Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
Parallel translations
- WEB Shall the plunder be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?
- BSB Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be 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 armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
- Ps 124:6–7Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
- Matt 12:29Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
- Ezek 37:3And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
- Isa 42:22But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.
- Ezra 9:13And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;
- Ezra 9:9For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
- Ps 126:1–3When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
- Isa 53:12Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
- Ezek 37:11Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
- Neh 9:37And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.
- Neh 9:33Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:
- Jer 25:6–9And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
- Jer 25:11–14And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
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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 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.