Isa 3:16-23 | KingComments | STEP | To put their sins clearly before the eyes of His people, the LORD describes the show-offs of the women. That is why the LORD says “moreover” ( ). He continues His subject. The vanity of the leaders is illustrated and made visible in their wives, “the daughters of Zion”. Inner depravity always reveals itself. Thus, the pride of the heart becomes visible in one’s walk of life. The cause of the depraved actions of His people can be seen in the desires of these “daughters of Zion” for the lifestyle of the world. Women have an enormous influence on the development of their children, whom they have with them throughout the day. That is why they are part of the cause of the dramatic deviation of the LORD. If these women had some sense of what suits God, the situation would not be completely hopeless. However, these women are of a completely different kind. The arrogant pride of the leaders of Judah is equally present in these women, “the daughters of Zion”. They “are proud” and look down upon others with contempt. “They walk with heads held high” means that they stretch the neck backwards to look taller, which shows their proudness. “Seductive eyes” refers to their way of looking. Their innocent-seeming gaze is an a decidedly sensual one, a gaze to arouse sexual desire. This is how they walk around, “with mincing steps”, tinkling with “the bangles on their feet” while walking. They walk, look and decorate themselves in a way that gives them the certainty that everyone has to look at them. With the greatest complacency they want to draw all attention to themselves. God particularly blames them for that. He is not indifferent to how and why a woman dresses and decorates as she does. Also in the New Testament there are clear indications about this ( ; ). Christians women would do well to pay attention to this, if at least they are women making a claim to godliness. It is also clear that women who behave like these daughters of Zion, women who are as concerned with themselves and their appearance as they are, are not good housekeepers (cf. ). If they only pay attention to themselves and do their best to attract the attention of those around them, they will spend little time raising their children. A society in which women assume positions that are not theirs and therein are even stimulated by the government, will become an ungovernable society with an abundance of problem youth. The literal behavior of the daughters of Zion is a reflection of the spiritual state of the people as a whole. The LORD describes the behavior of the women in pictorial language and mocks their conceit ( ). A terrible retribution must take place. Their frivolity will turn into scabies reminiscent of leprosy ( ). The scab will cover their scalps by the judgment of the LORD. Possibly we can think of Jerusalem on Mount Zion, where Zion is “the scalp” and Jerusalem is the glory that will be affected by the scabies. A scalp that is affected by the scab must be shaved. Thus, Jerusalem, the city of glory, will be destroyed and its inhabitants will be taken away. Instead of the admiration of the surroundings they are after, disgust will fill all those who perceive them. Making bare “the secret parts” (Darby Translation) means that the city will be razed to the ground, exposing the foundations. The shame and defamation of it will be seen by everyone. “In that day” ( ) of utter shame and defamation “the Lord”, Adonai , the sovereign Commander and Master, will “take away the beauty” of all their jewelry. Everything she flaunts will be taken away from her, so that she stands naked. Next, Isaiah lists in the section of an abundance of toiletries, ornaments, and garments. Isaiah is very detailed here. He does this to show the enormous contrast between the unbridled boast of false, worldly glory and the spiritual, exalted simplicity of the inner, real glory that is pleasing to God. After all, Isaiah is about showing the way that leads via the judgment on the false glory to the true glory, that of the Messiah and His kingdom. It is not possible for us to say something about every decoration. Nevertheless, some remarks can be made that shed some light on this section. It is remarkable that Isaiah mentions a total of twenty-one decorations. The number twenty-one is three times seven, which symbolically indicates the fullness (three) and the perfection (seven) of the frivolity of the decorations of the women. In their appearance, these fashion dolls are a reflection of the disgusting softness of their husbands. The description of the decoration begins with the “anklets”, also mentioned in , and the “headbands” ( ), i.e. the decoration of the feet and the head. This is a reminder of God’s judgment on His people that He pronounced at the beginning of this book: “From the sole of the foot even to the head there is nothing sound in it” ( ). The people do not want to see this sick state, but want to cover it with all kinds of decorations all over the body, from head to toe, in order to make them attractive instead of repulsive. Furthermore, the enumeration is not from bottom to top or vice versa, nor from outside to inside. There is no particular order in it. The enumeration is arbitrary and thus corresponds to the capricious behavior of the women. The “crescent ornaments” ( ) are jewels in the shape of the moon, possibly a reference to the moon as an object of worship. They are captured from the Midianites in the days of Gideon ( ). They are worn around the neck and are also worn by camels ( ). The “veils” ( ) correspond to today’s ‘nikab’, a kind of burka, but as a separate garment. “The ankle chains” ( ) cause them to make small and graceful passes. “The sashes” are the ornamental sashes the bride wears on the day of her wedding. “The amulets” show their superstition because they are worn to protect them from the incantations of sorcerers. “The cloaks” ( ) are wide shawls, just as Ruth wears one when she goes to Boaz in her most beautiful clothes ( ). The description of some of the garments mentioned shows a mixture of elements that are also found in the priest’s garments with elements that belong to idolatry. Thus, “the headbands” ( ) and “the undergarments” ( ) are also mentioned as priest’s garments ( ). Garments speak in Scripture of the behavior we exhibit. Their garments makes the women of Jerusalem look like a decorated Christmas tree. They dress like this to draw the attention and affection of the people around them. It does not occur to them to please the LORD in their behavior. The LORD will work a total reversal ( ). He will take away from the women everything with which they wallpaper themselves as garbage. How miserable they will look and feel then! A woman who came to repentance and did not put her make-up on her face anymore, said that in the beginning she felt ‘naked’. This is how it will be with these women. In flowery, powerful language the LORD proposes how He will change everything they mean to be attractive to others into something that will repel others. She will look miserable because of mistreatment and will be too dirty to deal with. For example, the smell of perfume will be replaced by “putrefaction”, for example from festering wounds. The “belt” with which they flaunt will change into a “rope” with which they will be dragged into captivity. Their “well-set hair” will be shaved off. For a woman, “a plucked-out scalp” or baldness, means great defamation. Bald shaving happens to captured women ( ). Their “beauty” will be marred by “branding” put on their bodies with a branding iron. It is the indelible mark that they are in slavery (cf. ). Their “men” to whom they do not listen, but over whom they rule and of whom they make use of ( ), will fall by the sword ( ). Their “mighty ones”, whom they think will protect them, will be killed in battle. The “gates” ( ), the places of jurisdiction and guarding, will no longer provide safety and protection. The enemy will take possession of them. This will happen about 150 years later, when Judah is besieged and conquered by Babylon and taken away into exile. As a result, the city will “sit on the ground”, a paragon of great mourning and utter disaster ( ).