנָתַתִּ֥יve.na.ta.Tiand I will makeH5414
נְעָרִ֖יםne.'a.RimyouthsH5288
שָׂרֵיהֶ֑םsa.rei.Hemleaders theirH8269
וְתַעֲלוּלִ֖יםve.ta.'a.lu.Limand wantonness<es>H8586
יִמְשְׁלוּ\־yim.she.lu-they will ruleH4910
בָֽם\׃Vamover them

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 3:4

  • Ecclesiastes 10:16

    Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!

  • 2 Chronicles 36:9

    Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

  • 2 Chronicles 33:1

    Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:

  • 2 Chronicles 36:5

    Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.

  • 1 Kings 3:7-9

    And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

  • 2 Chronicles 36:11

    Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

  • 2 Chronicles 34:1

    Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.

  • 2 Chronicles 36:2

    Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
children.
1Ki 3:7-9; 2Ch 33:1; 34:1; 36:2,5,9,11; Ec 10:16

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 3:3

    The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.

  • Isaiah 3:4

    And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

  • Isaiah 3:5

    And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

Read all of Isaiah 3

Isaiah 3:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y pondréles mozos por príncipes, y muchachos serán sus señores.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et je leur donnerai des jeunes gens pour être leurs princes, et de petits enfants domineront sur eux;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und ich werde Jünglinge zu ihren Fürsten machen, und Buben sollen über sie herrschen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et dabo pueros principes eorum, et effeminati dominabuntur eis;