Isaiah 9:4
in Isaiah 9For 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, thou hast 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.
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This verse in Isaiah 9
Commentary
10 notes on this verseFor the yoke of their burden, and the rod of their shoulder, and the scepter of their exactor you have overcome, as in the day of Midian. LXX: For the yoke that was upon them, and the rod from their neck, has been taken away. For the rod of the oppressors shall be broken, as in the day of Midian.
This site's exposition
You have enlarged the nation
on Isaiah 9:3-5
The King James has the nation multiplied without increase of joy, and the older commentators trace this to a Hebrew word read as either not or to him. The Berean reads "increased its joy," a gladness like harvest and dividing plunder, the yoke broken "as in the day of Midian," when Gideon routed a great army by the Lord's power. Every "garment rolled in blood" from past battles "will be burned as fuel for the fire."
This site's exposition
as in the day of Midian
The day of Midian is Gideon's victory in Judges 7, where three hundred men routed a great army. The oppressor now is Assyria. Barnes read the past tense as prophetic, the future seen in the vision as already done.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Third, the liberation of slaves: for tyrants burden with precepts, and as to this he says, for the yoke of their burden, that which Sennacherib laid on them; they afflict with punishments, and as to this he says, and the rod of their shoulder, that …
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
In the mystery of the establishment of judges, Christ is symbolized by Gedeon, of whom Isaiah speaks: "As on the day of Madian."
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden,.... Of Galilee, of the nation multiplied, of the spiritual inhabitants of it, whose joy was increased; and this is one reason of it, because they were delivered by the Lord from the burdensome yoke of the ceremonial law, which was broken off and abolished by Christ; and from the tyranny of Satan, the god of this world, out of whose hands they were ransomed and delivered; and from the dominion of sin, under the power of which they had been in bondage.
The staff - The staff or staves by which he was forced to carry burdens upon his shoulders. The rod - Wherewith he beat him. Oppressor - Of all his oppressors, but especially of sin and the devil.
(1.) The design of the gospel, and the grace of it, is to break the yoke of sin and Satan, to remove the burden of guilt and corruption, and to free us from the rod of those oppressors, that we might be brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For thou hast broken - This verse, and the following, show the way in which the occasion of the joy had been furnished. The expression ‘thou hast’ does not necessarily refer to the past, but is a form of expression derived from the nature of the prophetic visions, where that is described as past which is seen to pass before the eyes of the prophet; see the Introduction, section
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
As the "dividing of the spoil" (Isa 9:3) was followed by that which was "not joy," the making of the idolatrous ephod (Jud 8:24-27), so the gospel victory was soon followed by apostasy at the first, and shall be so again after the millennial overthrow of Antichrist (Re 20:3, 7-9), previous to Satan's last doom (Re 20:10).
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י׀ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֹ֣ל | ʾol | [the] yoke of | H5923 → | 40 times |
| סֻבֳּל֗וֹ | subolo | burden its | H5448 → | 3 times |
| וְאֵת֙ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַטֵּ֣ה | mateh | [the] staff of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| שִׁכְמ֔וֹ | shikhmo | shoulder its | H7926 → | 21 times |
| שֵׁ֖בֶט | shevet | [the] rod of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| הַנֹּגֵ֣שׂ | hanoges | the [one who] oppresses | H5065 → | 23 times |
| בּ֑וֹ | bo | <in> it | ||
| הַחִתֹּ֖תָ | hachitota | you will shatter | H2865 → | 52 times |
| כְּי֥וֹם | keyom | like [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| מִדְיָֽן׃ | midyan | Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
כִּ֣י׀for
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֹ֣ל[the] yoke of
ʾolH5923 →40 times
סֻבֳּל֗וֹburden its
suboloH5448 →3 times
וְאֵת֙and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מַטֵּ֣ה[the] staff of
matehH4294 →252 times
שִׁכְמ֔וֹshoulder its
shikhmoH7926 →21 times
שֵׁ֖בֶט[the] rod of
shevetH7626 →190 times
הַנֹּגֵ֣שׂthe [one who] oppresses
hanogesH5065 →23 times
בּ֑וֹ<in> it
bo
הַחִתֹּ֖תָyou will shatter
hachitotaH2865 →52 times
כְּי֥וֹםlike [the] day of
keyomH3117 →2304 times
מִדְיָֽן׃Midian
midyanH4080 →59 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nahum 1:13For I will now break their yoke from your neck and tear away your shackles.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:27
On that day the burden will be lifted from your shoulders, and the yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because your neck will be too large.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 2:20
“For long ago you broke your yoke and tore off your chains, saying, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.
- Isaiah 10:27
Through
Jeremiah 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.
it leads to
- Nahum 1:13
For I will now break their yoke from your neck and tear away your shackles.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nahum 1:13
Through
Isaiah 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.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:25–26
Do not fear sudden danger or the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
- Jeremiah 30:10
As for you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants…
- Zechariah 9:8
But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of those who march to and fro, and never again will an oppressor overrun My people, for now I keep watch with…
- Zechariah 8:3
This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be…
- Zechariah 2:4–5
and said to him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock within it.
- Proverbs 3:25–26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
On this verse
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 14; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.