Matthew Henry Commentary Isaiah 3:16-26

"Moreover Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched 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 Jehovah will lay bare their secret parts. 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. 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. Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate and sit upon the ground." — Isaiah 3:16-26 (ASV)

The prophet reproves and warns the daughters of Zion about the sufferings coming upon them. Let them know that God notices the folly and vanity of proud women, even in their dress. The threatened punishments corresponded to the sin. Loathsome diseases are often the just punishment of pride.

It is not important to ask what sort of ornaments they wore; many of these items, if they had not been in fashion, would have been ridiculed then as they are now. Their fashions differed greatly from those of our times, but human nature is the same. Wasting time and money, to the neglect of piety, charity, and even justice, displeases the Lord.

Many professing Christians today seem to think there is no harm in worldly finery; but if it were not such a great evil, would the Holy Spirit have taught the prophet to expose it so fully? When the Jews were overcome, Jerusalem would be leveled with the ground; this is represented by the image of a desolate woman seated on the earth. And when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, they struck a medal depicting a woman sitting on the ground in a posture of grief.

If sin is harbored within the walls, lamentation and mourning are near the gates.