Isaiah 49 · Verse 24

Isaiah 49:24

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
Isaiah 49:24, King James Version

Isaiah 49:24 in other translations

BSBCan the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?
WEBShall the plunder be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?
ASVShall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives be delivered?
YLTIs prey taken from the mighty? And the captive of the righteous delivered?
DARBYShall the prey be taken from the mighty? and shall he that is rightfully captive be delivered?
BBEWill the goods of war be taken from the strong man, or the prisoners of the cruel one be let go?
WebsterShall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?

What does Isaiah 49:24 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
24. the prey--Israel, long a prey to mighty Gentile nations, whose oppression of her shall reach its highest point under Antichrist (Da 11:36, 37, 41, 45). lawful captive--the Jews justly consigned for their sins (Is 50:1) as captives to the foe. Secondarily, Satan and Death are "the mighty" conquerors of man, upon whom his sin give them their "lawful" claim. Christ answers that claim for the sinners, and so the captive is set free (Job 19:25; 14:14; Mt 12:29; Ho 6:2, where Is 49:4 shows the primary reference is to Israel's restoration, to which the resurrection corresponds; Is 26:19; Ep 4:8; He 2:14, 15). Others not so well translate, "the captives taken from among the just Israelites."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty "Shall the prey seized by the terrible be rescued" - For צדיק tsaddik, read עריץ arits. A palpable mistake, like that in Isa 42:19. The correction is self-evident from the very terms of the sentence; from the necessity of the strict correspondence in the expressions between the question and the answer made to it, - and it is apparent to the blindest and most prejudiced eye. However, if authority is also necessary, there is that of the Syriac and Vulgate for it; who plainly read עריץ arits, in Isa 49:24 as well as in Isa 49:25, rendering it in the former place by the same word as in the latter. - L. These two last verses contain a glorious promise of deliverance to the persecuted Church of Christ from the terrible one - Satan, and all his representatives and vicegerents, persecuting antichristian rulers. They shall at last cease from destroying the Church of God, and destroy one another.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 49:24-26
We were lawful captives to the justice of God, yet delivered by a price of unspeakable value. Here is an express promise: Even the prey of the terrible shall be delivered. We may here view Satan deprived of his prey, bound and cast into the pit; and all the powers that have combined to enslave, persecute, or corrupt the church, are destroyed; that all the earth may know that our Saviour and Redeemer is Jehovah, the mighty One of Jacob. And every effort we make to rescue our fellow-sinners from the bondage of Satan, is, in some degree, helping forward that great change.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Isaiah 49:24 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הֲיֻקַּ֥חha.yu.Kach¿ will it be takenH3947
מִגִּבּ֖וֹרmi.gi.Borfrom a warriorH1368
מַלְק֑וֹחַmal.Ko.achbootyH4455
וְאִם\־ve.'im-and or?H518
שְׁבִ֥יshe.Vi[the] captive[s] ofH7628
צַדִּ֖יקtza.Dik[the] righteousH6662
יִמָּלֵֽט\׃yi.ma.Letwill it escapeH4422

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 49:24

  • Luke 11:21-22

    When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

  • Psalms 124:6-7

    Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.

  • Matthew 12:29

    Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

  • Ezekiel 37:3

    And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.

  • Isaiah 42:22

    But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.

  • Ezra 9:13

    And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;

  • Psalms 126:1-3

    A Song of degrees. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

  • Ezra 9:9

    For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

  • Isaiah 53:12

    Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

  • Ezekiel 37:11

    Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

  • Nehemiah 9:37

    And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

  • Jeremiah 25:6-9

    And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Shall.
Eze 37:3,11
prey.
42:22; 53:12; Ps 124:6,7; 126:1-3; Mt 12:29; Lu 11:21,22
lawful captive. Heb. captivity of the just.
Ezr 9:9,13; Ne 9:33,37; Jer 25:6-9,11-14

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 49:23

    And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

  • Isaiah 49:24

    Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?

  • Isaiah 49:25

    But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

Read all of Isaiah 49

Isaiah 49:24 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
¿Será quitada la presa al valiente? ó ¿libertaráse la cautividad legítima?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Ce qu’il a pris sera-t-il enlevé à l’homme fort, et celui qui est justement captif sera-t-il délivré?
German
Elberfelder 1871
Sollte wohl einem Helden die Beute entrissen werden? oder sollen rechtmäßig Gefangene entrinnen?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Numquid tolletur a forti præda? aut quod captum fuerit a robusto, salvum esse poterit?