“Now
The Sovereign,
Yahweh of hosts,
Takes away from Jerusalem
Support.
He takes away from Judah
Staff.
He takes away
All support of bread.
He takes away
All support of water.
He takes away
The warrior,
The soldier,
The judge,
The prophet,
The diviner,
The elder,
The captain of fifty,
The dignitaries,
The counselor,
The skilful magician,
And the expert charmer.”
Isaiah talks about the day when Jerusalem will lose many of its people. Yahweh will take away from Jerusalem and Judah all its support and staff, as well as its bread and water. He will take away all the important people of Jerusalem. Thus Yahweh will remove the warriors, the soldiers, the judges, the prophets, the elders, the captains of the fifty, the counselors, and the dignitaries. Interesting enough, there must have been some of those dreaded people like the diviners, the skilful magicians, and the expert charmers, since he was going to remove them also.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 