Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?
Parallel translations
- WEB Shall the plunder be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?
- KJV Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
- NKJV Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives of the righteous be delivered?
- NASB ¶“Can the prey be taken from a mighty man, Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?”
- NLT Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior? Who can demand that a tyrant let his captives go?
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
The people ask whether it is even possible to wrest captives and plunder from a mighty conqueror.
Overview
This poses the seemingly impossible question: can prey be taken from the strong, or lawful captives be freed? It voices the doubt that exile could ever be undone. The question sets up God's answer in v.25, and ultimately points to Christ, the stronger one who binds the strong man and frees his captives (Matthew 12:29).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Luke 11:21–22When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are secure.
- Ps 124:6–7Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
- Matt 12:29Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
- Ezek 37:3Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.”
- Isa 42:22But this is a people plundered and looted, all trapped in caves or imprisoned in dungeons. They have become plunder with no one to rescue them, and loot with no one to say, “Send them back!”
- Ezra 9:13After all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt (though You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us such a remnant as this),
- Ezra 9:9Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but He has extended to us grace in the sight of the kings of Persia, giving us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and giving us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
- Ps 126:1–3A song of ascents. When the LORD restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers.
- Isa 53:12Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
- Ezek 37:11Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
- Neh 9:37Its abundant harvest goes to the kings You have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies and our livestock as they please. We are in great distress.
- Neh 9:33You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.
- Jer 25:6–9Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’
- Jer 25:11–14And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 49:24 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.