Lamentations 3:34
New International Version
To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land,

New Living Translation
If people crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,

English Standard Version
To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth,

Berean Standard Bible
To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,

King James Bible
To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,

New King James Version
To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the earth,

New American Standard Bible
To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the land,

NASB 1995
To crush under His feet All the prisoners of the land,

NASB 1977
To crush under His feet All the prisoners of the land,

Legacy Standard Bible
To crush under His feet All the prisoners of the land,

Amplified Bible
To trample and crush under His feet All the prisoners of the land,

Christian Standard Bible
Crushing all the prisoners of the land beneath one’s feet,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Crushing all the prisoners of the land beneath one’s feet,

American Standard Version
To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,

Contemporary English Version
Don't trample prisoners under your feet

English Revised Version
To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
crush any prisoner on earth underfoot,

Good News Translation
The Lord knows when our spirits are crushed in prison;

International Standard Version
When any of the prisoners of the earth are crushed underfoot,

Majority Standard Bible
To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,

NET Bible
To crush underfoot all the earth's prisoners,

New Heart English Bible
To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth;

Webster's Bible Translation
To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,

World English Bible
To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
To bruise under one’s feet any bound ones of earth,

Young's Literal Translation
To bruise under one's feet any bound ones of earth,

Smith's Literal Translation
To crush under his feet all the bound of the earth,
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Lamed. To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the land,

Catholic Public Domain Version
LAMED. as if to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the land,

New American Bible
That someone tramples underfoot all the prisoners in the land,

New Revised Standard Version
When all the prisoners of the land are crushed under foot,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
To subdue under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Lamed To subdue under his feet all the prisoners of Earth
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
To crush under foot All the prisoners of the earth,

Brenton Septuagint Translation
LAMED. To bring down under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jeremiah's Hope
33For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men. 34To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land, 35to deny a man justice before the Most High,…

Cross References
Isaiah 10:1-2
Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees, / to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.

Proverbs 22:22-23
Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate, / for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.

Exodus 22:21-24
You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt. / You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. / If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry. ...

Psalm 10:17-18
You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will incline Your ear, / to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed, that the men of the earth may strike terror no more.

Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”

Zechariah 7:9-10
“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another. / Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’

James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

Matthew 25:40
And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

Proverbs 31:8-9
Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed. / Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the poor and needy.

Isaiah 58:6-7
Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke? / Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Amos 2:6-7
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. / They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth; they push the needy out of their way. A man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name.

Micah 2:1-2
Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands. / They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15
Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. / You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

Job 31:13-15
If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me, / what will I do when God rises to judge? How will I answer when called to account? / Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb?

Jeremiah 22:3
This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.


Treasury of Scripture

To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth.

crush

Isaiah 51:22,23
Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: …

Jeremiah 50:17,33,34
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones…

Jeremiah 51:33-36
For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come…

all

Psalm 69:33
For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.

Psalm 79:11
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;

Psalm 102:20
To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;

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Bound Bruise Crush Crushing Earth Feet Foot Ones One's Prisoners Underfoot
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Bound Bruise Crush Crushing Earth Feet Foot Ones One's Prisoners Underfoot
Lamentations 3
1. The prophet bewails his own calamities
22. By the mercies of God, he nourishes his hope
37. He acknowledges God's justice
55. He prays for deliverance
64. And vengeance on his enemies














To crush underfoot
This phrase evokes a vivid image of oppression and domination. In the Hebrew text, the word "crush" is derived from the root "דָּכָא" (dakah), which means to break or bruise. This imagery is often used in the Bible to describe the actions of tyrants or oppressors who exert their power mercilessly over the weak. Historically, this reflects the Babylonian conquest of Judah, where the people were subjugated and humiliated. From a spiritual perspective, this phrase can also symbolize the crushing weight of sin and the oppression of the soul by evil forces. It serves as a reminder of the need for divine intervention and justice, as God is portrayed throughout Scripture as the defender of the oppressed.

all the prisoners
The term "prisoners" here is significant, as it refers to those who are bound or confined, both physically and metaphorically. In the context of Lamentations, it likely refers to the Israelites who were taken captive by the Babylonians. The Hebrew word "אָסִיר" (asir) can also imply those who are bound by circumstances beyond their control, such as poverty or injustice. This phrase highlights the plight of those who are powerless and emphasizes God's concern for justice and liberation. In a broader theological sense, it can be seen as a metaphor for humanity's bondage to sin and the need for redemption through Christ.

of the land
This phrase situates the suffering within a specific geographical and cultural context. "The land" refers to the land of Judah, which was devastated by the Babylonian invasion. The Hebrew word "אֶרֶץ" (eretz) is often used in the Old Testament to denote not just physical territory but also the people and their covenant relationship with God. The destruction of the land symbolizes the breaking of this covenant and the resulting judgment. However, it also points to the hope of restoration, as the land is central to God's promises to His people. In a spiritual sense, "the land" can represent the broader world, where injustice and suffering persist, yet where God's ultimate plan for redemption and restoration will be fulfilled.

(34-36) To crush . . .--The triplet of verses forms one sentence dependent upon the final clause, "The Lord approveth not," literally, doth not look on. By some critics the literal meaning is kept in the form of a question: Doth not the Lord look on this? The fact that the righteous judgment of God is against those who, unlike Him, cause wilful and needless suffering is another ground of hope to the sufferer. The three forms of evil specified are (1) the cruel treatment of prisoners of war, such as Jeremiah had witnessed daily at the hands of the Chaldeans; (2) the perversion of justice in a public tribunal acting in the name of God (Exodus 23:6); (3) every form even of private injustice.

Verses 34-39. - These two triads form a transition to the renewed complaints and appeals for help in the following verses. The first triad is probably an amplification of the statement that "the Lord doth not afflict willingly." This being the case, the injustice which darkens human life cannot be approved by him. Verse 34. - To crush, etc. With manifest reference to the cruelties of the Babylonian conquerors of the Jews.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
To crush
לְדַכֵּא֙ (lə·ḏak·kê)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1792: To crumble, to bruise

underfoot
תַּ֣חַת (ta·ḥaṯ)
Preposition
Strong's 8478: The bottom, below, in lieu of

all
כֹּ֖ל (kōl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the prisoners
אֲסִ֥ירֵי (’ă·sî·rê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 615: A bondman, prisoner

of the land,
אָֽרֶץ׃ (’ā·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land


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OT Prophets: Lamentations 3:34 To crush under foot all the prisoners (Lam. La Lm)
Lamentations 3:33
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