Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 3:21

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 3:21. Nose-jewels - "The jewels of the nostril."] נזמי האף nizmey haaph. Schroederus explains this, as many others do, of jewels, or strings of pearl hanging from the forehead, and reaching to the upper part of the nose; than which nothing can be more ridiculous, as such are seldom seen on an Asiatic face. But it appears from many passages of Holy Scripture that the phrase is to be literally and properly understood of nose-jewels, rings set with jewels hanging from the nostrils, as ear-rings from the ears, by holes bored to receive them.

Ezekiel, enumerating the common ornaments of women of the first rank, has not omitted this particular, and is to be understood in the same manner, Ezekiel 16:11-12. See also Genesis 24:47: -

"And I decked thee with ornaments;

And I put bracelets upon thine hands,

And a chain on thy neck:

And I put a jewel on thy nose,

And ear-rings on thine ears,

And a splendid crown upon thine head."

And in an elegant proverb of Solomon, Proverbs 11:22, there is a manifest allusion to this kind of ornament, which shows it to have been used in his time: -

"As a jewel of gold in the snout of a swine;

So is a woman beautiful, but wanting discretion."

This fashion, however strange it may appear to us, was formerly and is still common in many parts of the East, among women of all ranks. Paul Lucas, speaking of a village or clan of wandering people, a little on this side of the Euphrates, says, (2d Voyage du Levant, tom. i., art. 24,) "The women, almost all of them, travel on foot; I saw none handsome among them. They have almost all of them the nose bored; and wear in it a great ring, which makes them still more deformed." But in regard to this custom, better authority cannot be produced than that of Pietro della Valle, in the account which he gives of the lady before mentioned, Signora Maani Gioerida, his own wife. The description of her dress, as to the ornamental parts of it, with which he introduces the mention of this particular, will give us some notion of the taste of the Eastern ladies for finery. "The ornaments of gold and of jewels for the head, for the neck, for the arms, for the legs, and for the feet (for they wear rings even on their toes) are indeed, unlike those of the Turks, carried to great excess, but not of great value: for in Bagdad jewels of high price are either not to be had, or are not used; and they wear such only as are of little value, as turquoises, small rubies, emeralds, carbuncles, garnets, pearls, and the like. My spouse dresses herself with all of them according to their fashion; with exception, however, of certain ugly rings of very large size, set with jewels, which, in truth, very absurdly, it is the custom to wear fastened to one of their nostrils, like buffaloes: an ancient custom, however, in the East, which, as we find in the Holy Scriptures, prevailed among the Hebrew ladies even in the time of Solomon, Proverbs 11:22. These nose-rings, in complaisance to me, she has left off, but I have not yet been able to prevail with her cousin and her sisters to do the same; so fond are they of an old custom, be it ever so absurd, who have been long habituated to it." Viaggi, Tom. i., Let. 17.

It is the left nostril that is bored and ornamented with rings and jewels. More than one hundred drawings from life of Eastern ladies lie now before me, and scarcely one is without the nose-jewel: both the arms and wrists are covered with bracelets, arm-circles, c., as also their legs and feet the soles of their feet and palms of their hands coloured beautifully red with henna, and their hair plaited and ornamented superbly. These beautiful drawings are a fine comment on this chapter.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Ungodly society (3:1-4:1)

Isaiah now gives a picture of the end of a society characterized by human self-sufficiency and self-centredness. The government collapses, resulting in a shortage of basic necessities such as food and water. Judah had previously depended for leadership on a variety of people, good and bad - statesmen, soldiers, judges, prophets, magicians - but now no one can be found to lead the country (3:1-3). Power falls into the hands of immature youths, and lawlessness results. People show no respect for former social values, but seize every opportunity to advance themselves and exploit their fellows (4-5).
In a time when food and clothing are so scarce, anyone who appears a little better off than others will be invited to take over the leadership in an effort to restore order in the chaotic city. But he will quickly make excuses and refuse the invitation, for no one will want to be leader in such a troubled time (6-7).
The people arrogantly declare themselves to be independent of God. They boast of their new-found moral freedom and are proud of their immoral acts (8-9). All the wrongdoers will suffer a fitting punishment, but the righteous will escape (10-11). The nation is almost without leadership, because the former leaders have either fled or been overthrown. Their corruption is the reason for the present crisis. They used their positions entirely for their own benefit, and now the nation has come to ruin (12-15).
These leaders oppressed and robbed the poor so that their wives could dress themselves lavishly. But women who once enjoyed the luxury of the upper classes now suffer humiliation (16-17). Their extravagance is replaced by poverty, their vanity by shame (18-24). They once tried to tempt men with their artificial beauty, but now they will find themselves begging men to marry them, so that they will not be left childless. So many men will be killed in battle that there will not be enough husbands for all the women (25-4:1).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, and the cauls, and the crescents; the pendants, and the bracelets, and the mufflers; the headtires, and the ankle chains, and the sashes, and the perfume-boxes, and the amulets; the rings, and the nose-jewels; the festival robes, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the satchels; the hand-mirrors, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the veils."

"These twenty-one items of finery make a little kingdom of their own, enough to occupy the whole mind, and utterly vulnerable."Derek Kidner. op. cit., p. 593. What a catalogue of feminine vanity is represented by a list like this! It carries a reminder of the court of Louis XIV. "Although these particular trivialities may seem remote, all generations of both sexes have their own solemn absurdities which can be all-absorbing."Ibid.

The meaning of some of the items treasured by these sophisticated females of Jerusalem is not always certain. The ankle-chains were worn to limit the gracious ladies to short mincing steps. The crescents were ornaments identified with the Midianites and were probably connected with some kind of idolatry. The nose-jewels were of the type worn through the cartilage separating the nostrils as seen in certain African tribes. Veils have always constituted a necessary part of female attire in the Mid-east. The festival garments were the grand costumes worn on designated occasions. Hand-mirrors were made of highly polished metal, usually of brass; and were adorned with an attractive handle. Lowth tells us that the item given in our version (Isaiah 3:23) as "fine linen" is actually "a transparent garment, designed to `betray through its clear texture every tender limb, heightening the charms it only seemed to shade.'"Robert Lowth, Isaiah (London: Thomas Tegg and Son, 1837) p. 165. If we knew the full meaning and utility of all these items so treasured by those women called by Peake, "Those West End Ladies," it is likely we should find other aids and encouragements to immorality prevalent in that era.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The rings - Usually worn on the fingers.

And nose-jewels - The custom of wearing jewels in the “nose” has generally prevailed in savage tribes, and was common, and is still, in Eastern nations - among the Arabians, Persians, etc. Sir John Chardin says, ‘It is the custom in almost all the East for the women to wear rings in their noses, in the left nostril, which is bored low down in the middle. These rings are of gold, and have commonly two pearls and one ruby between, placed in the ring. I never saw a girl or young woman in Arabia, or in all Persia, who did not wear a ring in this manner in her nostrils.’ - Harmer’s “Obs.,” iv., p. 318. The picture in the book illustrates the usual form of this ornament in the East.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 3

For, behold, 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, the mighty men, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and the babes shall rule over them ( Isaiah 3:1-4 ).

And so God is speaking now, it would seem, of more of a near, local kind of a situation rather than the long-term that He had spoken of in chapter 2.

And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable. When 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: In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be a healer; for in my house is nether bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler over the people. 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. The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, and hide it not ( Isaiah 3:5-9 ).

They have the same kind of open, flagrant demonstration of their sin as did Sodom. They don't seek to hide it, but they become very brazen in their desire for recognition.

Woe to their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. Say to the righteous ( Isaiah 3:9-10 ),

This is to comfort the righteous with all the devastation that is to come.

Say to the righteous that it shall be well with him ( Isaiah 3:10 ):

It is going to be well with you. When God shakes the earth, it is going to be well with you.

for they shall eat the fruit of their own labors. But woe unto the wicked! it will be ill with him: for the reward of his hands will be given him. As for my people, children are their oppressors, women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths ( Isaiah 3:10-12 ).

God is talking about the corrupted government at that time. Sounds sort of familiar.

The LORD stands up to plead, and stands to judge the people. 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. What mean ye that you beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts. Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and they walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: 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. 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, the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, the rings, and nose jewels, the changeable suits of apparel, and all of the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the glasses, the fine linen, the hoods, the veils. And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be a stink; and instead of a girdle a tear; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground ( Isaiah 3:13-26 ).

And here God is describing the judgment that is to come upon Judah and Jerusalem for their iniquity. Speaking of the proudness and of the material aspects of their lifestyles. How things are going to be changed because they didn't take God into consideration in their lives. How Judah and Jerusalem were destroyed and ravaged by Babylon. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The Lord proceeded to condemn 21 (seven times three, a full measure) other personal decorations that evidenced pride, many of which were popular in Isaiah’s day and some of which are still popular now. Many of these items originated in cult and in magic rituals. [Note: Watts, p. 46.] Again, these things are not wrong in themselves, but they may assume too much importance in a person’s life.

"It was the prophet’s intention to produce a ludicrous, but yet serious impression, as to the immeasurable luxury which really existed; and in the prophetic address, his design throughout is to bring out the glaring contrast between the titanic, massive, worldly glory, in all its varied forms, and that true, spiritual, and majestically simple glory, whose reality is manifested from within outwards. In fact, the theme of the whole address is the way of universal judgment leading on from the false glory to the true." [Note: Delitzsch, 1:145.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

The rings,.... On their finger, as Aben Ezra observes:

and nose jewels; the same with the jewels on the forehead or nose,

Ezekiel 16:12 not that they hung upon the nose, but were fastened upon the forehead, and hung down to the nose, see Genesis 24:22; an allusion to this is in Proverbs 11:22 though Austin says it was a custom of the women of Mauritania to put jewels in their nose; and which is still kept in Persia, Arabia, and other countries, as travellers affirm.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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 veils.   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.

      The prophet's business was to show all sorts of people what they had contributed to the national guilt and what share they must expect in the national judgments that were coming. Here he reproves and warns the daughters of Zion, tells the ladies of their faults; and Moses, in the law, having denounced God's wrath against the tender and delicate woman (the prophets being a comment upon the law, Deuteronomy 28:56), he here tells them how they shall smart by the calamities that are coming upon them. Observe,

      I. The sin charged upon the daughters of Zion, Isaiah 3:16; Isaiah 3:16. The prophet expressly vouches God's authority for what he said, lest it should be thought it was unbecoming in him to take notice of such things, and should be resented by the ladies: The Lord saith it. "Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, let them know that God takes notice of, and is much displeased with, the folly and vanity of proud women, and his law takes cognizance even of their dress." Two things that here stand indicted for--haughtiness and wantonness, directly contrary to that modesty, shamefacedness, and sobriety, with which women ought to adorn themselves,1 Timothy 2:9. They discovered the disposition of their mind by their gait and gesture, and the lightness of their carriage. They are haughty, for they walk with stretched-forth necks, that they may seem tall, or, as thinking nobody good enough to speak to them or to receive a look or a smile from them. Their eyes are wanton, deceiving (so the word is); with their amorous glances they draw men into their snares. They affect a formal starched way of going, that people may look at them, and admire them, and know they have been at the dancing-school, and have learned the minuet-step. They go mincing, or nicely tripping, not willing to set so much as the sole of their foot to the ground, for tenderness and delicacy. They make a tinkling with their feet, having, as some think, chains, or little bells, upon their shoes, that made a noise: they go as if they were fettered (so some read it), like a horse tramelled, that he may learn to pace. Thus Agag came delicately, 1 Samuel 15:32. Such a nice affected mien is not only a force upon that which is natural, and ridiculous before men, men of sense; but as it is an evidence of a vain mind, it is offensive to God. And two things aggravated it here: 1. That these were the daughters of Zion, the holy mountain, who should have behaved with the gravity that becomes women professing godliness. 2. That it should seem, by the connexion, they were the wives and daughters of the princes who spoiled and oppressed the poor (Isaiah 3:14; Isaiah 3:15) that they might maintain the pride and luxury of their families.

      II. The punishments threatened for this sin; and they answer the sin as face answers to face in a glass, Isaiah 3:17; Isaiah 3:18. 1. They walked with stretched-forth necks, but God will smite with a scab the crown of their head, which shall lower their crests, and make them ashamed to show their heads, being obliged by it to cut off their hair. Note, Loathsome diseases are often sent as the just punishment of pride, and are sometimes the immediate effect of lewdness, the flesh and the body being consumed by it. 2. They cared not what they laid out in furnishing themselves with great variety of fine clothes; but God will reduce them to such poverty and distress that they shall not have clothes sufficient to cover their nakedness, but their uncomeliness shall be exposed through their rags. 3. They were extremely fond and proud of their ornaments; but God will strip them of those ornaments, when their houses shall be plundered, their treasures rifled, and they themselves led into captivity. The prophet here specifies many of the ornaments which they used as particularly as if he had been the keeper of their wardrobe or had attended them in their dressing-room. It is not at all material to enquire what sort of ornaments these respectively were and whether the translations rightly express the original words; perhaps 100 years hence the names of some of the ornaments that are now in use in our own land will be as little understood as some of those here mentioned now are. Fashions alter, and so do the names of them; and yet the mention of them is not in vain, but is designed to expose the folly of the daughters of Zion; for, (1.) Many of these things, we may suppose, were very odd and ridiculous, and, if they had not been in fashion, would have been hooted at. They were fitter to be toys for children to play with than ornaments for grown people to go to Mount Zion in. (2.) Those things that were decent and convenient, as the linen, the hoods, and the veils, needed not be provided in such abundance and variety. It is necessary to have apparel and proper that all should have it according to their rank; but what occasion was there for so many changeable suits of apparel (Isaiah 3:22; Isaiah 3:22), that they might not be seen two days together in the same suit? "They must have (as the homily against excess of apparel speaks) one gown for the day, another for the night--one long, another short--one for the working day, another for the holy-day--one of this colour, another of that colour--one of cloth, another of silk or damask--one dress afore dinner, another after--one of the Spanish fashion, another Turkey--and never content with sufficient." All this, as it is an evidence of pride and vain curiosity, so must needs spend a great deal in gratifying a base lust that ought to be laid out in works of piety and charity; and it is well if poor tenants be not racked, or poor creditors defrauded to support it. (3.) The enumeration of these things intimates what care they were in about them, how much their hearts were upon them, what an exact account they kept of them, how nice and critical they were about them, how insatiable their desire was of them, and how much of their comfort was bound up in them. A maid could forget none of these ornaments, though they were ever so many (Jeremiah 2:32), but they would report them as readily, and talk of them with as much pleasure, as if they had been things of the greatest moment. The prophet did not speak of these things as in themselves sinful (they might lawfully be had and used), but as things which they were proud of and should therefore be deprived of.

      III. They were very nice and curious about their clothes; but God would make those bodies of theirs, which were at such expense to beautify and make easy, a reproach and burden to them (Isaiah 3:24; Isaiah 3:24): Instead of sweet smell (those tablets, or boxes, of perfume, houses of the soul or breath, as they are called, Isaiah 3:20; Isaiah 3:20, margin) there shall be stink, garments grown filthy with being long worn, or from some loathsome disease or plasters for the cure of it. Instead of a rich embroidered girdle used to make the clothes sit tight, there shall be a rent, a rending of the clothes for grief, or old rotten clothes rent into rags. Instead of well-set hair, curiously plaited and powdered, there shall be baldness, the hair being plucked off or shaven, as was usual in times of great affliction (Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah 16:6), or in great servitude, Ezekiel 29:18. Instead of a stomacher, or a scarf or sash, there shall be a girding of sackcloth, in token of deep humiliation; and burning instead of beauty. Those that had a good complexion, and were proud of it, when they are carried into captivity shall be tanned and sun-burnt; and it is observed that the best faces are soonest injured by the weather. From all this let us learn, 1. Not to be nice and curious about our apparel, not to affect that which is gay and costly, nor to be proud of it. 2. Not to be secure in the enjoyment of any of the delights of sense, because we know not how soon we may be stripped of them, nor what straits we may be reduced to.

      IV. They designed by these ornaments to charm the gentlemen, and win their affections (Proverbs 7:16; Proverbs 7:17), but there shall be none to be charmed by them (Isaiah 3:25; Isaiah 3:25): Thy men shall fall by the sword, and the mighty in the war, The fire shall consume them, and then the maidens shall not be given in marriage; as it is, Psalms 78:63. When the sword comes with commission the mighty commonly fall first by it, because they are most forward to venture. And, when Zion's guards are cut off, no marvel that Zion's gates lament and mourn (Isaiah 3:26; Isaiah 3:26), the enemies having made themselves masters of them; and the city itself, being desolate, being emptied or swept, shall sit upon the ground like a disconsolate widow. If sin be harboured with in the walls, lamentation and mourning are near the gates.