Isaiah 51:23

23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.”

Isaiah 51:23 in Other Translations

23 But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.

23 and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, 'Bow down, that we may pass over'; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over."

23 Instead, I will hand that cup to your tormentors, those who said, ‘We will trample you into the dust and walk on your backs.’”

23 I've passed it over to your abusers to drink, those who ordered you, 'Down on the ground so we can walk all over you!' And you had to do it. Flat on the ground, you were the dirt under their feet."

23 I will put it into the hands of your tormenters, who said to you: Lie down, so we can walk over you. You made your back like the ground, and like a street for those who walk on it.

Isaiah 51:23 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 51:23

And I will put it into the hand of them that afflict me
As the Lord did to literal Babylon, ( Jeremiah 25:15 Jeremiah 25:16 ) , so will he do to mystical Babylon; he will retaliate upon her all the evils she has done to others, and destroy them that destroyed the earth; see ( Revelation 11:18 ) ( 13:10 ) ( 18:6 ) , which have said to thy soul, bow down, that we may go over;
who not only afflicted the bodies, but tyrannized over the souls and consciences of men; obliging them to a compliance with their idolatrous practices, to bow down and worship the beast, and his image; and thereby acknowledge subjection to the see of Rome, and its authority over them: the allusion seems to be the custom of the eastern kings trampling upon the necks of their conquered enemies, ( Joshua 10:24 ) , and the pope of Rome has, in a literal sense, trampled upon the necks even of kings and emperors. And thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them
that went over;
which expresses the low estate of the church of Christ, or holy city, while trodden under foot by the Gentiles during the reign of antichrist, ( Revelation 11:2 ) , and may also denote the sneaking outward compliance of some through the force of persecution, when they did not cordially embrace, nor with conscience, and from their heart, submit to the authority of the church of Rome; but though the people of God are represented in such a low and grovelling condition, yet they shall arise out of it, and come into a very flourishing one, as the next chapter shows.

Isaiah 51:23 In-Context

21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine.

22 This is what your Sovereign LORD says, your God, who defends his people: “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again.

23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.”

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 14:4; Isaiah 49:26; Jer 25:15-17,26,28; Jeremiah 49:12
• 2. ver 17; Zechariah 12:2
• 3. S Joshua 10:24
• 4. Psalms 66:12; Micah 7:10