2352. thrauó
Lexical Summary
thrauó: To break, to shatter, to crush

Original Word: θραύω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: thrauó
Pronunciation: thrah-OO-oh
Phonetic Spelling: (throw'-o)
KJV: bruise
NASB: oppressed
Word Origin: [a primary verb]

1. to crush

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
crush, bruise, oppress

A primary verb; to crush -- bruise. Compare rhegnumi.

see GREEK rhegnumi

HELPS Word-studies

2352 thraúō – properly, break in pieces (shatter). 2352 (thraúō) is used only in Lk 4:18.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. verb
Definition
to break in pieces
NASB Translation
oppressed (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2352: θραύω

θραύω: perfect passive participle τεθραυσμένος; from (Herodotus), Aeschylus down, to break, break in pieces, shatter, smite through (Exodus 15:6; Numbers 24:17, etc.; 2 Macc. 15:16): τεθραύσμενοι, broken by calamity (A. V. bruised), Luke 4:18 (19) from Isaiah 58:6 for רְצוּצִים. (Synonym: see ῤήγνυμι.)

Topical Lexicon
Context and Setting

In Luke 4:18 Jesus reads from Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth and proclaims: “He has sent Me … to release the oppressed”. The participle translated “the oppressed” carries the idea of those already broken—people whose lives have been shattered by sin, sickness, demonic bondage, social marginalization, or political subjugation. By choosing this passage for His inaugural sermon, Jesus publicly defines His messianic mission in terms of healing and emancipation for the crushed.

Old Testament Background

1. Isaiah 61:1 supplies the wording Jesus cites. In the Hebrew text the Servant is sent “to bind up the brokenhearted,” while the Septuagint employs language of release. Both ideas converge in Jesus’ ministry: binding up interior wounds and freeing from external chains.
2. Isaiah 42:3 underscores the Servant’s gentleness: “A bruised reed He will not break.” The same imagery of bruising and breaking forms a literary bridge to Luke 4:18.
3. Psalms 34:18 and Psalms 147:3 affirm that the Lord draws near to and heals the brokenhearted, preparing the theological soil for the Gospel fulfillment.

Messianic Fulfillment

Jesus embodies the Jubilee motif of Leviticus 25, declaring the “year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19). The Jubilee released debtors, restored inheritance, and liberated slaves. By invoking the verb of shattering in Luke 4:18, Luke portrays humanity under sin as spiritually bankrupt, dispossessed, and imprisoned until Christ proclaims Jubilee freedom.

Spiritual Brokenness and Healing

1. Sin fractures relationship with God (Isaiah 59:2). Christ heals that fracture through His atoning death and resurrection (Romans 5:10).
2. Demonic oppression fragments human dignity (Luke 8:27–35). Jesus’ authority over unclean spirits demonstrates liberation for the shattered.
3. Social stigma—whether poverty, disease, ethnicity, or gender—creates communal brokenness. The One who eats with tax collectors, touches lepers, and honors women manifests the restorative heart announced in Luke 4:18.

Historical Interpretation

• Early Church writers such as Irenaeus viewed Luke 4:18 as a programmatic text proving Jesus to be the promised Liberator who reverses the curse of the fall.
• Medieval commentators connected the bruised to penitents, applying the verse pastorally to confession and absolution.
• The Reformation highlighted the sufficiency of Christ alone to mend the conscience broken by legal guilt.
• Modern missions have often taken Luke 4:18 as a charter for holistic ministry—evangelism coupled with compassion for the oppressed.

Pastoral and Ministerial Applications

1. Preaching: Proclaim Christ as the One who still liberates captives to sin, fear, and addiction.
2. Counseling: Offer the hope that no heart is too shattered for the Savior who “binds up their wounds” (Psalms 147:3).
3. Social action: Serve the poor and marginalized as an outworking of Gospel realities, never divorcing deed from Word.
4. Prayer ministry: Invite the Holy Spirit to apply the finished work of Christ to hidden trauma, trusting His gentle yet powerful touch.

Theological Implications

• Christ’s compassion toward the broken is rooted in His incarnation; He knows human frailty from the inside (Hebrews 4:15).
• Redemption is comprehensive: spiritual, emotional, and, ultimately, physical (Revelation 21:4).
• The perfect participle in Luke 4:18 stresses a continuing state of freedom—believers are not merely rescued once but stand in perpetual liberty (Galatians 5:1).

Practical Reflections for Today

Believers are called to mirror their Lord by:

– Refusing to “break a bruised reed” through harsh judgment or indifference.

– Speaking the Gospel that alone can reverse spiritual fracture.

– Demonstrating Kingdom mercy in tangible ways, anticipating the day when all brokenness is forever healed in the presence of the Lamb.

Strong’s Greek 2352 therefore serves as a vivid reminder that the Gospel is God’s answer to every kind of brokenness, and that the ministry of Jesus Christ continues through His body, the Church, until the final restoration of all things.

Forms and Transliterations
έθραυσε έθραυσεν εθραύσθη θραύειν θραύεσθε θραύσαι θραύσει θραυσθή θραυσθήσεται τεθραυσμένος τεθραυσμενους τεθραυσμένους tethrausmenous tethrausménous
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Luke 4:18 V-RPM/P-AMP
GRK: ἀνάβλεψιν ἀποστεῖλαι τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει
NAS: TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
KJV: at liberty them that are bruised,
INT: recovery of sight to send forth [the] oppressed in deliverance

Strong's Greek 2352
1 Occurrence


τεθραυσμένους — 1 Occ.

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