Isaiah 32:11
New International Version
Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure! Strip off your fine clothes and wrap yourselves in rags.

New Living Translation
Tremble, you women of ease; throw off your complacency. Strip off your pretty clothes, and put on burlap to show your grief.

English Standard Version
Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones; strip, and make yourselves bare, and tie sackcloth around your waist.

Berean Standard Bible
Shudder, you ladies of leisure; tremble, you daughters of complacency. Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists.

King James Bible
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.

New King James Version
Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent ones; Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare, And gird sackcloth on your waists.

New American Standard Bible
Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent daughters; Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,

NASB 1995
Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent daughters; Strip, undress and put sackcloth on your waist,

NASB 1977
Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent daughters; Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,

Legacy Standard Bible
Tremble, you women who are at ease; Quake, you complacent daughters; Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,

Amplified Bible
Tremble, you women who are carefree; Tremble with fear, you complacent ones! Strip, undress and wear sackcloth on your waist [in grief],

Christian Standard Bible
Shudder, you complacent ones; tremble, you overconfident ones! Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Shudder, you complacent ones; tremble, you overconfident ones! Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists.

American Standard Version
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.

Contemporary English Version
Shake and shudder, you women without a care! Strip off your clothes--put on sackcloth.

English Revised Version
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Shudder, you pampered women. Tremble, you overconfident women. Take off your clothes, walk around naked, and wear sackcloth around your waists.

Good News Translation
You have been living an easy life, free from worries; but now, tremble with fear! Strip off your clothes and tie rags around your waist.

International Standard Version
So tremble, you ladies of leisure! Shudder, you daughters who feel so complacent! Strip down and make yourselves naked down to the waist! Then wrap yourself in sackcloth and beat your breasts.

NET Bible
Tremble, you complacent ones! Shake with fear, you carefree ones! Strip off your clothes and expose yourselves--put sackcloth on your waist!

New Heart English Bible
Tremble, you women who are at ease. Be troubled, you careless ones. Strip yourselves, make yourselves naked, and put sackcloth on your waist.

Webster's Bible Translation
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip ye, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
Majority Text Translations
Majority Standard Bible
Shudder, you ladies of leisure; tremble, you daughters of complacency. Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists.

World English Bible
Tremble, you women who are at ease! Be troubled, you careless ones! Strip yourselves, make yourselves naked, and put sackcloth on your waist.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Tremble, you women, you easy ones, "" Be troubled, you confident ones, "" Strip and make bare, with a girdle on the loins,

Young's Literal Translation
Tremble ye women, ye easy ones, Be troubled, ye confident ones, Strip and make bare, with a girdle on the loins,

Smith's Literal Translation
Tremble, ye careless be disturbed, ye, confident: strip and be naked, gird upon the loins.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Be astonished, ye rich women, be troubled, ye confident ones: strip yen, and be confounded, gird your loins.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Be stupefied, you opulent women! Be disturbed, O confident ones! Strip yourselves, and be confounded; gird yourselves at the waist.

New American Bible
Tremble, you who are so complacent! Shudder, you who are so confident! Strip yourselves bare, with only a loincloth for cover.

New Revised Standard Version
Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones; strip, and make yourselves bare, and put sackcloth on your loins.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Tremble, O you rich women; be troubled, O you who publish glad tidings; strip, and make yourselves bare and gird sackcloth upon your loins.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Tremble rich women, and be angry, those who preach good news! Strip naked! Bind sackcloth on your waists!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; Be troubled, ye confident ones; Strip you, and make you bare, And gird sackcloth upon your loins,

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Be amazed, be pained, ye confident ones: strip you, bare yourselves, gird your loins;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Women of Jerusalem
10In a little more than a year you will tremble, O secure ones. For the grape harvest will fail and the fruit harvest will not arrive. 11Shudder, you ladies of leisure; tremble, you daughters of complacency. Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists. 12Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines,…

Cross References
Isaiah 3:16-26
The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles— / the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will make their foreheads bare.” / In that day the Lord will take away their finery: their anklets and headbands and crescents; ...

Amos 4:1-3
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.” / The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days are coming when you will be taken away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks. / You will go out through broken walls, each one straight ahead of her, and you will be cast out toward Harmon,” declares the LORD.

Zephaniah 1:12-13
And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men settled in complacency, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’ / Their wealth will be plundered and their houses laid waste. They will build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but never drink their wine.

Micah 1:8-9
Because of this I will lament and wail; I will walk barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich. / For her wound is incurable; it has reached even Judah; it has approached the gate of my people, as far as Jerusalem itself.

Lamentations 1:1-2
How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a widow. The princess of the provinces has become a slave. / She weeps aloud in the night, with tears upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.

Ezekiel 7:16-18
The survivors will escape and live in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valley, each for his own iniquity. / Every hand will go limp, and every knee will turn to water. / They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.

Joel 1:8-12
Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth. / Grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD. / The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails. ...

Jeremiah 4:30-31
And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain; your lovers despise you; they want to take your life. / For I hear a cry like a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child—the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands to say, “Woe is me, for my soul faints before the murderers!”

Hosea 2:10-13
And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands. / I will put an end to all her exultation: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—all her appointed feasts. / I will destroy her vines and fig trees, which she thinks are the wages paid by her lovers. So I will make them into a thicket, and the beasts of the field will devour them. ...

1 Peter 3:3-4
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, / but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.

1 Timothy 2:9-10
Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, / but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess to worship God.

Revelation 18:7-8
As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’ / Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”

Matthew 24:19-21
How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! / Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath. / For at that time there will be great tribulation, unseen from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.

Luke 23:28-31
But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. / Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’ / At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’ ...

James 5:1-3
Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. / Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. / Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.


Treasury of Scripture

Tremble, you women that are at ease; be troubled, you careless ones: strip you, and make you bore, and gird sackcloth on your loins.

be troubled

Isaiah 2:19,21
And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth…

Isaiah 22:4,5
Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people…

Isaiah 33:14
The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

strip

Isaiah 20:4
So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

Isaiah 47:1-3
Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate…

Deuteronomy 28:48
Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

and gird

Isaiah 3:24
And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.

Isaiah 15:3
In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.

Jeremiah 4:8
For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.

Jump to Previous
Bare Careless Clothes Clothing Comfort Complacent Confident Danger Daughters Ease Fear Feel Gird Grief Loins Naked Ones Robes Sackcloth Secure Shaking Shudder Strip Tremble Troubled Waist Waists Women Yourselves
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Bare Careless Clothes Clothing Comfort Complacent Confident Danger Daughters Ease Fear Feel Gird Grief Loins Naked Ones Robes Sackcloth Secure Shaking Shudder Strip Tremble Troubled Waist Waists Women Yourselves
Isaiah 32
1. The blessings of Christ's kingdom
9. Desolation is foreshown
14. Restoration is promised to succeed














Shudder, you ladies of leisure;
This phrase addresses the women of Jerusalem, who are living in comfort and ease. The call to "shudder" suggests an impending judgment or disaster that should cause fear and trembling. In the context of Isaiah, this is a warning of the coming Assyrian invasion and the subsequent hardships. The term "ladies of leisure" indicates a lifestyle of luxury and complacency, which is often criticized in the Bible as it can lead to spiritual neglect (Amos 6:1-6). The call to shudder is a wake-up call to recognize the seriousness of their situation.

tremble, you daughters of complacency.
The repetition of "tremble" emphasizes the urgency and seriousness of the warning. "Daughters of complacency" highlights a generational issue of indifference and self-satisfaction. Complacency in the Bible is often associated with a false sense of security and neglect of God's commands (Zephaniah 1:12). This phrase serves as a reminder that complacency can lead to spiritual and physical downfall, urging the people to repent and turn back to God.

Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists.
This imagery of stripping and wearing sackcloth is a traditional expression of mourning and repentance in the ancient Near East. Sackcloth, a coarse material, was worn during times of grief or penitence (Jonah 3:5-6). The act of stripping bare symbolizes vulnerability and the removal of earthly comforts, signifying a return to humility and dependence on God. This call to action is a prophetic gesture urging the people to acknowledge their sins and seek God's mercy before the impending judgment.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Complacent Women
These are the women of Judah who have become comfortable and self-satisfied, ignoring the spiritual and moral decay around them.

2. Daughters of Ease
This term refers to women who live in luxury and comfort, oblivious to the impending judgment and the need for repentance.

3. Isaiah
The prophet who delivers God's message, calling for repentance and warning of the consequences of complacency.

4. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, facing impending judgment due to its people's spiritual apathy and moral decline.

5. Sackcloth
A coarse material worn as a sign of mourning and repentance, symbolizing humility and the need for a change of heart.
Teaching Points
The Danger of Complacency
Complacency can lead to spiritual blindness and a false sense of security. We must remain vigilant and aware of our spiritual condition.

The Call to Repentance
True repentance involves a change of heart and behavior. The symbolic act of wearing sackcloth represents a deeper, internal transformation.

Awareness of Judgment
Ignoring God's warnings can lead to severe consequences. We must heed His call and turn back to Him before it's too late.

The Role of Women in Spiritual Renewal
Women, like men, have a significant role in fostering spiritual renewal within their communities. Their response to God's call can influence others.

Living with Purpose and Intentionality
We are called to live intentionally, seeking God's will and purpose in our lives, rather than settling into a life of ease and comfort.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1. What is the meaning of Isaiah 32:11?

2. How does Isaiah 32:11 encourage repentance and humility in our daily lives?

3. What consequences of complacency are highlighted in Isaiah 32:11 for believers today?

4. How does Isaiah 32:11 connect with Proverbs' warnings against complacency?

5. In what ways can we "tremble" and "shudder" spiritually as Isaiah 32:11 suggests?

6. How can Isaiah 32:11 inspire us to seek God's guidance in challenging times?

7. What historical context surrounds Isaiah 32:11 and its call for trembling and mourning?

8. How does Isaiah 32:11 reflect the consequences of complacency in one's faith?

9. What is the significance of women being addressed in Isaiah 32:11?

10. What are the top 10 Lessons from Isaiah 32?

11. Romans 10:13: When Paul quotes Joel 2:32, is he misapplying a prophecy originally intended for a different context?

12. Isaiah 39:8: Why does Hezekiah seem untroubled by the future judgment pronounced on his descendants, and what does this imply about his character or leadership?

13. If God is omnipotent, why does He need to swear by Himself to carry out judgment (Amos 6:8)?

14. What does the Bible say about backsliding?
What Does Isaiah 32:11 Mean
Shudder

• The opening command carries the idea of sudden, holy fear. God wants His people to feel the shock of coming judgment, not shrug it off.

• Isaiah earlier described such fear when he wrote, “But to this one I will look: to him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Isaiah 66:2).

• Joel issued a similar wake-up call: “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain” (Joel 2:1).

• The point: a genuine sense of alarm is the first step toward repentance.


you ladies of leisure

• The prophet singles out well-to-do women in Jerusalem who enjoyed a life of ease while ignoring the spiritual and social decay around them.

• Amos warned a comparable group, “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1).

• Zephaniah echoed it: God “will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men who are complacent” (Zephaniah 1:12).

• Comfort is not sinful, but unchecked comfort dulls spiritual perception. Isaiah confronts that dullness head-on.


tremble

• The second imperative intensifies the first. It is not enough to feel a momentary shiver; sustained trembling reveals a heart awakened to God’s seriousness.

• Jesus applied this urgency to the women who followed Him to the cross: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me; weep for yourselves and for your children” (Luke 23:28).

• Paul urged believers to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).

• True faith never treats God’s warnings lightly.


you daughters of complacency

• Complacency is a false peace that says, “Everything is fine,” when it is not.

• Proverbs notes, “The complacency of fools will destroy them” (Proverbs 1:32).

• Jesus rebuked Laodicea for the same attitude: “You say, ‘I am rich…’ but you do not realize that you are wretched” (Revelation 3:17-19).

• Isaiah labels complacency as a spiritual family trait—passed to “daughters.” It must be broken, not inherited.


Strip yourselves bare

• Removing outer garments symbolized laying aside pride and self-sufficiency.

• When Nineveh heard Jonah’s message, “the king…laid aside his robe” (Jonah 3:6).

• James calls believers to similar honesty: “Purify your hearts…be miserable and mourn and weep” (James 4:8-10).

• God’s grace meets us only where pretenses are dropped.


put sackcloth around your waists

• Sackcloth was rough, dark fabric worn by those in mourning or repentance.

• Nehemiah recorded, “The Israelites assembled…wearing sackcloth and with dust on their heads” (Nehemiah 9:1).

• Jesus reminded unrepentant towns that “Tyre and Sidon would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matthew 11:21).

• The waist—center of the body—suggests repentance must gird all of life, not just surface gestures.


summary

Isaiah 32:11 is a divine alarm clock. God confronts a comfortable, self-satisfied group and commands a sequence: wake up, feel holy fear, admit complacency, strip away pride, and embrace genuine repentance. The verse calls every believer to examine ease that numbs the soul and to replace it with heartfelt sorrow over sin—preparing the way for God’s promised restoration.

(11) Tremble, ye women that are at ease . . .--The words find at once a parallel and a contrast in those spoken to the daughters of Jerusalem in Luke (Luke 23:28-30). The call to repentance includes their stripping themselves of their costly finery, and putting on the "sackcloth" (the word is implied, though not expressed in the Hebrew), which was the outward symbol of repentance (Jonah 3:5-8). The words, it may be noted, are masculine, the call not being limited to the women.

Verse 11. - Tremble... be troubled. The repetition of this verse is, as usual, emphatic. Its object is to impress those whom the prophet is addressing with the certainty of the coming judgment. Strip you, and make you bare; i.e. "bare your breasts," in preparation for the beating which is to follow (see the comment on the next verse).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Shudder,
חִרְדוּ֙ (ḥir·ḏū)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 2729: To shudder with terror, to fear, to hasten

you ladies of leisure;
שַֽׁאֲנַנּ֔וֹת (ša·’ă·nan·nō·wṯ)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 7600: Secure, haughty

tremble,
רְגָ֖זָה (rə·ḡā·zāh)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 7264: To be agitated, quiver, quake, be excited, perturbed

you daughters of complacency.
בֹּֽטְח֑וֹת (bō·ṭə·ḥō·wṯ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 982: To trust, be confident, sure

Strip
פְּשֹׁ֣טָֽה (pə·šō·ṭāh)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 6584: To strip off, make a dash, raid

yourselves bare
וְעֹ֔רָה (wə·‘ō·rāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 6209: To bare, to demolish

and put
וַחֲג֖וֹרָה (wa·ḥă·ḡō·w·rāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 2296: To gird, gird on, gird oneself

sackcloth around
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

your waists.
חֲלָצָֽיִם׃ (ḥă·lā·ṣā·yim)
Noun - md
Strong's 2504: The loins


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 32:11 Tremble you women who are at ease! (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 32:10
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