Isaiah 3:15

15 What gives you the right to crush my people and grind the faces of the poor into the dirt?" The Lord God All-Powerful says this.

Isaiah 3:15 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 3:15

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.

Isaiah 3:15 In-Context

13 The Lord takes his place in court and stands to judge the people.

14 The Lord presents his case against the older leaders and other leaders of his people: "You have burned the vineyard. Your houses are full of what you took from the poor.

15 What gives you the right to crush my people and grind the faces of the poor into the dirt?" The Lord God All-Powerful says this.

16 The Lord says, "The women of Jerusalem are proud. They walk around with their heads held high, and they flirt with their eyes. They take quick, short steps, making noise with their ankle bracelets."

17 So the Lord will put sores on the heads of those women in Jerusalem, and he will make them lose their hair.