Isaiah 4
1 And 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.
2 In 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.
3 And 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:
4 When 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.
5 And 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.
6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.
Isaiah 4 Commentary
Chapter Overview
Isaiah 4 moves from humiliation to hope. Its opening verse completes the scene at the end of Isaiah 3: war has taken so many men that seven women seek one surviving husband, offering to provide their own food and clothing if they may bear his name. The proud society that once displayed wealth and status has been reduced to grief, scarcity, and social desperation.
Yet judgment is not God’s final word. The chapter turns to a renewed Zion in which the Branch of the Lord is glorious, the survivors are called holy, Jerusalem’s guilt is cleansed, and God’s presence covers every dwelling and assembly. The same Lord who judges corruption also purifies a people, preserves a remnant, restores beauty, and becomes their shelter.
Key Themes
Verse 1 begins “in that day,” connecting it directly with the preceding prophecy. Isaiah 3 ended with Jerusalem’s men falling by the sword and Zion sitting desolate on the ground. The shortage of men in Isaiah 4:1 is therefore not an isolated comment about marriage; it is one social consequence of military disaster.
The seven women offer to eat their own bread and wear their own clothing. Under ordinary expectations, a husband would provide for his household, but these women waive that support because the imbalance is so severe. Their request “let us be called by thy name” expresses a desire for recognized marriage and family identity rather than an invitation to casual attachment.
The phrase “take away our reproach” reflects the social pain attached to childlessness and the loss of family continuity in the ancient world. Isaiah reports that desperation without endorsing every cultural assumption behind it. The verse shows how deeply national sin can disrupt private life: warfare reaches homes, marriages, births, and the future of families.
Verse 2 introduces a second “in that day,” but the tone changes completely. Instead of scarcity and shame, Isaiah speaks of beauty, glory, excellence, and honor. Biblical judgment often clears the ground for restoration. God does not purify Zion merely to leave it empty; he prepares it for renewed life.
The “branch of the Lord” can be understood in more than one related way. In the immediate context, the phrase may describe fresh growth produced by God, especially because the next line celebrates “the fruit of the earth.” After devastation, the land again becomes fruitful for the preserved people.
At the same time, later prophetic passages use branch imagery for the coming Davidic ruler. Isaiah 11 speaks of a shoot from Jesse’s stem, and Jeremiah 23 promises a righteous Branch who reigns as king. For this reason, many Christian interpreters see Isaiah 4:2 as part of a messianic trajectory. The safest reading recognizes the immediate promise of God-given renewal while also noting how the image develops elsewhere.
The people who enjoy this renewal are “them that are escaped of Israel.” Isaiah does not promise that every resident continues unchanged. A remnant survives judgment by God’s mercy. The theme will become central throughout the book: human pride is cut down, but God preserves a people through whom his purposes continue.
Verse 3 says those left in Zion will be called holy. Holiness here is not merely a ceremonial label or national slogan. Verse 4 explains that the Lord has washed away filth and purged bloodguilt. The restored community is holy because God has confronted the corruption that made the old Jerusalem unclean.
“Written among the living in Jerusalem” probably evokes an official register of those recognized as surviving citizens. It also points beyond mere census language toward God’s personal knowledge and preservation of his people. The verse does not teach that survival is random; the remnant lives under God’s deliberate care.
The chapter joins cleansing with judgment. The Lord washes away the filth of Zion’s daughters—the pride and display condemned in Isaiah 3—and purges Jerusalem’s blood from within it. Blood refers to violent guilt, especially the harm done by corrupt leaders and a society that oppressed the vulnerable.
The “spirit of judgment” and “spirit of burning” describe God’s searching, purifying action. The Hebrew word translated “spirit” can also carry the sense of wind or breath, so the language may picture a fierce cleansing force. Burning is painful because evil is not removed by pretending it never existed. God’s restoration includes a truthful reckoning with guilt.
Verse 5 deliberately recalls Israel’s exodus. The Lord led his people by cloud during the day and fire at night in Exodus 13. Isaiah now promises cloud, smoke, and flaming fire over Mount Zion, every dwelling place, and her assemblies. The signs of wilderness guidance become signs of God’s renewed presence among his people.
The promise extends to “every dwelling place” and “her assemblies.” God’s presence is not restricted to one royal building or a private elite. Homes and gathered worship alike live beneath his covering. Zion’s glory is communal: God dwells with a purified people and protects the life they share.
The final word of verse 5 is translated “defence” in the KJV and may also mean a canopy or covering. The image combines honor, marriage-like celebration, and protection. Human glory proved fragile in Isaiah 3, but the glory God creates comes with a covering that cannot be supplied by wealth, ornaments, or military strength.
Verse 6 adds the picture of a tabernacle or shelter. It gives shade from burning heat and refuge from storm and rain. Isaiah does not promise a world with no heat or storms; he promises God’s protection in the midst of threatening conditions. Divine refuge means that danger does not have the final claim over God’s people.
The chapter’s movement is therefore essential: desolation, growth, holiness, cleansing, presence, and refuge. Hope does not bypass judgment. Zion becomes beautiful because God removes what defiled it and stays among the people he has purified. The next chapter, Isaiah 5, will return to Judah’s failure through the song of the vineyard, showing again why such cleansing is necessary.
Important Verses and Questions
Why do seven women take hold of one man? Seven can suggest fullness, but the main point is the extreme imbalance produced by war. So many men have died that several women seek marriage with one survivor. The scene completes Isaiah 3’s warning about military loss and public mourning.
Does Isaiah 4:1 command or approve polygamy? No. The verse describes the desperate aftermath of judgment; it does not issue a marriage law. Narrative or prophetic description should not automatically be treated as moral approval. Isaiah’s purpose is to show the social devastation caused by Judah’s collapse.
Is the Branch of the Lord Jesus Christ? Christians have strong reasons to connect branch imagery with the Messiah because later prophets apply similar language to the Davidic king. Yet Isaiah 4:2 also parallels the Branch with the fruitful land. The verse may intentionally gather both ideas into a broad picture of divine renewal that ultimately reaches its fullness in Christ.
Who are the escaped or remnant of Israel? They are those preserved through judgment by God’s mercy. Their survival is not presented as proof that they were naturally stronger than others. They become the beginning of a cleansed community whose identity rests on God’s saving action.
What does “written among the living” mean? At the immediate level, it describes those registered as living citizens of restored Jerusalem. It also harmonizes with the wider biblical theme that God knows those who belong to him. The expression anticipates, without fully explaining, later references to God’s book of life.
Why must Jerusalem be cleansed by judgment and burning? Its guilt is serious: pride, oppression, and bloodshed have polluted the city. Forgiveness never means that God calls evil harmless. His cleansing removes corruption, vindicates justice, and makes a genuinely holy community possible.
What do the cloud and fire signify? They signify God’s presence, guidance, ownership, and protection, drawing on the exodus. The imagery also points toward the Bible’s final hope, when God dwells openly with his people and shelters them from every ultimate threat, as pictured in Revelation 21.
Practical Applications
Read hopeful promises in their full context. Isaiah 4 is beautiful precisely because Isaiah 3 has exposed pride, exploitation, and loss. Biblical hope is not shallow optimism. It faces judgment honestly and trusts that God can create holiness and life beyond devastation.
Do not confuse outward survival with inward renewal. Zion is not restored merely because some residents remain alive. The survivors must be washed, purged, and called holy. Churches and communities also need more than institutional continuity; they need repentance, truth, and character transformed by God.
Allow God’s cleansing work to address both visible pride and hidden violence. Isaiah names the filth of the daughters of Zion and the blood of Jerusalem together. Personal vanity and public injustice can belong to the same corrupted culture. Faithfulness examines the heart, relationships, money, influence, and treatment of vulnerable people.
Build hope on what the Lord produces. The Branch is beautiful because it is “of the Lord,” and the fruit becomes excellent for the remnant. Human schemes often try to manufacture renewal through image, force, or nostalgia. Lasting restoration is received from God and cultivated in obedient dependence on him.
Seek God’s presence, not merely relief from circumstances. The climax of the chapter is not improved agriculture or repaired social order but the Lord covering Zion with cloud and fire. The greatest gift of restoration is that God dwells with his people and makes their common life holy.
Take refuge in God without assuming a storm-free life. Isaiah’s shelter exists because heat, storm, and rain are real. Faith does not deny danger or grief. It rests beneath the Lord’s covering, confident that judgment cannot destroy his saving purpose and suffering cannot separate his people from his presence.