Verse 15: “’For what have you crushed My people? The faces of the poor ones you have ground up,’ says the Lord God of hosts.”

Crushed…ground up: Violent exploitation of the people and of the poor.

Lord God of hosts: We need to always pay attention as to how God reveals Himself in a passage. This is a term that relates to God being powerful. This term exudes power, authority and the ability to carry out judgment.

Lord: Master. The One who has authority.

God: The transcendent name of God.

Verse 16: “And the Lord said: ‘Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, they walk with their necks outstretched and they have wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, making a jingling with their feet.”

Note: Improper leadership manifests itself in immorality.

The daughters of Zion: These young women are marked for the Kingdom, but they are not behaving like the daughters of the Kingdom.

Haughty: They elevate themselves. Haughtiness is rooted in pride. They believe that they are superior. Instead of walking in modesty and humility (that which expresses a Godly character and faith) they are exalting themselves.

Necks: Literally: throats

Necks outstretched: A posture of pride.

Wanton eyes: The implication is that they are seeking, searching, looking for that which is improper. They want their own desires to be fulfilled – self-gratification.

Walking and mincing: This is not a normal way to walk, although it is a walk that has a purpose to it.

A jingling with their feet: Ankle bracelets are not jewelry for attracting the eye to something beautiful, but instead their purpose is to capture a person’s ears through the noise that they make. Once the ears have been captured the eyes follow.

Verse 17: “The Lord will strike the top of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will uncover their secret parts.”

Lord: The Master God.

Uncover: Expose or make naked. Immodesty produces shame.

Secret parts: The areas of their bodies that should be kept private.

Verse 18: “In that day the Lord will remove the splendour: the jingling anklets, the scarves and the ornamentation.”

Note: This society emphasized and was obsessed over the outward appearance – putting attention upon the physical body, especially the bodies of women.

In that day: This is an expression that speaks about judgment. Assyria were going to come against this southern kingdom but because Hezekiah repented (2 Kings 19) God held off His judgment for a longer period of time. Therefore, it was eventually Babylon that captured
this southern kingdom (2 Kings 24).

Splendour: Glory. There was a call and an anointing upon Judah but because they were not faithful to God He promised to remove all of the things that they held dear – all of the things that emphasised their outward appearance.

Jingling anklets: God does not want us to call attention to ourselves. He wants us to rather call attention to His holiness, His righteousness, His purposes so that people might receive His truth.

Verse 19: “And the necklace, and the bracelets, and the veils.”

Veils: Veils could be used for modesty (covering up), but they could also be used for seduction. Context tells us that these veils are being used inappropriately, that is why God is going to remove them.

Verse 20: “The headdresses, the leg ornaments, the headbands; the boxes of fragrances, the various charms.”

Headdresses…leg ornaments: These objects call attention to different parts of a woman’s anatomy – her physical appearance. The commentators say these things lend themselves to a degrading of women, making them simply physical/visible objects for man’s
pleasure/fleshly purposes.