Isaiah 3:3 - Exposition

The captain of fifty . "Captains of fifties" were scarcely at this period "civil officers" (Cheyne). They represent simply the lowest grade of officers in the army ( 2 Kings 1:9 , 2 Kings 1:11 , 2 Kings 1:13 ). Honorable . The same expression is used again in Isaiah 9:15 . It occurs also in 2 Kings 5:1-27 . I and Job 22:8 . The cunning artificer . "All the craftsmen and smiths" in Jerusalem were carried away by Nebuchadnezzar in the captivity of Jehoiachin ( 2 Kings 24:14 ; cf. Jeremiah 24:1 ). They were among the most valuable of the population, in time of war no less than of peace, since on them depended the construction and repair of the military engines which were regarded as of so much importance ( 2 Chronicles 26:15 ). The eloquent orator ; rather, the expert enchanter (comp. Ecclesiastes 10:11 ; Jeremiah 8:17 ).