Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Isaiah 51:23 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 23. 23But 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah turns or qualifies the movement with “But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee” at Isaiah 51:23 inside “Jerusalem Awakens after Drinking the Cup.”
Read It With
- Isaiah 51:17–23
Read Isaiah 51:23 with 51:17–23. By itself, “But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, historical horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: Zion's incomparable devastation and absent guides are acknowledged before the cup of staggering is removed and transferred to tormentors.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within the same chapter, this unit advances from “The People Call the Arm to Awake and Receive an Answer” into “Jerusalem Awakens after Drinking the Cup.” Its non-interchangeable movement is: Zion's incomparable devastation and absent guides are acknowledged before the cup of staggering is removed and transferred to tormentors. This verse's placement is specific: The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah turns or qualifies the movement with “But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee” at Isaiah 51:23 inside “Jerusalem Awakens after Drinking the Cup.”
What Remains True
Hope for a community must hold justice, belonging, safety, worship, grief, and repair together. In Isaiah 51:23, that bounded truth is carried through this verse's role: The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah turns or qualifies the movement with “But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee” at Isaiah 51:23 inside “Jerusalem Awakens after Drinking the Cup.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Serve real communities with accountable justice and welcome while refusing territorial absolutism, misogyny, or claims that one modern city exhausts the poetry. This response follows Isaiah 51:17–23's specific concern, “Jerusalem Awakens after Drinking the Cup.” This verse directs that response through its exact role: The prophetic poem or speech in Isaiah turns or qualifies the movement with “But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee” at Isaiah 51:23 inside “Jerusalem Awakens after Drinking the Cup.”
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Isaiah 51:17–23 — Jerusalem Awakens after Drinking the CupSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Isaiah 51:17–23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 51:17–23 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 51:17–23 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Open the official NET Isaiah PDF ↗