Isaiah: God Will Remove Their Supplies and Their Leaders
Isaiah 3:1-5; Deuteronomy 28:23-24; Ezekiel 4:16-17; 2 Kings 24:10-14 - The youth will oppress the people and neighbor will be against neighbor.
“For behold, the Lord God of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah
Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread
And the whole supply of water;
The mighty man and the warrior,
The judge and the prophet,
The diviner and the elder,
The captain of fifty and the honorable man,
The counselor and the expert artisan,
And the skillful enchanter.
And I will make mere lads their princes,
And capricious children will rule over them,
And the people will be oppressed,
Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor;
The youth will storm against the elder
And the inferior against the honorable.”
Isaiah 3:1-5 NASB1995
Chapter 3 of Isaiah has a warning to the people of Jerusalem and Judah - The Lord God of hosts will remove their supplies that sustain them and then the support of their leaders, replacing them with the rule of capricious children, oppression and neighbor turning against neighbor.
The phrase “the Lord God of hosts” has these Hebrew word roots, according to the Blue Letter Bible lexicon:
The Lord: From the masculine noun אָדוֹן ʼâdôwn, aw-done'; or (shortened) אָדֹן ʼâdôn, with the following Biblical usages:
firm, strong, lord, master
lord, master
reference to men
superintendent of household,of affairs
master
king
reference to God
the Lord God
Lord of the whole earth
lords, kings
reference to men
proprietor of hill of Samaria
master
husband
prophet
governor
prince
king
reference to God
Lord of lords (probably = “thy husband, Yahweh”)
my lord, my master
reference to men
master
husband
prophet
prince
king
father
Moses
priest
theophanic angel
captain
general recognition of superiority
reference to God
my Lord,my Lord and my God
Adonai (parallel with Yahweh)
God: From the proper noun יְהֹוָה Yᵉhôvâh, yeh-ho-vaw'; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:—Jehovah, the Lord. Compare H3050, H3069.
Of hosts: From the masculine noun צָבָא tsâbâʼ, tsaw-baw'; or (feminine) צְבָאָה tsᵉbâʼâh, with the following Biblical usages:
that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host
army, host
host (of organised army)
host (of angels)
of sun, moon, and stars
of whole creation
war, warfare, service, go out to war
service
The warning about the withdrawal of supplies was also made in Deuteronomy and Ezekiel, for the people who rebelled against God:
“The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron. The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.”
Deuteronomy 28:23-24 NASB1995
“Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and in horror, because bread and water will be scarce; and they will be appalled with one another and waste away in their iniquity.”
Ezekiel 4:16-17 NASB1995
Besides removing the sources of survival (bread and water), the Lord will remove the mature types of leaders from the people, leaving them in the hands of unstable youth and people considered inferior. This prophecy was initially fulfilled by the actions of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire against the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.”
2 Kings 24:10-14 NASB1995
This passage reminded me of the recent horrors of totalitarian states like communist China and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The youth in these countries were the centerpieces of the uprisings and were responsible for incredible levels of oppression and mass murder.
Here is what an article on the Cultural Revolution in China says (from Wikipedia):
The Cultural Revolution was characterized by violence and chaos across Chinese society. Estimates of the death toll vary, ranging from 1 to 2 million, including the Guangxi Massacre that included cannibalism, as well as massacres in Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Yunnan, and Hunan.[1][2] Red Guards sought to destroy the Four Olds (old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits), which often took the form of destroying historical artifacts and cultural and religious sites. Tens of millions were persecuted, including officials such as Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping and Peng Dehuai; millions were persecuted for being members of the Five Black Categories, with intellectuals and scientists labelled as the Stinking Old Ninth. Schools and universities were closed, and the National College Entrance Examinations were cancelled. Over 10 million youth from urban areas were relocated under the Down to the Countryside Movement.
Other sources I read estimate that the death toll in China from famines in the 1950s and the Great Leap Forward, and from the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, may have exceeded 80 million people.
Here’s a summation of the Khmer Rouge terror, as noted in Wikipedia; many of the most zealous proponents of these ideas were young Cambodians who wanted to enforce a brutal agrarian lifestyle on every single person:
The Khmer Rouge regime was highly autocratic, totalitarian, and repressive. Many deaths resulted from the regime’s social engineeringpolicies and the “Moha Lout Plaoh”, an imitation of China’s Great Leap Forward which had caused the Great Chinese Famine.[32][37][38] The Khmer Rouge’s attempts at agricultural reform through collectivization similarly led to widespread famine, while its insistence on absolute self-sufficiency, including the supply of medicine, led to the death of many thousands from treatable diseases, such as malaria.[39]
The Khmer Rouge regime murdered hundreds of thousands of their perceived political opponents, and their racist emphasis on national purity resulted in the genocide of Cambodian minorities. Its cadres summarily executed and tortured perceived subversive elements, or they killed them during genocidal purges of their own ranks between 1975 and 1979.[40] Ultimately, the Cambodian genocide which took place under the Khmer Rouge regime led to the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million people, around 25% of Cambodia’s population.[41][42][43]
Young people seem to be especially susceptible to witty slogans and ideological brainwashing, something to keep in mind here in 2026 as more and more of the younger people in our country are embracing radical leaders and praising socialist and communist ideas while texting and commenting on their expensive smart phones while sipping a $10 latte. The Lord in all of His infinite wisdom says this will happen throughout history in the last part of this passage in Isaiah, not just to the people of Judah and Jerusalem in the time of Isaiah; these verses are repeated below:
And I will make mere lads their princes,
And capricious children will rule over them,
And the people will be oppressed,
Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor;
The youth will storm against the elder
And the inferior against the honorable.
Let’s look at one commentary for this passage, from Enduring Word:
a. For behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stock and the store: God’s judgment on Judah, at this point, includes taking away their food (stock and the store) and water.
i. Isaiah 3:1 is a good example of the way two Hebrew words may be used, each translated Lord. In this verse, the first time Lord is used, it translates the Hebrew word adonai, which means “master, owner, sovereign.” It is a broad word that can be applied to a human master as well as the Lord GOD, the ultimate Master. The second time LORD is used, and is printed in small capitals, it translates the Hebrew word Yahweh, which is the sacred name of the Triune God. So, it may be that the Hebrew Bible could use the phrase adonai Yahweh, which could be translated into English as Lord LORD, but actually means “Master Yahweh.” That phrase appears more than 300 times in the Old Testament. Most of the time, the phrase is translated Lord GOD in the New King James Version.
ii. The specific phrase here – the Lord, the LORD of hosts – is used more than 15 times in the Old Testament, and often by Isaiah (Isaiah 1:24, 3:1, 3:15, 10:23-24, 10:33, 19:4, 22:5, 22:12, 22:14-15, and 28:22). It emphasizes the majesty and power of God because the idea behind LORD of hosts is that God is “Commander in Chief” of heaven’s armies.
iii. So when it is “The Master of All, Yahweh of Heaven’s Armies” (the Lord, the LORD of hosts) who has taken food and water from Jerusalem and from Judah, they would be wise to repent and get right with Him. “This is also the reason why he calls God the Lord and Jehovah of hosts, that the majesty of God may terrify their drowsy and sluggish minds; for God has no need of titles, but our ignorance and stupidity must be aroused by perceiving his glory.” (Calvin)
b. The mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet: The judgment is worse than just taking away food and water. God also brought judgment on Jerusalem and Judah by depriving them of godly, competent leaders on every level: the mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the diviner and the elder; the captain of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the skillful artisan, and the expert enchanter. Instead of wise, competent leaders, God will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
i. The eventual fulfillment of this prophecy is found in 2 Kings 24:14: Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.
ii. But this principle of God’s judgment endures to this day. One way God may bring judgment on a nation is to curse them with incompetent, ungodly leaders. Often, this is the simplest avenue of judgment: giving people what their wicked hearts desire. This crisis of leadership can happen even in economically prosperous times (Isaiah 2:7 is part of this same prophecy). The terrible effect of this judgment of God, the granting of incompetent and ungodly leaders, may not be immediately seen, but it will be certainly seen, apart from the repentance of a nation and the mercy of God.
c. The people will be oppressed: This comes from the ungodly, incompetent leadership, and there will be a breakdown of order in society (The child will be insolent toward the elder, and the base toward the honorable).
i. “For there is hardly any conduct more offensive, or more fitted to disturb our minds, than when the worst examples of every sort are publicly exhibited by magistrates, while no man utters a syllable against them, but almost all give their approbation.” (Calvin)
I found the principle of God’s judgment that we get the leaders that we deserve to be quite compelling. I was also rebellious in my youth. I looked to science for the answers and walked away from the truth found in God’s Word. My parents were saddened by my rebellion and I was tormented by the Holy Spirit reminding me constantly that I was wrong. We must never put our trust in godless men and idle youth and spend our time worrying about temporary turmoils, but should instead concentrate our minds on the eternal life that is promised through Christ our Lord. We may be exiled in this life because of the whims of others, but we are guaranteed that joy of His presence in the next.
My next devotional examines Isaiah 3:6-9 - They don’t bother to hide their sin.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Thank You for forgiving me for my rebellious ways and for leading me back to Your green pastures. Amen.
Citations and Credits:
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.
Precept Austin was accessed on 08/08/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 3:1-5.
Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. At the link referenced, the bibliography used by David Guzik can be accessed.