Kicking Against the Pricks is the third album released by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. First released in 1986, the album is a collection of cover versions. The title refers to a passage from the Bible (Acts 9:5 and 26:14), the first of which reads "And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." The phrase refers to the futility of an ox kicking in irritation at the sharpened wooden rod, called a prick or goad, used by his driver when tilling soil.