What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith 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.
- BSB Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” declares 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 3:2–3Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
- Ps 94:5They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage.
- Amos 2:6–7Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;
- Amos 8:4–6Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
- Ezek 18:2What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
- Exod 5:14And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?
- Isa 58:4Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
- Jonah 1:6So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
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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.