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Isaiah 3 Bible study: Supply and support

In Hebrew, "takes away" (3:1) and "will take away" (3:18) are one verb, sur; the man who says "I will not be a healer" (3:7) refuses to bind up, the verb of the LORD who "binds up the fracture of his people" (30:26); and 3:24's "instead of" is the word of "a garland for ashes" (61:3).

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“Tell the righteous that it will be well with them, for they will eat the fruit of their deeds.”
Isaiah 3:10 · World English Bible

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“In Isaiah 3:7, the man asked to be ruler says, "I will not be a healer".”

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What's really going on

What the LORD takes away

In the text

The chapter opens, "For, behold, the Lord, GOD of Armies, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water" (3:1) (tap takes away, supply). Then it names the people it means: "the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the diviner, the elder, the captain of fifty, the honorable man, the counselor, the skilled craftsman, and the clever enchanter" (3:2-3). In Hebrew supply and support is one word in its masculine and its feminine, mash'en umash'enah, and Brown-Driver-Briggs calls the pair "support of every kind". Here is what almost everyone misses: the second half of the chapter turns on the same verb as the first. "In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets" (3:18). In Hebrew takes away in 3:1 and will take away in 3:18 are both sur. And in the WEB the words "the Lord, GOD of Armies" of 3:1 come again at the end of 3:15: "says the Lord, GOD of Armies" (3:15).

Honest questions

Questions people ask about Isaiah 3

That was a taste

The rest of Isaiah 3 is waiting in Favor

  • "You have clothing, you be our ruler"
  • The LORD stands up to contend
  • "Because the daughters of Zion are arrogant"
  • Instead of
  • The fruit of their deeds
  • 13 questions as you read
  • 13 more Hebrew words
  • A short check at the end
  • Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it

סוּרsursay SOOR

Brown-Driver-Briggs: "turn aside", and in its causative form a "common word for remove, take away". Strong's: "to turn off (literally or figuratively)". "For, behold, the Lord, GOD of Armies, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support" (3:1), and "In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets" (3:18): in Hebrew both are this verb. So is the LORD's command in chapter 1, "Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes" (1:16), and the song of the vineyard's "I will take away its hedge" (5:5).

For your group

Isaiah 3 Bible study questions

  1. 1The LORD takes away "supply and support" (3:1). What does it look like to lean on God himself rather than on what he gives?
  2. 2"I will not be a healer" (3:7). When have you seen someone step in to bind up what was broken when others stepped back?
  3. 3"Tell the righteous that it will be well with them" (3:10). What helps you keep doing right before you see it rewarded?

Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Isaiah 3 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.

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Questions

What is Favor?

Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.

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