And her gates shall lament and mourn; empty, she shall sit on the ground.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse uses personification to describe the devastation: the city's gates, usually bustling centers of life and commerce, are depicted as weeping. This emphasizes the complete emptiness and desolation; even the places designed for entry and exit are now filled with sorrow rather than people.
And her gates shall lament and mourn; empty, she shall sit on the ground.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage follows a series of warnings about the judgment coming upon Jerusalem due to the arrogance and sinfulness of its people, particularly the women. The prophet has detailed the loss of essential resources, leadership, and protection. This verse paints a final, desolate picture of the city itself, personified as a grieving woman, stripped of all its former glory and left utterly devastated.
Cities are defined by their gates – places of entry, commerce, and gathering. But in Isaiah's prophecy, these very gates transform into symbols of sorrow.
The Silent Gates
Isaiah personifies the gates of Jerusalem as lamenting and mourning. This isn't just poetic language; it paints a vivid picture of utter desolation.
Sitting on the ground might seem like a minor detail, but in the ancient world, it was a profound statement of despair and defeat.
Grounded in Grief
The image of Jerusalem sitting on the ground is a powerful visual of total collapse and defeat.
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Understand the original words
sha'ar · Hebrew Noun
Points of entry and exit for a city, functioning as centers of commerce, justice, and defense. In biblical prophecy, the gates symbolize the strength, security, and integrity of a community; their ruin signifies the total defeat and destruction of a city.
anach · Hebrew Verb
To express deep grief, sorrow, or distress, often through audible weeping or ritualistic wailing. In the prophetic books, this term is frequently personified to describe the reaction of cities or nations facing divine judgment.
abal · Hebrew Verb
A deep expression of sorrow or grief, often associated with mourning for the dead or national calamity. It signifies a state of hopelessness and emotional desolation in response to catastrophic loss or judgment.
naqah · Hebrew Adjective
Describing a state of being void, desolate, or deprived of inhabitants, substance, or purpose. Biblically, it is used to depict the aftermath of judgment, where a once-thriving place is reduced to nothingness.
erets · Hebrew Noun
The physical surface of the earth. Sitting on the ground is a common biblical posture of extreme humiliation, mourning, shame, and being brought low by divine judgment or overwhelming grief.
This verse vividly portrays the utter devastation of Jerusalem, drawing on the imagery of its fall to Babylon. The desolate posture of the city, sitting in the dust with mourning gates, became such a powerful symbol that it was later echoed on Roman coins commemorating their conquest of Judea.
c. 597 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
King Jehoiachin and many of Judah's elite are exiled to Babylon, marking the beginning of Jerusalem's decline.
589-587 BC— this verse
Siege and Fall of Jerusalem
Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian army besieges Jerusalem, eventually breaching its walls and destroying the city and the Temple.
587-586 BC
Second and Third Babylonian Deportations
The remaining population of Jerusalem and Judah is largely deported to Babylon, leaving the land desolate.
c. 538 BC
Return from Exile
Cyrus the Great allows the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, though the city's glory is not fully restored.
c. AD 70
Destruction of Jerusalem by Romans
The Roman army, led by Titus, destroys Jerusalem and its Second Temple, fulfilling prophecies of complete devastation.
This passage echoes the imagery of Isaiah, describing the elders of Zion sitting in silence on the ground and covering themselves with dust, mirroring the posture of deep grief and desolation.
Jeremiah 15:17Jeremiah portrays a scene of profound solitude and mourning, sitting alone and filled with indignation, which parallels the desolate sitting on the ground described in Isaiah.
Ezra 9:3This verse shows Ezra falling on his knees and spreading out his hands in despair and mourning, a posture of humiliation that aligns with the image of Jerusalem sitting on the ground in devastation.
Psalm 137:1The exiles by the rivers of Babylon sat down and wept when they remembered Zion, a powerful image of collective grief and longing that resonates with the mourning gates and the desolate city of Isaiah.
Isaiah 47:1This passage provides a similar prophetic vision of judgment, where Babylon is depicted as a virgin 'daughter' descending from her throne to sit in the dust, emphasizing the shame and humiliation that follows pride.
gillIsaiah 3:26: "And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground."
And her gates shall lament and mourn,.... These being utterly destroyed; or there being none to pass through them, meaning the gates of the city of Jerusalem: and she being desolate; clear of inhabitants, quite emptied, and exhausted of men; being laid even with the ground, and her children within her, Luke 19:44. shall sit upon the ground; being levelled with it, and not one stone cast upon a…
barnesIsaiah 3:26: "And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground."
And her gates - Cities were surrounded with walls, and were entered through gates opening into the principal streets. Those gates became, of course, the places of chief confluence and of business; and the expression here means, that in all the places of confluence, or amidst the assembled people, there should be lamentation on account of the slain in battle, and the loss of their mighty men in…
The verse uses personification to describe the devastation: the city's gates, usually bustling centers of life and commerce, are depicted as weeping. This emphasizes the complete emptiness and desolation; even the places designed for entry and exit are now filled with sorrow rather than people.
This passage follows a series of warnings about the judgment coming upon Jerusalem due to the arrogance and sinfulness of its people, particularly the women. The prophet has detailed the loss of essential resources, leadership, and protection. This verse paints a final, desolate picture of the city itself, personified as a grieving woman, stripped of all its former glory and left utterly devastated.
This passage follows a series of warnings about the judgment coming upon Jerusalem due to the arrogance and sinfulness of its people, particularly the women. The prophet has detailed the loss of essential resources, leadership, and protection. This verse paints a final, desolate picture of the city itself, personified as a grieving woman, stripped of all its former glory and left utterly devastated.
"And her gates shall lament and mourn; empty, she shall sit on the ground." — The verse uses personification to describe the devastation: the city's gates, usually bustling centers of life and commerce, are depicted as weeping. This emphasizes the complete emptiness and desola…
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Last reviewed October 2026