The Meaning of Isaiah 51:23 Explained

Isaiah 51:23

KJV: 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.

YLT: And I have put it into the hand of those afflicting thee, Who have said to thy soul, Bow down, and we pass over, And thou makest as the earth thy body, And as the street to those passing by!'

Darby: and I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; who 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.

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 51:23 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Instead, God would give Israel"s enemies His cup of wrath to drink. They had walked all over Israel, but that would end. The figure of walking on the backs of enemies stresses the victor"s desire to humiliate the captives, not to slay them (cf. Joshua 10:24).
To summarize God"s plans for Israel as revealed in Isaiah , unless she repented she would experience His judgment. God would use surrounding nations to punish His people. After this punishment, God would restore Israel and punish her oppressors (cf. Habakkuk 1-2).

Context Summary

Isaiah 51:12-23 - "the Captive Exile Shall Be Loosed"
During the Sepoy mutiny in India, when a number of English men and women were shut up in a quarter of Cawnpore, expecting a terrible death by assault or slow starvation, a torn page of the Bible, containing this passage, was found on the street pavement and was of unspeakable comfort. Oh, the blessedness of appropriating Isaiah 51:16! See Isaiah 49:7.
We are too apt to forget that God pleads the cause of His people, even when they have sinned and have reduced themselves to sore straits, Isaiah 51:17 and Isaiah 51:22. We think more of the earth than of the over-arching skies; of the fading grass than of the tree of Life; of man than of God. The near obscures the distant, and the flaring earth lights, the shine of the stars! Root yourself in God! Think of Him who sits at the right hand of the throne, the seat of resistless, ceaseless energy! Believe that God has placed Himself between you and all enemies and circumstances which threaten. To fear all day is impossible in face of these paragraphs. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 51

1  An exhortation after the pattern of Abraham, to trust in Christ
3  By reason of his comfortable promises,
4  Of his righteous salvation
7  And man's mortality
9  Christ by his sanctified arm defends his from the fear of man
17  He bewails the afflictions of Jerusalem
21  And promises deliverance

What do the individual words in Isaiah 51:23 mean?

but I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you who have said to you Lie down that we may walk over you and you have laid like the ground your body and as the street for those who walk over -
וְשַׂמְתִּ֙יהָ֙ בְּיַד־ מוֹגַ֔יִךְ אֲשֶׁר־ אָמְר֥וּ לְנַפְשֵׁ֖ךְ שְׁחִ֣י וְנַעֲבֹ֑רָה וַתָּשִׂ֤ימִי כָאָ֙רֶץ֙ גֵּוֵ֔ךְ וְכַח֖וּץ לַעֹבְרִֽים ס

וְשַׂמְתִּ֙יהָ֙  but  I  will  put  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular, third person feminine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
בְּיַד־  into  the  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
מוֹגַ֔יִךְ  of  those  who  afflict  you 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: יָגָה 
Sense: to afflict, grieve, suffer, cause grief.
אָמְר֥וּ  have  said 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לְנַפְשֵׁ֖ךְ  to  you 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular construct, second person feminine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
שְׁחִ֣י  Lie  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: שָׁחָה  
Sense: to bow down.
וְנַעֲבֹ֑רָה  that  we  may  walk  over  you 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative, first person common plural
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
וַתָּשִׂ֤ימִי  and  you  have  laid 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, second person feminine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
כָאָ֙רֶץ֙  like  the  ground 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
גֵּוֵ֔ךְ  your  body 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person feminine singular
Root: גֵּו 
Sense: the back, back, midst.
וְכַח֖וּץ  and  as  the  street 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חוּץ  
Sense: outside, outward, street, the outside.
לַעֹבְרִֽים  for  those  who  walk  over 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation