New International Version
Isaiah 9:4
4For 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.
Context of Isaiah 9:4
2The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 3You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. 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. 5Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, 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 crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample him down. His yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
- Isaiah 47:6I was angry with my people and desecrated my inheritance; I gave them into your hand, and you showed them no mercy. Even on the aged you laid a very heavy yoke.
- Genesis 27:40You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”
- Leviticus 26:13I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.
- Jeremiah 30:8“ ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them.
- Nahum 1:13Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away.”
- Isaiah 10:5“Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
- Isaiah 14:3On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you,
- Isaiah 30:31The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria; with his rod he will strike them down.
- Psalms 125:3The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil.
- Isaiah 10:26The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the waters, as he did in Egypt.
- Judges 6:1The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.
- Judges 7:22When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
- Judges 8:10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.
- Psalms 83:9Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
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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