Isaiah 3:15

15 What -- to you? ye bruise My people, And the faces of the poor ye grind.' An affirmation of the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, And Jehovah saith:

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 Jehovah hath stood up to plead, And He is standing to judge the peoples.
14 Jehovah into judgment doth enter With elders of His people, and its heads: `And ye, ye have consumed the vineyard, Plunder of the poor [is] in your houses.
15 What -- to you? ye bruise My people, And the faces of the poor ye grind.' An affirmation of the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, And Jehovah saith:
16 `Because that daughters of Zion have been haughty, And they walk stretching out the neck, And deceiving [with] the eyes, Walking and mincing they go, And with their feet they make a tinkling,
17 The Lord also hath scabbed The crown of the head of daughters of Zion, And Jehovah their simplicity exposeth.
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.