Isaiah 3:4

“And I will give children [to be] their princes, &c.] Either in age, or in understanding, who are really so, or act like such; and in either sense, when this is the case, it is an unhappiness to a nation, (<211016>Ecclesiastes 10:16): and babes shall rule over them; which is the same as before. The Targum is, “the weak shall rule over them;” such who are weak in their intellectuals, or are of mean pusillanimous spirits, “effeminate”, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; and so as “children” are opposed to the “ancient”, that should be taken away, these are opposed to “men of might” and courage, who would now be wanting: or “men of illusions”, as in the margin; such as were subtle as…”

“children--in ability for governing; antithesis to the "ancient" (see Isa 3:12; Ecc 10:16). babes--in warlike might; antithesis to "the mighty" and "man of war."”

“And I will give children - Not children in respect to age so much as in regard to talent for governing. I will commit the land to the government of weak and imbecile princes. This would naturally occur when the wise and great were removed; compare Ecclesiastes 10:16 : ‘Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child;’ compare Isaiah 3:12. And babes shall rule ... - That is, babes in experience and knowledge. This was fully accomplished in the succession of weak and wicked princes that succeeded Isaiah, until the time of Zedekiah, the last of them, when the temple was taken by Nebuchadnezzar. - “Lowth.” return to 'Top of Page'”

“3:4 Conditions would be so severe that boys and toddlers would qualify as candidates for office. By this, Isaiah either meant that adult leaders would be so decimated that only children would be left alive to assume the role or simply that the new leaders would be as immature, unwise, strong willed, and inexperienced as children.”

“children: Kg1 3:7-9; Ch2 33:1, Ch2 34:1, Ch2 36:2, Ch2 36:5, Ch2 36:9, Ch2 36:11; Ecc 10:16 Isaiah 3:5”

“Thus robbed of its support, and torn out of its proper groove, the kingdom of Judah would fall a prey to the most shameless despotism: "And I give them boys for princes, and caprices shall rule over them." The revived "Solomonian" glory is followed, as before, by the times of Rehoboam. The king is not expressly named. This was intentional. He had sunk into the mere shadow of a king: it was not he who ruled, but the aristocratic party that surrounded him, who led him about in leading strings as unum inter pares. Now, if it is a misfortune in most cases for a king to be a child (na'ar, Ecc 10:16), the misfortune is twice as great when the princes or magnates who surround and advise him are…”