Bible Strands
Isaiah 3:1
For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet Isaiah delivers this oracle from Yahweh to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah. The declaration marks the immediate onset of judgment, preceding the collapse of civil and religious leadership detailed in verse 2.
The words — The verb מֵסִיר (me.Sir) literally means "[is] about to remove," while the interjection הִנֵּה (hi.Neh) translates to "behold," together signaling an imminent, decisive withdrawal of provision.
The thread — The theme of God removing sustenance appears in Leviticus 26:26 as a covenant consequence and in Ezekiel 4:16 as a prophetic sign, while Isaiah 1:24 addresses divine vengeance against foes rather than food deprivation.
Why it lands — The text states that national survival hinges on divine provision, requiring readers to confront the fragility of human systems when foundational support is withdrawn.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,
Cross-references
- Leviticus 26:26 When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
- Isaiah 1:24 Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will be relieved of My foes and avenge Myself on My enemies.
- Ezekiel 4:16 Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure.
- Ezekiel 14:13 “Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast,
- Psalms 105:16 He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
- Isaiah 2:22 Put no more trust in man, who has only the breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
- Isaiah 5:13 Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst.
- Isaiah 36:12 But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to you and your master, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”
- Isaiah 51:22 Thus says your Lord, the LORD, even your God, who defends His people: “See, I have removed from your hand the cup of staggering. From that goblet, the cup of My fury, you will never drink again.
- Jeremiah 37:21 So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.