Isa 3:17 | NETfull | STEP | So the sovereign master will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women with skin diseases, the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.”

Isaiah 3:17

17 So ^{▼▼ In the Hebrew text vv. 16–17 and one long sentence, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud and walk…, the sovereign master will afflict….” In v. 17 the Lord refers to himself in the third person.} the sovereign master ^{▼▼ The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 18 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).} will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women ^{▼▼ Heb “the daughters of Zion.”} with skin diseases, ^{▼▼ Or “a scab” (KJV, ASV); NIV, NCV, CEV “sores.”}
the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.” ^{▼▼ The precise meaning of this line is unclear because of the presence of the rare word פֹּת (pot). Since the verb in the line means “lay bare, make naked,” some take פֹּת as a reference to the genitals (cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV, CEV). (In 1 Kgs 7:50 a noun פֹּת appears, with the apparent meaning “socket.”) J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:139, n. 2), basing his argument on alleged Akkadian evidence and the parallelism of the verse, takes פֹּת as “forehead.”}