Isaiah 3:15

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

⁹The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it; woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves. ¹⁰Tell the righteous it will be well for them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor. ¹¹Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done. ¹²Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths. ¹³The LORD arises to contend; He stands to judge the people. ¹⁴The LORD brings this charge against the elders and leaders of His people: "You have devoured the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses. ¹⁵Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?" declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What mean: Ezekiel 18:2, Jonah 1:6

ye beat: Isaiah 58:4, Exodus 5:14, Amos 2:6, Amos 2:7, Amos 8:4-6, Micah 3:2, Micah 3:3

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 24:17 - pervert Job 22:4 - will he enter Psalms 10:9 - when Psalms 94:5 - break Ecclesiastes 5:8 - regardeth Ezekiel 16:49 - neither Acts 21:13 - What Acts 21:32 - beating James 2:6 - Do

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat of any tree in the garden?'"

Genesis 3:3
but of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.'"

Genesis 3:4
"You will not surely die," the serpent told her.

Genesis 3:6
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Genesis 3:7
And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.

Genesis 3:8
Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Genesis 3:10
"I heard Your voice in the garden," he replied, "and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."

Genesis 3:13
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" "The serpent deceived me," she replied, "and I ate."

Genesis 3:14
So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

What mean ye, [that] ye beat my people to pieces,.... Reduce them to the utmost poverty; so the Targum,

"wherefore do ye impoverish my people?''

as they did by exacting tithes of all that they possessed; by requiring large sums for their long prayers; and by various traditions they enjoined them to observe:

and grind the faces of the poor? either by smiting them on the cheek, as Christ, who became poor for our sakes, was smitten by them; or by bringing them into such low circumstances, by their exorbitant demands, that they had not sufficiency of food to eat; by which means their faces became pale, thin, and meagre:

saith the Lord God of Hosts: who saw all their actions, and was able to plead his people's cause, and take vengeance on their oppressors.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

What mean ye - What is your object? Or, What advantage is it to you? Or, By what right or pretence do you do this?

Beat my people to pieces - That is, that you trample on them; or cruelly oppress them; Psalms 94:5.

And grind the faces of the poor - This is an expression also denoting great oppression. It is taken from the act of grinding a substance on a stone until it is worn away and nothing is left. So, by their cruel exactions, by their injustice to the poor, they exhausted their little property until nothing was left. The word “faces” here is synonymous with “persons” - or with the poor themselves. The word “face” is often used in the sense of “person;” Exodus 33:14; 2 Samuel 18:11. A similar description, though in still stronger language, is found in Micah 3:2-3 :

Who pluck off their skin from off them,

And their flesh from off their bones;

Who also eat the flesh of my people,

And flay their skin from off them;

And they break their bones, and chop them in pieces,

As for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 3:15. And grind the faces — The expression and the image is strong, to denote grievous oppression but is exceeded by the prophet Micah, Micah 3:1-3: -

"Hear, I pray you, ye chiefs of Jacob,

And ye princes of the house of Israel:

Is it not yours to know what is right?

Ye that hate good and love evil:

Who tear their skins from off them,

And their flesh from off their bones;

Who devour the flesh of my people;

And flay from off them their skin;

And their bones they dash in pieces;

And chop them asunder, as morsels for the pot:

And as flesh thrown into the midst of the caldron."

In the last line but one, for כאשר keasher, read, by the transposition of a letter, כשאר kisher, with the Septuagint and Chaldee.