For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as in the day of Midian.
- KJV For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
- NKJV For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian.
- NASB For You will break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
- NLT For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.
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 will shatter the oppressor's yoke as decisively as Gideon's miraculous victory over Midian.
Overview
The yoke, staff, and rod symbolize the burden of oppression that God will break. The reference to "the day of Midian" recalls Gideon's victory won by God's power, not human might (Judges 7). The promise points to the deliverance the Messiah brings, freeing his people from bondage by God's own initiative.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Isa 14:25I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
- Jer 30:8On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will break the yoke off their necks and tear off their bonds, and no longer will strangers enslave them.
- Isa 10:26–27And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them, as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will raise His staff over the sea, as He did in Egypt.
- Nah 1:13For I will now break their yoke from your neck and tear away your shackles.”
- Isa 54:14In righteousness you will be established, far from oppression, for you will have no fear. Terror will be far removed, for it will not come near you.
- Isa 49:26I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
- Isa 14:3–5On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced,
- Isa 30:31–32For Assyria will be shattered at the voice of the LORD; He will strike them with His scepter.
- Lev 26:13I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk in uprightness.
- Gen 27:40You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
- Ps 125:3For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.
- Judg 6:1–6Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,
- Isa 10:5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.
- Judg 7:22–25And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
- Ps 83:9–11Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,
- Judg 8:10–12Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.
- Isa 47:6I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.
- Isa 51:13But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You live in terror all day long because of the fury of the oppressor who is bent on destruction. But where is the fury of the oppressor?
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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 9:4 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
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