Bible Strands
Isaiah 3:5
The people will oppress one another, man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the young will rise up against the old, and the base against the honorable.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers this oracle of impending judgment to Judah, describing the social collapse that will follow God’s removal of stable leadership. The text states that societal bonds will fracture as generations and classes turn violently against one another.
The words — The Hebrew verb נִגַּשׂ (ni.Gas) literally means to press against or oppress, while יִרְהֲבוּ (yir.ha.Vu) denotes acting insolently or arrogantly. These terms frame the coming civil strife as both physical coercion and defiant rebellion against established order.
The thread — This inversion of social order contrasts with Leviticus 19:32’s command to honor the aged and appears alongside the family breakdown in Isaiah 3:6. The pattern of ethical decay also surfaces in Jeremiah 9:3 and Malachi 3:5, where covenant failure produces mutual hostility and broken oaths.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that moral decay precedes political collapse, requiring readers to examine where their own communities tolerate the erosion of respect for authority and age. It calls for immediate accountability before social structures fail.
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
And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 9:3 “They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
- Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Leviticus 19:32 You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.
- 2 Samuel 16:5 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses.
- 2 Kings 2:23 From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
- Job 30:1 “But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs.
- Ecclesiastes 10:5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun—an error that proceeds from the ruler:
- Isaiah 1:4 Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who act corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.
- Isaiah 9:19 By the wrath of the LORD of Hosts the land is scorched, and the people are fuel for the fire. No man even spares his brother.
- Isaiah 11:13 Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and the adversaries of Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will no longer envy Judah, nor will Judah harass Ephraim.