New English Translation
Isaiah 9:4
4For their oppressive yoke and the club that strikes their shoulders, the cudgel the oppressor uses on them, you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat.
Isaiah 9:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
- New International Version (NIV)For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian.
Context of Isaiah 9:4
2(9:1) The people walking in darkness see a bright light; light shines on those who live in a land of deep darkness. 3You have enlarged the nation; you give them great joy. They rejoice in your presence as harvesters rejoice; as warriors celebrate when they divide up the plunder. For their oppressive yoke and the club that strikes their shoulders, the cudgel the oppressor uses on them, you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat. 5Indeed every boot that marches and shakes the earth and every garment dragged through blood is used as fuel for the fire. 6For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. He shoulders responsibility and is called: Extraordinary Strategist, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Read all of Isaiah 9Isaiah 9:4 word by word
כִּ֣י׀ אֶת־עֹ֣ל סֻבֳּל֗וֹ וְאֵת֙ מַטֵּ֣ה שִׁכְמ֔וֹ שֵׁ֖בֶט הַנֹּגֵ֣שׂ בּ֑וֹ הַחִתֹּ֖תָ כְּי֥וֹם מִדְיָֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For thou hast brokenחָתַתchâthath · to to be dismayedH2865
- the yokeעֹל‛ôl ‛ôl · yokeH5923
- of his burdenסֹ֫בֶלsôbel sûbbâl · burdenH5448
- and the staffמַטֶּהmaţţeh maţţâh · tribe: rodH4294
- of his shoulderשְׁכֶםshekem · shoulderH7926
- the rodשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribe: staffH7626
- of his oppressorנָגַשׂnâgaώ · to oppressH5065
- as in the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- of Midianמִדְיָןmidyân · MidianH4080
Cross-references for Isaiah 9:4
- Isaiah 14:25I will break Assyria in my land, I will trample them underfoot on my hills. Their yoke will be removed from my people, the burden will be lifted from their shoulders.
- Isaiah 47:6I was angry at my people; I defiled my special possession and handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; you even placed a very heavy burden on old people.
- Genesis 27:40You will live by your sword but you will serve your brother. When you grow restless, you will tear off his yoke from your neck.”
- Leviticus 26:13I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from being their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and caused you to walk upright.
- Jeremiah 30:8When the time for them to be rescued comes,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will rescue you from foreign subjugation. I will deliver you from captivity. Foreigners will then no longer subjugate them.
- Nahum 1:13And now, I will break Assyria’s yoke bar from your neck; I will tear apart the shackles that are on you.”
- Isaiah 10:5Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead, a cudgel with which I angrily punish.
- Isaiah 14:3When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, and from the hard labor which you were made to perform,
- Isaiah 30:31Indeed, the Lord’s shout will shatter Assyria; he will beat them with a club.
- Psalms 125:3Indeed, the scepter of a wicked king will not settle upon the allotted land of the godly. Otherwise the godly might do what is wrong.
- Isaiah 10:26The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt.
- Judges 6:1The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord turned them over to Midian for seven years.
- Judges 7:22When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords throughout the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
- Judges 8:10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about fifteen thousand survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand sword-wielding soldiers had been killed.
- Psalms 83:9Do to them as you did to Midian – as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River!
Commentaries on Isaiah 9:4
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4For thou hast broken - This verse, and the following, show the way in which the occasion of the joy had been furnished. The expression thou hast‘ does not necessarily refer to the past, but is a form of expression derived from the nature of the prophetic visions, where that is described as past which is seen to pass before the eyes of the prophet; see the Introduction, section 7. The yoke - This word is often used to denote oppression, or tyranny…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The people experienced the rule of other nations as a yoke of slavery and a heavy burden. A yoke is a wooden bar placed on animals to control them. Here it describes harsh control and forced labor (Jeremiah 30:8). the rod of their oppressor: In Isaiah 10:5, the Assyrians are called “the rod of [the Lord’s] anger.” This means God used Assyria to punish his people. But God’s anger would not last forever. When his anger ended, Assyria’s cruel rule over Judah…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. The occasion of the "joy," the deliverance not only of Ahaz and Judah from the Assyrian tribute (2Ki 16:8), and of Israel's ten tribes from the oppressor (2Ki 15:19), but of the Jewish Christian Church from its last great enemy. hast--the past time for the future, in prophetic vision; it expresses the certainty of the event. yoke of his burden--the yoke with which he was burdened. staff of ... shoulder--the staff which strikes his shoulder [Maurer]; or…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 9:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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