Isaiah Chapter 3 verse 3 Holy Bible
the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the expert artificer, and the skilful enchanter.
read chapter 3 in ASV
The captain of fifty, and the man of high position, and the wise guide, and the wonder-worker, and he who makes use of secret powers.
read chapter 3 in BBE
the captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the clever among artificers, and the one versed in enchantments.
read chapter 3 in DARBY
The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
read chapter 3 in KJV
read chapter 3 in WBT
The captain of fifty, The honorable man, The counselor, The skilled craftsman, And the clever enchanter.
read chapter 3 in WEB
Head of fifty, and accepted of faces, And counsellor, and the wise of artificers, And the intelligent of charmers.
read chapter 3 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 3. - 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, 11, 13). Honorable. The same expression is used again in Isaiah 9:15. It occurs also in 2 Kings 5. 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).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(3) The captain of fifty, and the honourable man.--The first title implies a division like that of Exodus 18:21, of which "fifty" was all but the minimum unit. So we have the three "captains of fifty" in 2Kings 1:9-15. The "honourable man" (literally, eminent in countenance) would seem to occupy a position in the civil service of the State analogous to that of the "captain of fifty" in the military.The counsellor, and the cunning artificer.--From the modern stand-point the two classes seem at opposite extremes of the social order. The latter, however (literally, masters in arts), would seem to have occupied a higher position in the East, like that of military or civil engineers or artists with us. So in 2Kings 24:14, Jeremiah 24:1, the "craftsmen and the smiths" are grouped with the "men of might" who were carried to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, and contrasted with the poor who were left behind. The military works of Uzziah had doubtless given a prominence to the "cunning men" who were employed on them (2Chronicles 26:15). By some critics, however, the word is taken as equal to "magician." . . .
