Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 3:24

"And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth; branding instead of beauty." — Isaiah 3:24 (ASV)

And it will come to pass — The prophet proceeds to denounce the "judgment" or "punishment" that would come upon them for their pride and vanity. In the calamities that would happen to the nation, all their ornaments of pride and vanity would be stripped off. Instead of them, they would exhibit the marks and wear the badges of calamity and grief.

Instead of sweet smell — Hebrew בשׂם (bôs'em)—aromatics, perfumes, spicy fragrance, such as they used on their garments and persons. Roberts notes, "No one ever enters a company without being well perfumed; and in addition to various scents and oils, they are adorned with numerous garlands, made of the most fragrant flowers."

The persons of the Assyrian ladies were elegantly clothed and scented with the richest oils and perfumes. When a queen was to be chosen for the king of Persia instead of Vashti, the virgins collected at Susa, the capital, underwent a purification of twelve months' duration: namely, "six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odors."

The general use of such precious oil and fragrant perfumes among the ancient Romans, particularly among ladies of rank and fashion, may be inferred from these words of Virgil:

Arabrosiaeque comae divinum vertice odorem spiravere: (Aeneid 1.403).

Paxton notes this means: "From her head the ambrosial locks breathed divine fragrance."

A stink — This word properly means the stench or offensive smell that accompanies the decomposition of a deceased body. It means that the bodies they so carefully adorned, and which they so diligently endeavored to preserve in beauty by ointments and perfumes, would die and turn to corruption.

And instead of a girdle — Girdles were an indispensable part of an Oriental dress. Their garments were loose and flowing, and it became necessary to gird them up when they ran, or danced, or labored.

A rent — There has been a great variety of opinion about the meaning of this word. The most probable meaning is that which is derived from a verb meaning "to go around, encompass;" and hence, that it denotes "a cord." Instead of the beautiful girdle with which they girded themselves, there will be "a cord"—a symbol of poverty, as the poor had nothing else with which to gird up their clothes. This is a humiliating description of the calamities that were to come upon the proud and vain females of the court.

And instead of well-set hair — This refers to hair that was intricately braided and adorned. Roberts notes, "No ladies pay more attention to the dressing of the hair than these (the dancing girls of India), for as they never wear caps, they take great delight in this their natural ornament." Miss Pardoe, in ‘The City of the Sultan,’ says that after taking a bath, the slaves who attended her spent an hour and a half in dressing and adorning her hair (Compare to 1 Peter 3:3).

Instead of a stomacher — It is not certainly known what is meant by this, but it probably means some sort of "girdle," or a plaited or stiffened ornament worn on the breast. Roberts remarks, "I once saw a dress beautifully plaited and stiffened for the front, but I do not think it common."

A girding of sackcloth — This is a coarse cloth that was commonly worn in times of affliction as symbolic of grief (2 Samuel 3:31; 1 Kings 20:31; 1 Kings 21:27; Job 16:15; Isaiah 32:11).

And burning — The word used here does not occur elsewhere. It seems to denote "a brand, a mark burnt in, a stigma"—perhaps a sun-burned countenance, indicating exposure in the long and wearisome journey of captivity over burning sands and beneath a scorching sun.

Instead of beauty — This means instead of a fair and delicate complexion, cherished and nourished with care. Some of the articles of dress shown in the book exhibit several varieties of the costume of an Oriental female.

It is not known to what "particular" time the prophet refers in this chapter; perhaps, however, it is to the captivity at Babylon. To whatever he refers, it is one of the most striking reproofs of vanity and pride, especially the pride of female ornament, anywhere to be found.

And although he had "particular" reference to the Jewish females, there is no impropriety in regarding it as applicable to all such ornaments wherever they may be found. They indicate the same state of the heart and must meet substantially the same rebuke from God.

The body, however delicately pampered and adorned, must become the prey of corruption. As it is written, "The worm shall feed sweetly on it, and the earth-worm shall be its covering" (Job 24:20).

The single thought that the body must die—that it must lie and decay in the grave—should check the love of frivolous adornment and turn the mind to a far more important matter: the salvation of the soul, which cannot die. It should turn the mind to what Peter calls "the ornament of a weak and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price" (1 Peter 3:4).