Bible Strands
Isaiah 9:4
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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses Israel concerning a decisive intervention that follows national expansion and precedes the destruction of enemy forces. The words — עֹל ('ol) = yoke and מַטֵּה (ma.Teh) = staff denote the instruments of subjugation that the text says Yahweh shatters. The thread — The removal of oppressive control recurs in Isaiah 14:25 and Jeremiah 30:8, while Isaiah 10:26 links the Midian precedent to a divine whip. Why it lands — The text demands recognition that liberation depends entirely on divine intervention rather than human effort.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 14:25 I 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.”
- Jeremiah 30:8 On 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.
- Isaiah 10:26 And 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.
- Nahum 1:13 For I will now break their yoke from your neck and tear away your shackles.”
- Isaiah 54:14 In 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.
- Isaiah 49:26 I 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.”
- Isaiah 14:3 On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced,
- Genesis 27:40 You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
- Leviticus 26:13 I 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.
- Isaiah 30:31 For Assyria will be shattered at the voice of the LORD; He will strike them with His scepter.