Isaiah 3:12

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

עַמִּי֙ נֹגְשָׂ֣יו מְעוֹלֵ֔ל וְנָשִׁ֖ים מָ֣שְׁלוּ ב֑וֹ עַמִּי֙ מְאַשְּׁרֶ֣יךָ מַתְעִ֔ים וְדֶ֥רֶךְ אֹֽרְחֹתֶ֖יךָ בִּלֵּֽעוּ

Transliteration

ʿammî nōgəśāyw məʿôlēl and-nāšîm māšəlû in-him. ʿammî məʾaššərêkā matʿîm and-derek ʾōrəḥōtêkā billēʿû

Grammar Details

*ʿammî*: noun, masculine singular with 1st person singular suffix - my people
*nōgəśāyw*: Qal participle, masculine plural with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his oppressors
*məʿôlēl*: Poel participle, masculine singular - a child/childish one
*nāšîm*: noun, feminine plural - women
*māšəlû*: Qal perfect, 3rd person common plural - they have ruled
*bô*: preposition with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - in/over him
*məʾaššərêkā*: Piel participle, masculine plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - those who guide you
*matʿîm*: Hiphil participle, masculine plural - causing to err/misleading
*derek*: noun, feminine singular construct - way of
*ʾōrəḥōtêkā*: noun, feminine plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your paths
*billēʿû*: Piel perfect, 3rd person common plural - they have confused/swallowed up

Word Meanings

*ʿam*: people/nation/folk
*nōgēś*: oppressor/taskmaster/tyrant
*məʿôlēl*: child/childish one/acting childishly
*nāšîm*: women/females/wives
*māšal*: rule/govern/dominate
*məʾaššēr*: one who guides/leads/directs
*tāʿāh*: err/wander/go astray
*derek*: way/road/path
*ʾōraḥ*: path/trail/way
*bālaʿ*: confuse/swallow up/engulf

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Isa 3:4 : 4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
Isa 9:15-16 : 15 The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 16 For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
Isa 28:14-15 : 14 Wherefore hear the word of Jehovah, ye scoffers, that rule this people that is in Jerusalem: 15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Jer 5:31 : 31 the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
Nah 3:13 : 13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women; the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire hath devoured thy bars.
Matt 15:14 : 14 Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit.
Matt 23:13 : 13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter.
Num 6:23-27 : 23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel: ye shall say unto them, 24 Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee: 25 Jehovah make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 27 So shall they put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.
2 Kgs 11:1 : 1 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Isa 3:4-6
3 verses
80%
4And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
5And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the old man, and the base against the honorable.
6When a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, [saying], Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand;
Isa 9:16
79%
16For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
Mic 2:8-9
2 verses
77%
8But of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye strip the robe from off the garment from them that pass by securely [as men] averse from war.
9The women of my people ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their young children ye take away my glory for ever.
Jer 13:21
76%
21What wilt thou say, when he shall set over thee as head those whom thou hast thyself taught to be friends to thee? shall not sorrows take hold of thee, as of a woman in travail?
Isa 10:1-2
2 verses
75%
1Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness;
2to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
Isa 3:13-16
4 verses
74%
13Jehovah standeth up to contend, and standeth to judge the peoples.
14Jehovah will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and the princes thereof: It is ye that have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses:
15what mean ye that ye crush my people, {H1792} and grind the face of the poor? saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
16Moreover Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet;
Isa 3:11
73%
11Woe unto the wicked! [it shall be] ill [with him]; for what his hands have done shall be done unto him.
Lam 1:5
73%
5Her adversaries are become the head, her enemies prosper; For Jehovah hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: Her young children are gone into captivity before the adversary.
Lam 5:8
73%
8Servants rule over us: There is none to deliver us out of their hand.
Jer 5:31
73%
31the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
Lam 4:10
73%
10The hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children; They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Nah 3:10
72%
10Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity; her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets; and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.
Nah 3:13
72%
13Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women; the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire hath devoured thy bars.
Job 30:12
72%
12Upon my right hand rise the rabble; They thrust aside my feet, And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.
Ezek 22:7
72%
7In thee have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the sojourner; in thee have they wronged the fatherless and the widow.
Lam 2:20
71%
20See, O Jehovah, and behold to whom thou hast done thus! Shall the women eat their fruit, the children that are dandled in the hands? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
Jer 4:22
71%
22For my people are foolish, they know me not; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
Joel 3:3
71%
3and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
Zeph 3:3-4
2 verses
71%
3Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they leave nothing till the morrow.
4Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
Mic 3:9
71%
9Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, that abhor justice, and pervert all equity.
Rom 3:16
71%
16Destruction and misery are in their ways;
Job 12:24
71%
24He taketh away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.
Jer 9:20
71%
20Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation.
Amos 2:7
71%
7they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father go unto the [same] maiden, to profane my holy name:
Jer 4:18
71%
18Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness; for it is bitter, for it reacheth unto thy heart.
Isa 27:11
71%
11When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off; the women shall come, and set them on fire; for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have compassion upon them, and he that formed them will show them no favor.
Hos 10:14
70%
14Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces with her children.
Lam 4:6
70%
6For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, That was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands were laid upon her.
Deut 28:56
70%
56The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
Hos 4:5
70%
5And thou shalt stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy mother.
Prov 28:15
70%
15[ As] a roaring lion, and a ranging bear, [So is] a wicked ruler over a poor people.
Jer 8:11
70%
11And they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Jer 18:21
70%
21Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and give them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives become childless, and widows; and let their men be slain of death, [and] their young men smitten of the sword in battle.
Jer 50:6
70%
6My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting-place.
Isa 1:4
70%
4Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly! they have forsaken Jehovah, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are estranged [and gone] backward.
Lam 5:13
70%
13The young men bare the mill; And the children stumbled under the wood.
Jer 2:31
70%
31O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of thick darkness? wherefore say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more unto thee?
Isa 51:23
70%
23and I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee, that have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over; and thou hast laid thy back as the ground, and as the street, to them that go over.
Isa 13:16
70%
16Their infants also shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be rifled, and their wives ravished.
Jer 23:1
70%
1Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith Jehovah.
Ps 94:5
70%
5They break in pieces thy people, O Jehovah, And afflict thy heritage.
Lam 1:18
70%
18Jehovah is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: Hear, I pray you, all ye peoples, and behold my sorrow: My virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.