The Hebrew word taalul refers to capricious or wanton behavior, vexation, or the cruel deeds of those acting without restraint or moral accountability. The word appears in Isaiah in describing the chaotic conditions when God removes proper leadership and children and women rule — a picture of social inversion and chaos.
The use of taalul in Isaiah 3:4 is part of a broader prophetic oracle about divine judgment through social chaos. When God removes competent and godly leadership, capricious rulers take their place and wanton deeds proliferate. This reflects the Old Testament's theology of leadership — proper authority structures are a gift of God's common grace, and their removal is a form of judgment. The word also captures the chaos of a society unmoored from God's wisdom and law. Every generation that abandons God eventually descends into the arbitrary exercise of power and the victimization of the weak — the very opposite of the justice and righteousness that God requires of human rulers.