Isaiah 3:19

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Isaiah 3:19 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “the pendants, and the bracelets, and the mufflers;” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

the pendants, and the bracelets, and the mufflers;
Isaiah 3:19 — American Standard Version

Context — Isaiah 3

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
19the pendants, and the bracelets, and the mufflers;

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“The chains, &c.] According to Kimchi and R. Levi ben Gersom on (<070826>Judges 8:26) these were drop bottles, or vessels of gold, in which were put stacte or balsam; and the former says here, they were such in which balsam was put, and women hung about their necks; though, he observes, some interpret them of chains, which were made of small stones of bdellium; hence pure bdellium is called in the Arabic tongue Pjnla; and so Jarchi renders the word “chains”; and they are called by this name, because they hang about the neck, and drop upon the breast, and are in the form of precious stones, bored and strung: and the bracelets; hand bracelets, according to the Targum; such as Abraham’s servant…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“chains--rather, pendants, hanging about the neck, and dropping on the breast. mufflers--veils covering the face, with apertures for the eyes, close above and loosely flowing below. The word radically means "tremulous," referring to the changing effect of the spangles on the veil.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The chains - Margin, “sweet balls.” The word used here is derived from the verb נטף nâṭaph, to drop, to fall in drops, or to distil,” as juice from a plant. Hence, it means that which “resembles drops” - as pearls, or precious stones, used as ornaments for the neck or ears. We retain a similar word as applicable to the ornaments of the ears, by calling them “drops.” The Chaldee renders this “chains,” and so also the Vulgate. The Septuagint understands it of a “hanging” or “pendant” ornament - and this is its undoubted meaning - an ornament pendant like gum distilling from a plant. ‘These consist, first, of one most beautifully worked, with a pendant ornament for the neck; there is also a…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“chains: or, sweet-balls, Neteephoth earrings or drops; in Arabic, netafaṫ the bracelets: Gen 24:22, Gen 24:30, Gen 24:53, Gen 38:18, Gen 38:25; Exo 35:22; Num 31:50; Eze 16:11 mufflers: or, spangled ornaments Isaiah 3:20”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification