Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.
Parallel translations
- WEB What do you mean that you crush my people, and grind the face of the poor?” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
- KJV What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
- NKJV What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the faces of the poor?” Says the Lord God of hosts.
- NASB “What do you mean by crushing My people And oppressing the face of the poor?” Declares the Lord God of armies.
- NLT How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?” demands the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God rebukes the leaders for crushing His people and grinding the faces of the poor. Their oppression of the weak is a grave offense against the LORD.
Overview
The vivid language of crushing and grinding conveys brutal exploitation of the helpless. God identifies the poor as 'my people,' showing how personally He takes their mistreatment. This anticipates the Messiah who would bring good news to the poor and judge oppressors righteously.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Mic 3:2–3You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones.
- Ps 94:5They crush Your people, O LORD; they oppress Your heritage.
- Amos 2:6–7This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.
- Amos 8:4–6Hear this, you who trample the needy, who do away with the poor of the land,
- Ezek 18:2“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge’?
- Exod 5:14Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”
- Isa 58:4You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high.
- Jonah 1:6The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 3:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.