To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,
Parallel translations
- WEB To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,
- BSB To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,
- NKJV To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the earth,
- NASB To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the land,
- NLT If people crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,
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 does not approve of crushing prisoners underfoot; injustice against the helpless is contrary to His will.
Overview
This verse begins a series describing oppressions God does not sanction. To trample captives is to violate justice that the Lord upholds. Such concern for the oppressed reflects God's righteous character and foreshadows the Messiah who comes to set captives free (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Zech 9:11–12As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
- Isa 51:22–23Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:
- Isa 49:9That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.
- Jer 51:33–36For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
- Ps 69:33For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
- Ps 102:20To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
- Isa 14:17That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
- Ps 79:11Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
- Jer 50:33–34Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
- Jer 50:17Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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
The weeping over a ruined city and the steadfast mercies that are new every morning point to the man of sorrows who wept over Jerusalem and whose mercy rises new from the grave.
How Lamentations 3:34 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.