Solomon had written, "Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child!" Ecclesiastes 10:16. Thus it was with the land of Judah. Through continued transgression her rulers had become as children. Isaiah called the attention of the people to the weakness of their position among the nations of earth, and he showed that this was the result of wickedness in high places. "Behold," he said, "the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, the mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, 324 the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them." "For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord." Isaiah 3:1-4, 8.

Salomo havde skrevet: "Ve dig, du land, hvis konge er en dreng." Præd. 10,16. Dette var netop tilfældet i Judas land. Dets konger var blevet som børn, fordi de var blevet ved at synde. Esajas gjorde folket opmærksom på, at deres anseelse i de øvrige nationers øjne var dalet, og påviste, at det skyldtes synd i de højeste kredse. "Thi se," sagde han, "Herren, Hærskarers Herre fratager Jerusalem og Juda støtte og stav, hver støtte af brød og hver støtte af vand: helt og krigsmand, dommer og profet, spåmand og ældste, halvhundredfører og stormand, rådsherre og håndværksmester og den, der er kyndig i trolddom. Jeg giver dem drenge til øverster, drengekådhed skal herske over dem." "Thi Jerusalem snubler, og Juda falder, fordi de med tunge og gerning er mod Herren " Es. 3,1-4. 8.