Isaiah 3:21

Good News Translation

the rings they wear on their fingers and in their noses;

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
signet rings, nose rings,

Hebrew Names Version
the signet rings, the nose rings,

King James Version
The rings, and nose jewels,

English Standard Version
the signet rings and nose rings;

New American Standard Bible
finger rings, nose rings,

New Century Version
their signet rings, nose rings,

Amplified Bible
signet [finger] rings, nose rings,

World English Bible
the signet rings, the nose rings,

Geneva Bible (1587)
The rings and the mufflers,

Legacy Standard Bible
finger rings, nose rings,

Berean Standard Bible
their signet rings and nose rings,

Complete Jewish Bible
rings and nose-jewels;

Darby Translation
the finger-rings, and the nose-rings;

Easy-to-Read Version
the signet rings, and the nose rings,

George Lamsa Translation
And the ornaments of their legs and their bracelets and nose rings,

Lexham English Bible
the signet rings and the nose rings,

Literal Translation
the rings and nose jewels;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
rynges and garlades,

American Standard Version
the rings, and the nose-jewels;

Bible in Basic English
The rings, and the nose-jewels,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
the rings, and the nose-jewels;

King James Version (1611)
The rings, and nose-iewels,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And rynges, and nose iewels:

English Revised Version
the rings, and the nose jewels;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and eere ryngis, and ryngis, and preciouse stoonys hangynge in the forheed,

Update Bible Version
the rings, and the nose-jewels;

Webster's Bible Translation
The rings, and nose-jewels,

New English Translation
rings, nose rings,

New King James Version
and the rings; The nose jewels,

New Living Translation
rings, jewels,

New Life Bible
finger rings, nose rings,

New Revised Standard
the signet rings and nose rings;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
the rings and the nose-jewels;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And rings, and jewels hanging on the forehead,

Revised Standard Version
the signet rings and nose rings;

Young's Literal Translation
Of the seals, and of the nose-rings,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
finger rings, nose rings,

Contextual Overview

¹⁶ The Lord said, "Look how proud the women of Jerusalem are! They walk along with their noses in the air. They are always flirting. They take dainty little steps, and the bracelets on their ankles jingle. ¹⁷ But I will punish them—I will shave their heads and leave them bald." ¹⁸ A day is coming when the Lord will take away from the women of Jerusalem everything they are so proud of—the ornaments they wear on their ankles, on their heads, on their necks, ¹⁹ and on their wrists. He will take away their veils ²⁰ and their hats; the magic charms they wear on their arms and at their waists; ²¹ the rings they wear on their fingers and in their noses; ²² all their fine robes, gowns, cloaks, and purses; ²³ their revealing garments, their linen handkerchiefs, and the scarves and long veils they wear on their heads. ²⁴ Instead of using perfumes, they will stink; instead of fine belts, they will wear coarse ropes; instead of having beautiful hair, they will be bald; instead of fine clothes, they will be dressed in rags; their beauty will be turned to shame! ²⁵ The men of the city, yes, even the strongest men, will be killed in war.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

rings: Genesis 41:42, Esther 8:12, Song of Solomon 5:14, Luke 15:22, James 2:2

nose jewels: Genesis 24:47, 1 Timothy 2:9, 1 Timothy 2:10, 1 Peter 3:3, 1 Peter 3:4

Reciprocal: Ezekiel 16:11 - forehead

Cross-References

Genesis 3:2
"We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden," the woman answered,

Genesis 3:3
"except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die."

Genesis 3:7
As soon as they had eaten it, they were given understanding and realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves.

Isaiah 61:10
Jerusalem rejoices because of what the Lord has done. She is like a bride dressed for her wedding. God has clothed her with salvation and victory.

Romans 3:22
God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all:

2 Corinthians 5:21
Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The rings,.... On their finger, as Aben Ezra observes:

and nose jewels; the same with the jewels on the forehead or nose,

Ezekiel 16:12 not that they hung upon the nose, but were fastened upon the forehead, and hung down to the nose, see Genesis 24:22; an allusion to this is in Proverbs 11:22 though Austin says it was a custom of the women of Mauritania to put jewels in their nose; and which is still kept in Persia, Arabia, and other countries, as travellers affirm.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The rings - Usually worn on the fingers.

And nose-jewels - The custom of wearing jewels in the “nose” has generally prevailed in savage tribes, and was common, and is still, in Eastern nations - among the Arabians, Persians, etc. Sir John Chardin says, ‘It is the custom in almost all the East for the women to wear rings in their noses, in the left nostril, which is bored low down in the middle. These rings are of gold, and have commonly two pearls and one ruby between, placed in the ring. I never saw a girl or young woman in Arabia, or in all Persia, who did not wear a ring in this manner in her nostrils.’ - Harmer’s “Obs.,” iv., p. 318. The picture in the book illustrates the usual form of this ornament in the East.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 3:21. Nose-jewels - "The jewels of the nostril."] נזמי האף nizmey haaph. Schroederus explains this, as many others do, of jewels, or strings of pearl hanging from the forehead, and reaching to the upper part of the nose; than which nothing can be more ridiculous, as such are seldom seen on an Asiatic face. But it appears from many passages of Holy Scripture that the phrase is to be literally and properly understood of nose-jewels, rings set with jewels hanging from the nostrils, as ear-rings from the ears, by holes bored to receive them.

Ezekiel, enumerating the common ornaments of women of the first rank, has not omitted this particular, and is to be understood in the same manner, Ezekiel 16:11-12. See also Genesis 24:47: -

"And I decked thee with ornaments;

And I put bracelets upon thine hands,

And a chain on thy neck:

And I put a jewel on thy nose,

And ear-rings on thine ears,

And a splendid crown upon thine head."

And in an elegant proverb of Solomon, Proverbs 11:22, there is a manifest allusion to this kind of ornament, which shows it to have been used in his time: -

"As a jewel of gold in the snout of a swine;

So is a woman beautiful, but wanting discretion."

This fashion, however strange it may appear to us, was formerly and is still common in many parts of the East, among women of all ranks. Paul Lucas, speaking of a village or clan of wandering people, a little on this side of the Euphrates, says, (2d Voyage du Levant, tom. i., art. 24,) "The women, almost all of them, travel on foot; I saw none handsome among them. They have almost all of them the nose bored; and wear in it a great ring, which makes them still more deformed." But in regard to this custom, better authority cannot be produced than that of Pietro della Valle, in the account which he gives of the lady before mentioned, Signora Maani Gioerida, his own wife. The description of her dress, as to the ornamental parts of it, with which he introduces the mention of this particular, will give us some notion of the taste of the Eastern ladies for finery. "The ornaments of gold and of jewels for the head, for the neck, for the arms, for the legs, and for the feet (for they wear rings even on their toes) are indeed, unlike those of the Turks, carried to great excess, but not of great value: for in Bagdad jewels of high price are either not to be had, or are not used; and they wear such only as are of little value, as turquoises, small rubies, emeralds, carbuncles, garnets, pearls, and the like. My spouse dresses herself with all of them according to their fashion; with exception, however, of certain ugly rings of very large size, set with jewels, which, in truth, very absurdly, it is the custom to wear fastened to one of their nostrils, like buffaloes: an ancient custom, however, in the East, which, as we find in the Holy Scriptures, prevailed among the Hebrew ladies even in the time of Solomon, Proverbs 11:22. These nose-rings, in complaisance to me, she has left off, but I have not yet been able to prevail with her cousin and her sisters to do the same; so fond are they of an old custom, be it ever so absurd, who have been long habituated to it." Viaggi, Tom. i., Let. 17.

It is the left nostril that is bored and ornamented with rings and jewels. More than one hundred drawings from life of Eastern ladies lie now before me, and scarcely one is without the nose-jewel: both the arms and wrists are covered with bracelets, arm-circles, c., as also their legs and feet the soles of their feet and palms of their hands coloured beautifully red with henna, and their hair plaited and ornamented superbly. These beautiful drawings are a fine comment on this chapter.