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Isaiah 4

KJV · Chapter 4/66

1And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

2In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

3And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:

4When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

5And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.

6And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

After the announced judgment, Isaiah promises a 'Branch of the Lord' that will bring beauty and glory to the survivors. God will purify Jerusalem and cover it with a protective cloud, just as he did in the wilderness with Moses.

Explanation

This short chapter is a turn toward hope right after the judgment of chapter 3 — a pattern repeated throughout the book of Isaiah: judgment followed by restoration. 'Seven women shall take hold of one man' reflects the scarcity of men after wars, showing the scale of population loss being predicted. The 'cloud by day' and 'fire by night' directly recall God's protection of Israel in the wilderness during the Exodus, reinforcing that the same God who guided their ancestors will guide the faithful 'remnant' that remains. The application for today is trusting that God purifies before he restores, and that hope always comes after sincere repentance.

Fun facts

  • The expression 'Branch of the Lord' is one of the book's earliest messianic references, a title Isaiah will return to later on (chapter 11) when he speaks of the 'branch out of the roots of Jesse.'
  • The image of the cloud and fire points directly back to Exodus 13:21-22, connecting Judah's future hope to the ancient deliverance from Egypt.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Isaiah 4:1Seven women fighting over one man describes an extreme shortage of men after a war, with so many dead in battle that few are left to marry. They even agree to give up the normal support a husband owed, just to escape the shame of having neither marriage nor children.
  2. Isaiah 4:2The term "branch of the LORD" is an agricultural image of rebirth, a new shoot growing after everything seemed dried up. Traditions read this figure in different ways, but the central sense is of something good sprouting right after the destruction described in earlier chapters.
  3. Isaiah 4:3It continues the idea of a "remnant": whoever is left in Zion and Jerusalem will be called holy, "written among the living"—like a record of who remains alive after the destruction.
  4. Isaiah 4:4Before this holy remnant can exist, a cleansing is needed: God washes away the "filth of the daughters of Zion"—the vanity and corruption of chapter 3—and the blood of Jerusalem, with a spirit of judgment and of burning.
  5. Isaiah 4:5Cloud by day and fire by night repeats the same image from Exodus, when a pillar of cloud and fire guided and protected the people in the wilderness. Here it reappears over Mount Zion as a sign that this ancient protection covers the city once more.
  6. Isaiah 4:6A tabernacle, that is, a tent, serving as shade against the heat and shelter against storm and rain—an image of divine protection covering the already-purified people, completing the cloud and fire of verse 5.

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