Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives of the righteous 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?
- BSB Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant 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 11:21–22“When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe.
- Ps 124:6–7Blessed be Yahweh, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.
- Matt 12:29Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.
- Ezek 37:3He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? I answered, Lord Yahweh, you know.
- Isa 42:22But this is a robbed and plundered people. All of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prisons. They have become captives, and no one delivers; and a plunder, and no one says, ‘Restore them!’
- Ezra 9:13“After all that has come on us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, since you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant,
- Ezra 9:9For we are bondservants; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended loving kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to set up the house of our God, and to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.
- Ps 126:1–3A Song of Ascents. When Yahweh brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream.
- Isa 53:12Therefore will I give him a portion with the great, and he will divide the plunder with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death, and was counted 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: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.
- Neh 9:37It yields much increase to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. Also they have power over our bodies and over our livestock, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.
- Neh 9:33However you are just in all that has come on us; for you have dealt truly, but we have done wickedly.
- Jer 25:6–9Don’t go after other gods to serve them or worship them, and don’t provoke me to anger with the work of your hands; and I will do you no harm.”
- Jer 25:11–14This 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.