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16 Moreover
the LORD [Yahovah] saith, ['amar] Because [ya`an] the daughters [bath] of
Zion [Tsiyown] are haughty, [gabahh] and walk [yalak] with
stretched forth [natah] necks [garown] and wanton [saqar] eyes, [`ayin] walking [halak] and mincing
[taphaph] as they go, [yalak] and making a tinkling [`akac] with their feet: [regel]KJV-Interlinear
16
Moreover, the Lord said, "Because the daughters of Zion are proud, And
walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, And go along with mincing steps,
And tinkle the bangles on their feet, NASB
Moreover, means in addition to, not only this, and so forth. Not that what has been already stated isn't bad enough, but there is far, far more to be said about the evil that has consumed the nation.
Isaiah has already mentioned the rulers and leaders and people in general, as having failed in their relationship with God. Isaiah's prophecy is primarily targeted at the nation of Judah, a nation that, in form, represents the people of God.
But here, he mentions the daughters of Zion. But who is this he is speaking of now?
Zion is a hill in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the capital of Judah. Zion has generally been referred to as the dwelling place of God, or the source of Gods vast truth.
Jerusalem is the city of peace, and Zion is its heart or source. Therefore, Zion is often times used to refer to mature believers, or those who have advanced in their spiritual lives through doctrine, thus achieving inner peace and thus named, for the city of peace.
Zion, the hill, has no daughters. That should be obvious. A hill does not procreate and have children much less daughters. But the symbolism of the mountain is of mature believers, or offspring of spiritual growth from doctrine.
Since the prophecy is a curse of sorts, against the rulers, leaders, and people of Judah, then the prophecy is against the people of God, who have failed in their spiritual lives. They failed because they were full of arrogance and selfishness and many other indifferences and sins. Their spiritual growth, whatever it was, has vanished and has been replaced with indifference and arrogance, and disobedience to God.
Believers can fail.
When society fails, there is a ray of hope, in that God has set aside believers that are the recipients of His blessing, and thus there is a ray of hope for society, in that blessing flows from God to believers, and on through to the rest of humanity. Humanity is blessed not directly, but indirectly by mean of their relationship with believers. We all occupy the same planet, breathe the same air, buy and sell the same things, and so forth.
But, when believers fail, then all of humanity is in world of hurt, because the target of blessing has ceased to exist.
In a few verses we will see the words, 'in that day.'
This has a dual meaning, but for now we will focus on the last days when all of humanity has failed, when believers who remain alive have failed, or have ben removed (with a few exceptions), and when the Tribulation will literally see huge judgments against evil as a result of all of the failures of humanity, both believers and unbelievers.
So, the term daughters, does not refer to the female population, but is a descriptive term that identifies the failure of believers within society.
And the description continues in feminine terms, but these terms, identify arrogance and pride, that have driven society to its own doom.
Haughty relates to pride. Stretched forth necks relates to arrogance or superiority. Wanton eyes, refers to the enticements of the eyes as made up with makeup in order to lure in, to deceive, to entrap.
Mincing as they go, refers to the walk or an exaggerated walk, to gain attention, to attract, approbation, also to lure someone into a trap.
Tinkling of the feet, is a reference to jewelry like bracelets wrapped around the ankle, which also are used to attract attention, to entice, or to decorate. The bracelets make a simple noise, and they are used to decorate the ankles much the same as ear rings or necklaces are used to decorate or accessorize the female appearance.
These terms are used in the feminine sense, but they apply equally to both genders as all members of society have failed within the terms of this prophecy.
So from the previous verse, evil has bashed or ground into dust, those who are the legitimate heirs of Gods blessings, but evil uses enticements, deceptions and false fronts to hide its true identity.
Thinking highly of itself, the evil person walks as though they know all things and/ or are all things to all people, even deceiving themselves into thinking that they are above and better than everyone else. While at the same time destroying themselves in pursuit of blessings that they will never have, because they have rejected the source of blessing, namely God, Christ, and doctrine. All of which they are disinterested in, and indifferent toward.
Most believers fail because they do not learn the legitimate purpose and process of the spiritual life. They fail because they believe that they already know what they need to know, do what they need to do, and thus they fall into the trap of self-purpose and self-indulgent evils.
The result? Failure, disaster, loss of blessing and huge disappointment when, after too late, they discover their error.
Unfortunately, most folks won't be reading this study, and of those who do read this, will sooner or later, fall into this failed category. When a person is unteachable, it is very difficult to turn them around.
That is something that they have to do themselves.
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