:
1 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, 2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, 3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counseller, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. 4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. 5 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. 6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand: 7 In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people. 8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. 9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. 10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. 12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. 13 The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. 14 The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. 15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the LORD GOD of hosts. 16 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: 17 Therefore the LORD will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. 18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, 19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, 20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, 21 The rings, and nose jewels, 22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, 23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. 24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. 25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. 26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.
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[AD 220] Tertullian on Isaiah 3:1-3
Consider whether what follows in the prophet has not received its fulfillment: “The Lord of hosts has taken away from Judah and from Jerusalem, among other things, both the prophet and the wise craftsman”; that is, his Holy Spirit, who builds the church, which is indeed the temple, and household and city of God.… And so in this manner the law and the prophets were until John, but the dews of divine grace were withdrawn from the nation.

Source: AGAINST MARCION 3.23
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:1
(Chapter 3, Verse 1) For behold, the Lord God of hosts will take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the mighty and strong: all the strength of bread and all the strength of water. Thus far, they think it speaks of judgment. What follows speaks of the coming captivity; some interpret it as referring to the Babylonians, others to the Romans. But it is better, as we have said before, to refer all things to the Lord's passion. For after his death, all grace and gifts were taken away from the Jews, according to what is written in the Gospel: The law and the prophets were until John the Baptist (Matthew 11:13). And there is an order: Because you refused to stop from the man, whose spirit is in his nostrils, who is considered high: but on the contrary, you shed the blood of the righteous, and you devised the worst plan, saying: Let us bind the just, for he is useless to us (Wisdom II, 12); therefore you shall eat the fruit of your inventions. There is nothing strong among the Jews after the Passion of the Lord, nothing powerful: but everything is weak and feeble. And no one can say among them: I can do all things in him who strengthens me (Philippians IV, 13), Christ Jesus our Lord. And because we read 'strong' and 'strong woman' according to the Septuagint; we can apply it to the strong man: Until we all meet the perfect man, in the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). Furthermore, strong women: I want, he says, all of you to present yourself as a chaste virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2). But strength is also found in bread, and strength in water, as food and drink are received. We read that Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days, and did not eat bread or drink water (Exodus 34). Also to be heard is what is said to Adam: In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground from which you were taken (Gen. III, 19). Likewise, what is said by the Savior: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matth. IV, 4). Therefore, the strength of bread will be taken away from them: he who says: I am the living bread, which came down from heaven (John VI, 51). And the power of water, of which the same Lord spoke: Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again. But the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life (John 4:13). We read about such bread in Proverbs: Open your eyes and be filled with bread (Proverbs 20:13). The Jews have bread, but without strength; they have water, but without power. For they read the Scriptures, but do not understand. They hold on to the pages, and they have lost Christ, who is written in the pages (1 Corinthians 3). They are nourished with milk, like infants, and not with solid food. And because they have lost strength and are weak, they eat vegetables. But the solid food of athletes sustains human life and provides strength to the living (Romans 14). Concerning this bread and water, which are taken away from the Jews, another Prophet also testifies, saying: 'Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will send a famine on the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord' (Amos 8:11).

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:2
(Verse 2.) A strong and warrior man, judge and Prophet, and sorcerer, and elder. For the strong, which is only in Hebrew, both the Seventy translated as giant and strong, wanting the same person to be both giant and strong. About the strong it has been said above. But about the giant in a good sense, that is, about the Lord Savior, we read in the eighteenth psalm: He rejoiced as a giant to run his way: his going out is from the highest heaven, and his circuit reaches to the highest of it (Psalm XVIII, 8). But if we read, (Gen. X), we understand that Nimrod, who was a hunter before the Lord, was a giant and the giants (Gen. VI), for whom the flood came upon the earth, are to be understood in the opposite sense. Likewise, we understand the warrior man in the following story, that they were captured and continue to serve until this day, and have not thrown off the yoke of servitude. But they do not even have their own judges, and are subject to Roman judges, so much so that Roman princes judge their own princes who seem to be among the people. But we must also say this, that there is no warrior among them in the law, having the knowledge of judging: but all things are vain and fleeting, and full of foolishness. But concerning the Prophet, that he has ceased to exist among them, there is no doubt. We seek according to the Hebrew, how we should interpret the soothsayer, whom all have interpreted as divine: except for the seventy, who translated it as conjecture. And it must be said that often even through soothsayers future events are predicted, as we read in Balaam's divine oracle, and in the oracles of the five cities of Palestine, Gaza and Ascalon, Gath, and Ekron, and Ashdod, who give advice on how the ark of the Lord should be returned (1 Sam. 6). And the sense is: Both the true and the false will be taken away by the Jews. The elder, also known as the Seventy, understands that he was taken away by the Jews, who knew that elders are chosen based on merit and wisdom, not age, in the holy scriptures. For among the Jews, the elderly have not ceased to exist, as we often see them reaching advanced old age. And according to Theodotion, we read about two elderly presbyters in the beginning of Daniel (Dan. XIII), who endured the hardships of many days. For even Moses is commanded to choose elders whom he knows to be elders (Exod. XVIII). And the apostle Paul, in writing to Timothy, fully explains what kind of elder should be chosen (I Tim. V). Hence it is said in Proverbs: The glory of elders is their gray hair (Prov. XX, 29). What is this gray hair? Without a doubt, it is wisdom, of which it is written: The gray hair of men is their understanding (Sap. IV, 8). And while we read that men lived for nine hundred years and even more, from Adam to Abraham (Genes. XXIV), no one else is called an elder, that is, an old man, before Abraham, who is shown to have lived for far fewer years. And John also writes to children and young men, and even to the elderly, saying, I have written to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning (1 John 2:13). And Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, lost his kingdom because he did not want to listen to the elders (1 Kings 12).

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:3
(Verse 3.) The leader is in charge of fifty. Συνεκδοχικῶς means 'comparatively-speaking' or 'in relation to the whole'. Just as centurions are called who are in charge of a hundred soldiers, and chiliarchs who are in charge of a thousand, whom we call tribunes because they preside over a tribe, so in the Israelite army there were quinquagenarii who were in charge of fifty soldiers. Hence we also call them decanos, who are in charge of ten men. It is not surprising if all the dignity of soldiers is lost among the Jews, since they do not have the power to fight with a sword and carry weapons. But because the number fifty always refers to penance: and the prince of penance, and the head of those who are saved by penance, is Christ: let us briefly explain the mysteries of this number. In Genesis we read, when Abraham spoke to the Lord, that if fifty righteous people are found in a city, the city will be saved. And in Numbers, there are seven weeks, that is, the most famous feast of Pentecost. The Jubilee, which is the year of remission, is woven in cycles of seven weeks, which is forty-nine years, during which trumpets sound and all ancient possessions are restored. This contains the sacrament. Therefore, David writes the fiftieth Psalm about repentance. We also read in the same book of Numbers that when it comes to the spoils and plunder, the fiftieth (or perhaps five hundredth) chapter states that both priests and Levites receive a portion of the spoils, both from the people and from the animals, and the fiftieth chapter states that the Levites, who guard the doors of the tabernacle, also receive a portion. The parable of the two debtors, one who owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty, is also related to this. And so the Apostle, among the Ephesians to whom he had explained all the mysteries, desires to remain until Pentecost, until they are completely converted to the Lord, saying: For there is a great and effective door opened to me, and there are many adversaries. However, the devil also imitates the Israelite army, of which Jethro gave his advice to Moses, to appoint leaders and officers over the people (Exodus 18). Hence, the wicked king (2 Kings 1) sent two officers with very obedient soldiers to capture Elijah, who were consumed by divine fire. But the third officer was saved, who, having turned to prayer, had come to know the sacraments of repentance. And the Jews, unwilling for Him to be the perfect Lord and the fifty-year-old prince, said to Him: You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? (John 8:57) And He, knowing that He is not only the Prince of the repentant, but also of the righteous, answered: Before Abraham was, I am. (Ibid., 58). And that the Lord is the Fifty-Year-Old Prince, we can understand from one feast, about which He says: The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:8). But if it is the Sabbath, and the Kalends. If the Kalends, and the Pascha, that is, the unleavened bread. If the Pascha, and the Jubilee. If the Jubilee, and the Tabernacles. If the Tabernacles, and the Pentecost, which is related to the fiftieth number.

And with an honorable appearance, both as an advisor. They chose one admirable advisor for two reasons, that is, an honorable appearance and an advisor. Among other things, the Lord will also remove this from Judea, so that they have no advisor: but they do everything without advice. And the Greek poets have that praiseworthy and admirable saying: 'First, it is blessed to be able to reason for oneself; second, it is blessed to listen to the wise.' But whoever lacks both, he is useless, both to himself and to all. Hence we also read this in our books: Let there be many friends for you, but let there be only one counselor among a thousand (Eccl. VI, 6). And again: Do everything with counsel (Prov. XIII, 10): and it will give you admirable prudence, a counselor. Also, the decrees of the Senate are called, and the former Roman leaders were called consuls, either from advising the citizens or from governing everything with counsel. And we have in the Church our senate, the assembly of the elders. So if, among other things, Judaea has also lost its elders, how can it have the council, which belongs specifically to the elders?

And a wise architect. For whom the Eagle transferred the most wise of craftsmen, to show that they had many craftsmen once: such as that one was Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur from the tribe of Judah, whom God filled with the spirit of wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, so that he would be the most perfect craftsman in every work, not only in gold and silver, but also in bronze and other things that Moses enumerates, who built the Tabernacle of God (Exod. 31). Therefore, with those architects perishing, all desire for building was transferred to the Church. Hence the apostle Paul says: Like a wise architect, I laid the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10). And Jeremiah was also an architect, who not only uprooted, dug out, and destroyed, but also built (Jeremiah 18). Therefore, the same apostle speaks: We are God's farming, God's building (1 Corinthians 3:9). Our Lord is also called the builder of walls (Ephesians 2). And in the Gospel the son of a carpenter is mentioned, who created all things (Matthew 13). In the book of Kings, we also read that King Solomon sent and brought Hiram of Tyre, the son of a widow, who was from the tribe of Naphtali and had a Tyrian father, a craftsman in bronze. And he went to the king and performed all the works for King Solomon: in which is a type of building the Church, which is not only generated from the tribe of Judah, but also from Naphtali, and has a Tyrian father, who had a widowed mother; because she had lost her previous husband (1 Kings 7). And many more are the sons of the desolate one, more than she who has a husband (Isaiah 54). But also in the book of Chronicles we read about the valley of craftsmen: Saraias begot Joab, the father of the valley of craftsmen; for there were craftsmen there (1 Chronicles 4:14). They are said to dwell in the valley because knowledge did not puff them up, but they followed Jesus in humility and meekness, being able to say with the Apostle: For I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle (1 Corinthians 15:9). And elsewhere: In part we know, and in part we prophesy, and now we see through a glass darkly (I Cor. XIII, 9).

And the wise speaker of mystical speech. For which the Seventy have interpreted as a wise listener; Theodotion, a wise enchanter; Aquila, a wise whisperer; Symmachus, the wise speaker of mystical speech, whom we also followed in this place. It must be said first according to the Seventy; that among other spiritual gifts, a wise listener is also necessary in the Church. For to others is given prophecy: to others discernment of spirits (I Cor. XII, 10). And so, there were established among the people of the Jews certain priestly ranks to discern between prophets and false prophets: that is, to understand who spoke by the spirit of God and who spoke by the contrary spirit. Let us read Jeremiah. But this man, skilled in mystical language (Jeremiah 14), or as Theodotion preferred, an enchanter, seems to me to be learned and well-versed both in the Law and the Prophets, as well as in the Gospel and the Apostles, who can heal each disturbance of the soul with his teaching and restore it to a state of peace: so that the fornicator may receive chastity, the glutton may receive frugality, and the once greedy may give alms. He condemned all the synagogues of the Jews, and he will not be able to find a teacher who teaches sacredness, and who, having despised wealth, teaches that poverty must be followed. Concerning such sorcerers against serpents and asps, that is, against sinners who have forsaken the justice of God, David spoke in the Psalm: Sinners have been estranged from the womb: they have erred from their birth, they have spoken false things. Their fury is according to the likeness of a serpent: like the adder that stops her ears. Which will not hear the voice of the charmers; nor of the enchanter charming wisely (Psalm 67:4-5). Every word of the Apostle against serpents and asps is an incantation, which sinners and heretics do not hear, because they close their ears, so that they may not hear the truth.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:4
(Verse 4.) And I will give their children as princes. If this is said in the person of the Prophet: Behold, for the Lord God of hosts will take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the strong and the mighty: all the strength of bread, and all the strength of water, and the rest: how does the same prophet now speak: I will give their children as princes, and the effeminate shall rule over them? Therefore, according to the prophetic custom, while the Prophet is speaking, suddenly God speaks through the Prophet in his own person, and says: I will give their children as princes: for by taking away those things which I had given before, and by taking away as it were good things in my anger, now on the contrary I will give evil things. He was a soldier, both admirable and wise, a skilled architect and a discerning listener, etc. For these reasons, I will give birth to princes. Those who have lost a priest, whom the previous sermon revealed, just like Abraham who was first called a priest, rightly receive young princes (Genesis VII). Concerning these, we also read in Ecclesiastes: Woe to you, city, whose king is young, and whose princes eat in the morning. Blessed is the land whose king is the son of ingenuous ones (Eccles. X, 16). Such was the young king Rehoboam, son of Solomon, who followed the advice of the young men (3 Kings XII). Not because he was young in age, but in wisdom. Otherwise, it is said that he received a kingdom of forty years or more. On the other hand, Solomon was twelve years old when he assumed power, and because he had wisdom, he was called young. For there was in him a breadth of heart, and a vastness of wisdom as great as the sand on the shores of the sea. Hence the Apostle writes to Timothy, Let no one despise your youth (I Tim. IV, 12). For whoever is young in age, is old in maturity. And Daniel, according to Theodotion, before he became a judge, was called a boy (Dan. XIII). But after God stirred his spirit and he judged the elders, he received the dignity of the presbytery. Jeremiah, who had said to the Lord, 'You are my master, O Lord,' the Lord replied, 'Do not say, "I am only a youth"; for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.' (Jeremiah 1:6-8) For this reason, I believe that young widows should marry, bear children, and manage their households, so as to give the opponent no occasion for slander. (1 Timothy 5) And when they have become self-indulgent in Christ, they want to marry, thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their first faith. And a widow is not supported by the Church's provisions unless she is sixty years old and has both the maturity of character and age. Someone may think that what the Apostle prohibits (1 Timothy 3), that a bishop should not be a neophyte, pertains to this, because he is a little one in faith, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the judgment of the devil. But the judgment of the devil is nothing else but pride, because of which he fell from heavenly things. Hence the Savior speaks, 'I saw Satan, like lightning falling from heaven' (Luke 10:18).

And they will be ruled by effeminate men. Concerning this, it is written in Hebrew, 'Thalulim' (which the Septuagint and Theodotion interpret as mockers), Aquila translates as those who change and practice sexual immorality. Such as we read in the Book of Judges about the Levite's concubine in Gibeah (Judges 19). Let us consider the Patriarchs of the Jews, and we will see that the prophecy is fulfilled with young men or boys who are effeminate and indulge in luxuries. We can call them deceivers and teachers of the people of Israel, who devour the people of God like bread, and interpret the holy Scriptures perversely, and they mock the foolishness of the disciples.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:5
(Verse 5.) And the people will fall, man against man, each one against his neighbor: the young will rise up against the old, and the lowly against the noble. When the young become leaders and mockers of the Lord, as the prophetic word describes, then no order of dignity, age, or knowledge will be preserved; but the young will rebel against the elderly, and the lowly against the noble, and they will fall together. And that Apostolic saying will be fulfilled: biting each other, you have been consumed by each other (Galatians 5:15). Josephus writes in Book 5 of The Jewish War that these events happened to the people of Judaea under Titus, son of Vespasian: that when they were being besieged by the Romans, there was a division of the city into three parts due to the rebellion. Some held the citadel and the Temple, others held the lower part of the city, and others held the upper part.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:6
(Verse 6) For a man shall seize his brother, the kinsman of his father. The garment is yours, be our prince; but this ruin is under your control. Regarding ruin, Symmachus and Theodotio transferred infirmity, 70 food items. But it signifies a scarcity of people, and the most serious shortage of all, so that whoever has food and clothing is considered powerful, wealthy, and famous. And when he says according to the Hebrew: But this ruin is under your control, it has this meaning: Our misery and calamity will be sustained and protected by your assistance. And it must be considered that individuals should choose their own leaders, and there may be conflict in the election of leaders, as some consider others worthy of leadership. And they do not say to them, your possessions, and wealth, and income will sustain us, but this weakness, or my food, will be healed by your support and will depend on your decision.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:7
(Verse 7) And he shall answer in that day, saying, I am not a physician, and in my house there is no bread nor clothing; do not make me the ruler of the people. For physician, Symmachus and the Septuagint translated principem as Theodotio, ἐπιδεσμεύοντα, who binds wounds and provides for health. He shall answer, in Hebrew it is not found, but it is added from the Septuagint. In Hebrew, for it is joined with the things that are written above: In that day he shall say, I am not a physician, and so on. But he will say, who has been elected as leader. And just as the people who understand him, whom they consider wealthier than themselves, desire to have him as their ruler, so the one who is chosen, considering his poverty and weakness, declares himself unworthy of the bestowed honor, and unable to remedy the flaws, that is, to care for the sick, to provide food for the hungry, to clothe the naked, when he himself can barely sustain himself. Therefore, let us not immediately acquiesce to the judgement of the multitude, but let us know our own measure when elected to leadership, and let us humble ourselves under the powerful hand of God: because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5). Those who have no bread and clothing, when they themselves are hungry and naked, and have no spiritual food, nor have preserved the complete tunic of Christ, promise others both food and clothing, and boast of being physicians when they are full of wounds; nor do they observe that commandment of Moses: Provide another whom you may send: and that other commandment: Seek not to be a judge, lest perhaps you may not be able to take away iniquities (Eccl. VII, 6). Only Jesus heals all weaknesses and infirmities, of whom it is written: Who heals the broken of heart, and binds up their bruises (Ps. CXLVI. 3).

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:8-9
(Verses 8, 9.) For Jerusalem has fallen, and Judah has collapsed: because their tongue and their inventions are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of His majesty. The recognition of their faces testifies against them, and they declare their sin like Sodom, and do not hide it. The Prophet speaks of this, not as many suppose, that he who was the chosen leader spoke. And he says that for this reason no one wants to rule over a sinful people, because both Judah and Jerusalem, and the city, and the province of Judaea, or the tribe of Judah have fallen together. And they gave reasons for their impiety, because they blasphemed against the Lord and said: 'Take him away, take him away, crucify him, for we have no king but Caesar' (John 19:15, 16): and with the fury of their tongue, they provoked the most merciful Lord to bitterness. The recognition of their faces will answer to them: that is, they have received their sins, or as the Septuagint translated: the confusion of their faces opposed them: that is, they always had their own sins before their eyes. And just as the Sodomites, sinning with all freedom and not having any shame in their wickedness, said to Lot: 'Bring out the men so that we may have relations with them' (Gen. XIX, 5); so too these, proclaiming openly, have preached their own sin and have had no shame in blaspheming. For the second plank after shipwreck is consolation in miseries, to hide their own impiety. Hence they are called the rulers of the Sodomites, because they had Sodomite sins.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 165] Justin Martyr on Isaiah 3:9-10
The climax of your sin is that you hate the righteous one whom you killed, as well as those who by his grace are godly, righteous and loving. It is for this reason that the Lord said, “Woe to their soul, because they have taken evil counsel against themselves, saying, ‘Let us take away the just one, for he is distasteful to us.’ ” Although you did not offer a sacrifice to Baal, like your ancestors, and did not offer cakes in groves and on hills to the heavenly army, you did not accept the Lord’s Christ. Whoever does not know Christ does not know the will of God. Whoever rejects and hates him obviously rejects and hates the one who sent him. Whoever does not have faith in him does not believe the words of the prophets who preached his good news and proclaimed him to all people.

Source: Dialogue with Trypho 136
[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Isaiah 3:9-10
Immediately following, the prophet himself explains why he called them rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah: “Your hands are full of blood.” Again a little later he says, “They have proclaimed their sin as Sodom and made it manifest. Woe to their souls, because they have taken evil counsel with themselves, saying, ‘We will bind the just one, for he is a burden to us.’ ” Since he overtly speaks of blood and a plot against a just man, there is nothing else this could be than the plot against our Savior Jesus Christ.

Source: PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 2:3
[AD 373] Athanasius of Alexandria on Isaiah 3:9-10
Those who look upon their dispersion and the desolation of their city may not aptly say, “Woe to them, for they have imagined an evil imagination, saying against their own soul, let us bind the righteous man, because he is not pleasing to us.” It is so true, for when they erred concerning the Scriptures, they did not know that “the one who digs a pit for his neighbor falls in it; and a serpent will bite the one who destroys a hedge.”

Source: Letter 11.5
[AD 386] Cyril of Jerusalem on Isaiah 3:9-10
They bound Jesus and led him to the meeting place of the high priest. Can you recognize that this was already written? Isaiah says, “Woe to their souls because they have taken evil counsel against themselves, saying, ‘Let us bind the just one, for he is troublesome to us.’ ” Woe to their souls indeed! Let us see why. Isaiah was sawn in two, but afterwards the people were restored. Jeremiah was thrown into the dungeon, but the Jews had their wound healed. In these instances the sin was against a man, and therefore less. However, when they sinned not against a man but against God become human, then woe to their souls!

Source: Catechetical Lecture 13:12
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Isaiah 3:9-10
It is the tribes, then, that are meant by the names of the patriarchs. From the tribe of Simeon come the scribes, from that of Levi the chief priests, who brought their wickedness to completion and filled up the entire measure of their fathers’ ungodliness in the passion of the Lord. They took counsel against the Lord Jesus, to kill him, even as Isaiah says, “Alas for their souls! Because they have devised an evil counsel against themselves, saying. ‘Let us bind the just one, for he is profitless to us.’ ” They killed the prophets and apostles who announced the coming of the Lord of salvation and preached his glorious passion and resurrection. Thereafter, in their greed and out of their desire for earthly wickedness, they fled from sharing in the divine, from chastity of body and moderation of spirit, contempt for money and profit in grace.

Source: ON THE PATRIARCHS 3:13
[AD 411] Tyrannius Rufinus on Isaiah 3:9-10
For he [Jesus] had done so many good works among them. He had given sight to the blind, feet to the lame, the power of walking to the palsied, life also to the dead; for all these good works they paid him death as his price, appraised at thirty pieces of silver. It is related also in the Gospels that he was bound. This also the word of prophecy had foretold by Isaiah, saying, “Woe to their soul, who have devised a most evil device against themselves, saying, ‘Let us bind the just one, seeing that he is unprofitable to us.’ ”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOSTLES’ CREED 20
[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Isaiah 3:9-10
Again, they are to be admonished that if they are not afraid of being wicked; they should at least be ashamed of being seen for what they are. Often a sin that is concealed is avoided, because a mind that is ashamed to be taken for what it does not fear to be in fact is sometimes ashamed to be in fact what it avoids appearing to be. On the other hand, when a person is shamelessly and notoriously wicked, then, the more freely he commits every kind of evil, the more he thinks it lawful, and in imagining it lawful, he is thereby without doubt immersed in it all the more. Therefore, it is written, “They have proclaimed abroad their sin as Sodom, and they have not hid it.” For if Sodom had concealed its sin, it would still have sinned, but in fear. But it had completely lost the curb of fear, in that it did not seek even darkness in its sinning. Therefore, it is said again, “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied.” For sin in words is sin in act, but sin that is cried out is sin committed with deliberation.

Source: PASTORAL CARE 3:31
[AD 180] Hegesippus on Isaiah 3:10
The aforesaid Scribes and Pharisees therefore placed James upon the pinnacle of the temple, and cried out to him and said: 'You just one, in whom we ought all to have confidence, forasmuch as the people are led astray after Jesus, the crucified one, declare to us, what is the gate of Jesus.'

And he answered with a loud voice, 'Why do you ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man? He himself sits in heaven at the right hand of the great Power, and is about to come upon the clouds of heaven.'

And when many were fully convinced and gloried in the testimony of James, and said, 'Hosanna to the Son of David,' these same Scribes and Pharisees said again to one another, 'We have done badly in supplying such testimony to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, in order that they may be afraid to believe him.'

And they cried out, saying, 'Oh! Oh! The just man is also in error.' And they fulfilled the Scripture written in Isaiah, 'Let us take away the just man, because he is troublesome to us: therefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings.' [Isaiah 3:10 LXX]

So they went up and threw down the just man, and said to each other, 'Let us stone James the Just.' And they began to stone him, for he was not killed by the fall; but he turned and knelt down and said, 'I entreat you, Lord God our Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' [Luke 23:34]

Source: Memoirs (Book V), as quoted in Church History (Book II), Chapter 23, Sections 13-15
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:10-11
(Verses 10, 11.) Woe to their souls, for evil has been repaid to them. Speak to the righteous, for they are well, for they have eaten the fruit of their inventions. Woe to the wicked for evil, for the retribution of his hands will be upon him. According to the Hebrew and other interpreters, this is the meaning: Woe to them because they have received their own wickedness. Therefore, you who hear or read the book of the Prophet, praise the righteousness of God, for he has done good, for the wicked have consumed the labors of their hands. And woe to the impious people for evil has befallen them: for they have received what they deserve. And he who delivered his ruler to Roman authority, he himself is subject to Roman servitude. According to the Septuagint interpreters who said: Woe to their soul: for they have devised a wicked plan against themselves, saying: Let us bind the just, for he is useless to us: therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own works, clearly refers to the passion of Christ, that they have devised a wicked plan, not so much against the just, as against themselves and their own soul: and now they shall eat the fruit of their own works. For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Gal. VI, 5-8), and each one will bear his own burden.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 258] Cyprian on Isaiah 3:12
But now, what wounds can the conquered show, what injuries to gaping vitals, what tortures of the limbs, when faith did not fail in combat but perfidy arrived before the combat? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the one who was caught, where the crime is of the will. I do not say this to burden the cases of the brothers but rather to stimulate the brothers to prayers of satisfaction. For since it is written, “They that call you blessed send you into error and destroy the way of your steps,” one who consoles the sinner with flattering blandishments furnishes the means for sinning and does not check transgressions but nourishes them. But one who rebukes at the same time that he instructs with firmer counsels urges a brother on to salvation.

Source: Treatise III. On the Lapsed 14
[AD 258] Cyprian on Isaiah 3:12
Isaiah also, filled with the Holy Spirit, cries out and chides the daughters of Zion who have been defiled by gold and raiment, and he reproves those who have an abundance of harmful riches and withdraw from God for the sake of the pleasures of time.… This, God blames; this, he brands with reproach. By this he declares that they have been defiled; by this they have departed from the true adornment and have merited disgrace and shame. Having put on silk and purple, they cannot put on Christ; adorned with gold and pearls and necklaces, they have lost the adornments of the heart and soul. Who would not detest and shun what has caused another’s ruin? Who would seek and take what has served as a sword and weapon for the death of another? If, on draining the cup, he who had taken the potion should die, you would know that what he drank was poison; if, after taking food, he who had taken it should perish, you would know that what could kill, when taken, was deadly. Seeing this you would not eat nor would you drink from that which had been used by those who died. Now what ignorance of the truth it is, what madness of mind to wish for what has always been and still is harmful, and to think that you yourself will not perish from the same causes from which you know that others have perished!

Source: Treatise II. On the Dress of Virgins 13
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:12
Let us hearken to God, as he proclaims through Isaiah: “O my people, they that call you blessed lead you astray, throw you down headlong.” Who is more guilty of throwing the people of God down headlong? He who relies on the power of the free will and scorns the help of the Creator and is secure in his own will, or he who fears the judgment of God at every thought of his precepts?

Source: Against the Pelagians 2.24
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:12
The Lord speaks by the mouth of Isaiah, saying, “O my people, they who call you happy cause you to err and destroy the way of your paths.” How do you help me by telling my misdeeds to others? You may, without my knowing of it, hurt someone else by telling of my sins (or rather of those sins you slanderously attribute to me). While you are eager to spread the news everywhere, you may pretend to confide in individual people, giving them the impression that you have not talked to anyone else. This behavior is not intended to correct me but to indulge your own failings. The Lord commands that those who sin against us are to be approached privately or in the presence of a witness. If the one who is confronted continues in sin, then he or she is to be regarded as a heathen and a publican.

Source: LETTER 125.19
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:12
(Verse 12.) My people have been plundered by their own exactors, and women have been dominated by them. Concerning the women, whom Symmachus alone has interpreted, they are called Nasim () in Hebrew: Aquila and the LXX translated it as ἀπαιτοῦντας, which means exactors; Theodotion translated it as δανειστὰς, which means moneylenders. The prophetic discourse is speaking against the Scribes and Pharisees, who, for the sake of shameful gain, denied the Son of God in order to receive tithes and firstfruits. And he does not call them teachers, scribes, and doctors, but tax collectors (Luke 20), who think that making a profit is piety: and they devour, not only the houses of widows, contrary to the Apostle, but the entire population; and accusing their extravagance and shameful conduct, he calls them not only tax collectors, as if they were demanding money from the unwilling; but also women: because they do everything for the sake of pleasure, and are devoted to indulgence. Therefore, let us be careful that we do not become extortioners among the people; that our senate does not resemble the impious Porphyry ruling over matrons and women in the churches, and that favoritism towards women does not judge the priestly order.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Isaiah 3:12
Those who are zealous in the service of God, however, do not get a reward of praise, nor indeed do those who are concerned about the laws of God look for this return. For praise is often known to injure many, since it makes them less attuned and slows their pace. If a person thinks he has reached the goal of his endeavor—and praise gives him to understand that he has—he stops his race and victory eludes him. This was revealed by the God of the universe, speaking through the prophet: “My people, they that call you blessed, the same deceive you and destroy the way of your steps.” For praise slackens the intensity of their zeal and prevents them from reaching the goal.

Source: ON DIVINE PROVIDENCE 9:9
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:13-14
(Ver. 13, 14.) The Lord stands to judge: and he stands to judge the people. The Lord will come to judgment with the elders of his people, and with his princes. The people, who were deceived because of their simplicity and lack of knowledge, are still called the people of God: and therefore they are judged, that they may be saved. The Lord does not sit in the attire of a judge, as we read in Daniel: Thrones were set up, and books were opened (Dan. VII, 9): but he stands to judge, and he stands to judge the people, desiring them to stand, whose way had been scattered. But against the leaders and elders of his own people he comes to judgment, not to judge, but to be judged equally, granting them a place of defense if they are able to have a response, according to what is said in the fiftieth psalm: That you may be justified in your words and prevail when you are judged (Verse 6). In the prophet Micah also, we read something similar (Chapter 6), which we have interpreted in its proper place. Therefore, this passage is understood to be directed against the Pharisees and the Second Law scholars. But I think that this existed among the old people between the elders and the leaders, which now exists between the priests and the bishops.

For you have devoured my vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses. Why do you crush my people, and grind the faces of the poor? Thus did the LXX interpret, confuse. He keeps the prophetic custom, to suddenly change faces. For the Lord himself had said: My people, those who bless you deceive you. And later the Prophet added: The Lord stands to judge; the Lord will come to judge. Therefore, after the prophet, the Lord himself, who had come for judgment with the elders of his people and its princes, speaks to them and rebukes the wrongdoers: Why are you grazing my vineyard? about which it is written: You have transplanted a vineyard from Egypt (Ps. LXXIX, 9). And in this same prophet: The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel (Isai. V, 7). The Lord also placed this vineyard in the Gospel in the hands of wicked farmers who killed the son of the householder that was sent to them (Matthew XXVIII). He says: Robbery of the poor in your houses. Receive the poor or the needy simply, who is in need of alms; or certainly the poor in spirit, of whom it is written: Blessed is he who understands the poor and the needy (Ps. 40:1). And the Apostle Paul: Only, he says, that we should be mindful of the poor (Gal. 2:10). And what follows: Why do you trample on my people and crush the faces of the poor, or confuse them, it is clearly said to the leaders of the Jews. But it can also be referred to our leaders, if they crush the subjected plebs, and publicly accuse and embarrass the poor delinquents, but do not dare to even touch the wealthier sinners. And the plunder of the poor is in their own homes, when they fill their treasuries, and they misuse the resources of the Church for their pleasure, and they either keep for themselves or distribute to their relatives the public funds that were given for the support of the poor, thus making the poverty of others their own wealth.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:13
(Verse 13) My people, who call you blessed, themselves deceive you, and they scatter or disturb the path of your steps. He had called the scribes and Pharisees tax collectors, not teachers; and above them, the mockers, who, because of gifts that blind even the wise, not only did not correct sinners in the people, but praised them for their wealth and gain: calling them blessed, and pillars of the house of God, and other things that flatterers usually say. He is therefore the Ecclesiastical doctor who provokes tears, not laughter, who rebukes sinners, who says that no one is blessed, no one is happy: nor does he preempt the judgment of his own sentence, as the Holy Scripture says (Eccl. II, 30): Do not call any man blessed before his death. But also in another place we read (Prov. XXVII, 14): He who blesses his friend loudly in the morning is no different from a slanderer. Therefore, despising the judgments of men, let us not boast in their praises, nor be saddened by their criticisms: but let us enter the right way, and the well-trodden paths of the holy prophets: let us hear Jeremiah the prophet saying: Stand in the ways, and see: and ask for the eternal paths of the Lord, which is the good way: and walk in it (Jer. VI, 16). But if at any time we have wandered and, like perverse men, have proceeded along a wrong path, let us await the promises of the Lord through Ezekiel, saying: I will give them another way, and a different heart (Ezek. 36). However, the corruptors and disturbers have perverted the way of the Lord, so that, having the key of knowledge, neither did they enter themselves, nor did they allow the people to enter; but they caused them to lose the way of truth, which speaks in the Gospel: I am the way, and the life, and the truth (John XIV, 6).

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 411] Tyrannius Rufinus on Isaiah 3:14
But, says someone, “Are these things to be understood of the Lord? Could the Lord be held prisoner by men and dragged to judgment?” Of this also the same prophet shall convince you. For he says, “The Lord himself shall come into judgment with the elders and princes of the people.” The Lord is judged then according to the prophet’s testimony, and not only judged but scourged and slapped on the face with the palms [of men’s hands], and spit on, and suffers every insult and indignity for our sake. And because all who should hear these things preached by the apostles would be perfectly amazed, therefore also the prophet speaking in their person exclaims, “Lord, who has believed our report?” For it is incredible that God, the Son of God, should be spoken of and preached as having suffered these things. For this reason they are foretold by the prophets, lest any doubt should spring up in those who are about to believe.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE APOSTLES’ CREED 21
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Isaiah 3:14
Therefore, coming with all angels, together with him he shall have the saints also. For plainly says Isaiah also, “He shall come to judgment with the elders of the people.” Those “elders of the people,” then, those called “angels” in this passage, those thousands of many people made perfect coming from the whole world, are called “heaven.”

Source: EXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 50 (49).11
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Isaiah 3:14
For not alone he shall come to judgment but with the elders of his people, to whom he has promised that they shall sit upon thrones to judge, who even shall judge angels. These are the clouds Isaiah is speaking of.

Source: EXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 68 (67).39
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:15
(Verse 15.) And the Lord said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet, the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; the signet rings and nose rings; the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils. Instead of perfume there will be rottenness; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty. Some believe that the daughters of Zion are truly Jewish women, while others think they are metaphorically referring to the cities of Judea, namely the smaller cities, towns, and villages. This is why in the book of Joshua, the names of the cities are listed according to each tribe, and later on, the villages and castles are described and called daughters. According to another interpretation, women are believed to represent souls. If these souls walk with outstretched necks and conduct themselves in a proud manner, abandoning the strong and masculine virtues and instead adopting the weaknesses of women, they are criticized and lose all the virtues they possessed, which are described as moon-shaped pendants, necklaces, rings, bracelets, headdresses, and other similar adornments. This testimony must be used against the women of the Church who walk with their neck extended, and speak with the gestures of their eyes, and applaud with both hands and feet, and walk with a composed gait, not following the guidance of nature, but buying their teachers from actors.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:16
(Verse 16) The Lord will make bare the top of the daughters of Zion, and will uncover their hair, and shame will be their adornment. This will also happen to us whose sins are hidden, when that which is written is fulfilled: Nothing hidden that will not be revealed (Luke 8:17). For as long as we are protected by hair and the garment of ignorance, people think of us as whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23), but inside we are full of dead bones, and we appear to have some cleanliness. But when what is hidden is revealed, all the hair will be removed, and ugly baldness will be seen by all.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:17
(Verse 17) On that day the Lord will take away the ornament of the shoes. On which day? The Jews believe it to be the captivity of Babylon. We are more convinced that it is when they were captured by the Romans and lost all their clothing, gems, gold, jewelry, and various furnishings. Or, by the metaphor of women, it is said that all the adornment of cities was destroyed. Understand the ornaments of cities in the streets and porticoes, in the marketplace and gymnasiums, and in public walls. But if we consider this in relation to the state of souls, let us remember that when he is going to eat the flesh of the lamb and celebrate the Passover, his feet are shod, and as we pass through the wilderness, neither clothes nor shoes are consumed. What are these shoes? Those of which the Apostle writes to the Ephesians: Shod your feet in preparation for the Gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15). These are the shoes of souls that are destined to be lost when they walk with their necks extended and drag their clothes with their feet, and instead of the cleanliness of a matron, they sweep the filth of the earth.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:18-21
(Verse 18-21.) And necklaces, and torcs, and pendants, and bracelets, and headbands, and diadems, and girdles, and brooches, and perfume vials, and earrings, and rings and gems hanging from the forehead. It describes the necklaces of women, and through these the insignia of cities: or, according to the anagoge, the various ornaments of virtues. Women have tiny bulla-shaped pendants that resemble the moon, which we transfer to the ornaments of the Church, which is illuminated by the sun of justice. Also, the necklaces that hang down to the chest signify understanding and the principal (ruling) faculty of the mind in the heart. And the necklaces indicate all ornaments in one word: and the good works of the bracelets, which Rebecca received in her marriage (Gen. XXIV): and the miters, the ornaments of the head, to distinguish judgment of each person: and the foot-straps, with which our step is adorned, so that we may hear: Your foot shall not stumble (Ps. XC); and: He shall keep my feet from sliding (Ps. LV); and the little walls, which are woven of gold and silver threads, signify sense and the words of the Scriptures: and the sweet-smelling ointments, so that we may be a good odor of Christ (II Cor. II, 15); and the earrings, so that we may not hear the judgment of blood, but the words of the Lord saying: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke VIII, 18); and the rings, with which we are signed for the Lord's army, which God the Father has signed. Where it is said to the prince of Tyre, 'You are the seal of likeness' (Ezek. 28:12). Also, the prodigal son received a ring, a robe, and jewels hanging on his forehead, which decorate our faces (Luke 15). And concerning the ornament of his head, we also read in the psalm: 'Like precious oil upon the head, which runs down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron' (Ps. 133:1). Although the Septuagint, Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion interpret all of these things in different ways, we have woven together what we could from the Hebrew and their translations, and we do not wish to dwell any longer on each one, lest the explanation be trivial and cause annoyance to the discerning reader.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:22
(Verse 22.) And changes, and cloaks, and coverings. As for 'coverings', the Septuagint translated it as 'clear ethereal garments', signifying the very thin garments with which the bodies of the Spartans, who were very ready for war and had a strict way of life, were covered. Although 'ethereal garments' does not have a Hebrew or any other interpreter. However, 'changes' and 'cloaks', which Symmachus translated more significantly as 'anabolaia', are ornaments of women's clothing that cover the shoulders and chest. The changes according to that anagoge are those of which it is said: They will go from strength to strength (Ps. LXXXIII, 8): and the veils, that we may enjoy the delights of the Lord, as it is written in the Psalms: You will make them drink from the torrent of your pleasure (Ps. XXXV, 9). But all these things have been lost by the daughters of Zion, because they walked with outstretched necks, and with their eyes they flaunted their pride: thinking that what they had was of their own power, and not of the grace of the Lord.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:23
(Verse 23.) And needles, and mirrors, and linen cloths, and ribbons, and shawls. Women have needles, with which the arrangement of their hair is secured so that it does not flow too freely and become scattered. They also have mirrors, with which they contemplate their appearance and add to their adornment if anything is lacking. They have linen cloths, which are called coverings, and ribbons, with which their hair is tied, which are called ταινίας. They also have shawls, which we can call pallia: with which Rebecca herself was covered. And today also the women of Arabia and Mesopotamia cover themselves: they are called Ardishim in Hebrew, and in Greek θέριστρα: because in summer and heat they protect the bodies of women. Therefore the daughters of Zion have lost the needles, with which the rule of all precepts was strung. They have lost the mirrors, which they offered in Exodus while standing at the doors of the tabernacle to make the laver of the Lord (Exod. XXXVIII): about whom the apostle Paul also spoke: But we see now through a mirror in an enigma (I Cor. XIII, 12). They abandoned their cloaks and headbands, with which they covered their shoulders, and they restrained their wandering mind, which flowed here and there: and they sought refuge in a safe shade, with a protective canopy. We mention these things so that we do not seem to completely ignore the allegory of this place. However, it is a great labor to dwell on individual details and seek a broad explanation.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:24
(Verse 24.) And it will be for a sweet smell, a stench; and for a belt, a cord. The one repenting of sins speaks of the stench: My scars have putrefied and become corrupted from the face of my foolishness (Psalm 38:6). The Apostle commanded to gird the loins with a belt, saying: Stand with your loins girded in truth (Ephesians 6:14). And we read about the sinner: Each one is bound by the cords of their own sins (Proverbs 5:22). Therefore, for the good smell of virtues, the daughters of Zion will have the putrefaction of sins; and for the belt of truth, they will be bound by the cords of lies, which they had on their heads when they prayed for life from the king of Syria with rags and filth.


And as for the pectoral band, they translated the cilicium. Concerning the pectoral band, which Symmachus interpreted as a tunic of fine purple, that is, adorned with clavi, they translated it as a girdle of exultation, which Aquila expressed. Theodotion himself used the Hebrew word Phthigil (פתיגיל), which is a type of feminine ornament. The pectoral band covers the chest and occupies the same place in women as the Rationale in the Pontiffs. Regarding this pectoral band, Jeremiah said in a mystical discourse: If the bride can forget her attire, or the virgin her pectoral band, then I will forget you, says the Lord (Jer. II, 32). The Virgin, whom the Apostle wants us to present to Christ (2 Cor. 2), as long as she is not corrupted in Egypt, and her breasts, which are bound with a breastband, are not broken, is joined to her spouse; and even though she daily gives birth to sons of virtue, she never ceases to be a virgin. But if she sometimes spreads her legs to all who pass by, and follows her lovers, and according to the prophecy of Hosea, the Lord will hedge her paths and block her ways, she will return to her former husband, and she will hear: 'Put off the garments of mourning and put on the garments of your glory' (Hosea 2).

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:25
(Verse 25.) Your most beautiful men will fall by the sword, and your strong men in battle. For the most beautiful men, they are interpreted as seventy, and your most beautiful son, whom you love, will fall by the sword. But if we understand about the state of the soul, which after virtues has sinned, let us accept the good works, which have fallen by the enemy sword, as the most beautiful son of his. And strong men also perish in battle, because the righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him on any day he wanders (Ezekiel 33:12). But if we follow the story, we will be taught from these words that the discourse is not about the prophetesses, whose husbands fell in battle, but about the cities of Judah, which he called the daughters of Zion, and whose warriors perished in combat. Finally, the following verse speaks about the same Zion.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah
[AD 420] Jerome on Isaiah 3:26
(Verse 26.) And her gates will mourn and lament, and the city itself, desolate, will sit upon the earth. Which we see with our own eyes until this day. The interpretation according to tropology is easy, that whoever gives a place to the devil and does not keep their heart guarded with all vigilance, let their gates mourn: and in the absence of the bridegroom, let them always be in mourning, and falling from the heights, let them sit in the dust of the earth.

Source: Commentary on Isaiah