Isaiah 3:4

Good News Translation

The Lord will let the people be governed by immature boys.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“I will make youths their leaders,and unstable rulers will govern them.”

Hebrew Names Version
I will give boys to be their princes, And children shall rule over them.

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

English Standard Version
And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them.

New American Standard Bible
And I will make mere boys their leaders, And mischievous children will rule over them,

New Century Version
The Lord says, "I will cause young boys to be your leaders, and foolish children will rule over you.

Amplified Bible
And I will make mere boys their princes, And capricious (impulsive, unpredictable) children will rule over them.

World English Bible
I will give boys to be their princes, And children shall rule over them.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And I will appoint children to bee their princes, and babes shall rule ouer them.

Legacy Standard Bible
And I will make young men their princes,And capricious children will rule over them,

Berean Standard Bible
"I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them."

Contemporary English Version
He will let children and babies become your rulers.

Complete Jewish Bible
I will put children in authority; capriciousness will govern them.

Darby Translation
And I will appoint youths as their princes, and children shall rule over them.

Easy-to-Read Version
He says, "I will put young boys in charge of you. They will be your leaders.

George Lamsa Translation
And I will appoint young men to be their princes, and mockers shall rule over them.

Lexham English Bible
And I will make boys their princes, and children shall rule over them.

Literal Translation
And I will give young boys to be their rulers, and caprices shall rule over them.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And I shal geue you children to be youre prynces (saieth the LORDE) and babes shall haue the rule of you.

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

Bible in Basic English
And I will make children their chiefs, and foolish ones will have rule over them.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

King James Version (1611)
And I will giue children to bee their Princes, and babes shall rule ouer them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And I shall geue children to be their princes, and babes shall rule ouer them.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I will make youths their princes, and mockers shall have dominion over them.

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

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y schal yyue children the princes of hem, and men of wymmens condiciouns schulen be lordis of hem.

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

Webster's Bible Translation
And I will give children [to be] their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

New English Translation
The Lord says, "I will make youths their officials; malicious young men will rule over them.

New King James Version
"I will give children to be their princes, And babes shall rule over them.

New Living Translation
I will make boys their leaders, and toddlers their rulers.

New Life Bible
I will make boys their rulers. Foolish children will rule over them.

New Revised Standard
And I will make boys their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And I will appoint boys to be their princes, - And, petulant children, shall rule over them,

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I will give children to be their princes, and the effeminate shall rule over them.

Revised Standard Version
And I will make boys their princes, and babes shall rule over them.

Young's Literal Translation
And I have made youths their heads, And sucklings rule over them.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And I will make mere lads their princes, And capricious children will rule over them,

Contextual Overview

¹ Now the Lord, the Almighty Lord , is about to take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything and everyone that the people depend on. He is going to take away their food and their water, ² their heroes and their soldiers, their judges and their prophets, their fortunetellers and their statesmen, ³ their military and civilian leaders, their politicians and everyone who uses magic to control events. ⁴ The Lord will let the people be governed by immature boys. ⁵ Everyone will take advantage of everyone else. Young people will not respect their elders, and worthless people will not respect their superiors. ⁶ A time will come when the members of a clan will choose one of their number and say to him, "You at least have something to wear, so be our leader in this time of trouble." ⁷ But he will answer, "Not me! I can't help you. I don't have any food or clothes either. Don't make me your leader!" ⁸ Yes, Jerusalem is doomed! Judah is collapsing! Everything they say and do is against the Lord ; they openly insult God himself.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

children: 1 Kings 3:7-9, 2 Chronicles 33:1, 2 Chronicles 34:1, 2 Chronicles 36:2, 2 Chronicles 36:5, 2 Chronicles 36:9, 2 Chronicles 36:11, Ecclesiastes 10:16

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 22:1 - eight years old 2 Chronicles 13:7 - young Proverbs 30:22 - a servant Isaiah 3:12 - children Isaiah 51:18 - none Jeremiah 52:3 - through

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
The Lord God asked the woman, "Why did you do this?" She replied, "The snake tricked me into eating it."

Deuteronomy 29:19
Make sure that there is no one here today who hears these solemn demands and yet convinces himself that all will be well with him, even if he stubbornly goes his own way. That would destroy all of you, good and evil alike.

2 Kings 1:4
Tell the king that the Lord says, ‘You will not recover from your injuries; you will die!'" Elijah did as the Lord commanded,

2 Kings 1:6
They answered, "We were met by a man who told us to come back and tell you that the Lord says to you, ‘Why are you sending messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? Is it because you think there is no god in Israel? You will not recover from your injuries; you will die!'"

2 Kings 1:16
and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you sent messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron—as if there were no god in Israel to consult—you will not get well; you will die!'"

2 Kings 8:10
Elisha answered, "The Lord has revealed to me that he will die; but go to him and tell him that he will recover."

Psalms 10:11
The wicked say to themselves, "God doesn't care! He has closed his eyes and will never see me!"

2 Corinthians 2:11
in order to keep Satan from getting the upper hand over us; for we know what his plans are.

2 Corinthians 11:3
I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ—in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake's clever lies.

1 Timothy 2:14
And it was not Adam who was deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and broke God's law.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And I will give children [to be] their princes,.... Either in age, or in understanding, who are really so, or act like such; and in either sense, when this is the case, it is an unhappiness to a nation, Ecclesiastes 10:16:

and babes shall rule over them; which is the same as before. The Targum is,

"the weak shall rule over them;''

such who are weak in their intellectuals, or are of mean pusillanimous spirits, "effeminate", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; and so as "children" are opposed to the "ancient", that should be taken away, these are opposed to "men of might" and courage, who would now be wanting: or "men of illusions", as in the margin; such as were subtle as foxes, and should deceive them, and impose upon them, and were audacious and impudent, and would mock at them, and despise them. So Jarchi and Abarbinel; and according to this sense of the word the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, "mockers shall rule over them".

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And I will give children - Not children in respect to age so much as in regard to talent for governing. I will commit the land to the government of weak and imbecile princes. This would naturally occur when the wise and great were removed; compare Ecclesiastes 10:16 : ‘Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child;’ compare Isaiah 3:12.

And babes shall rule ... - That is, babes in experience and knowledge. This was fully accomplished in the succession of weak and wicked princes that succeeded Isaiah, until the time of Zedekiah, the last of them, when the temple was taken by Nebuchadnezzar. - “Lowth.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 3:4. 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.