Isaiah 49:18
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Lift up your eyes and look around. They all gather together; they come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as jewelry and put them on like a bride.
- KJV
- Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
- WEB
- Lift up your eyes all around, and see: all these gather themselves together, and come to you. As I live,” says the LORD, “you shall surely clothe yourself with them all as with an ornament, and dress yourself with them, like a bride.
- ASV
- Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, like a bride.
- DARBY
- Lift up thine eyes round about and behold: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt indeed clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and bind them on as a bride doth.
- BLB
- Lift up your eyes round about, and see: All of them have gathered together, [and] come to you! [By] the life of Me,” says YHWH, “Surely, you will wear all of them as an ornament, and bind them on like a bride.
- ÅB
- Løft dine øyne og se deg omkring! De samler seg alle sammen, de kommer til deg. Så sant jeg lever, sier Herren, du skal iføre deg dem alle sammen som en prydelse og binde dem om deg lik bruden;
- OTB
- Løft dine øyne og se deg omkring; alle dine barn samler seg og kommer til deg. Så sant jeg lever,” sier Herren, “du skal bære dem alle som smykker; du skal pryde deg med dem, som en brud.
- B1930
- Løft dine øine og se dig omkring! De samler sig alle sammen, de kommer til dig. Så sant jeg lever, sier Herren, du skal iføre dig dem alle sammen som en prydelse og binde dem om dig lik bruden;
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Isaiah 54:1–3
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
Read in contextIsaiah 61:10
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Read in contextIsaiah 66:12–13
For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.
Read in contextIsaiah 54:9
For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
Read in contextIsaiah 54:7
For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Read in contextIsaiah 43:5–6
Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
Read in contextIsaiah 66:20
And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
Read in contextJeremiah 2:32
Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
Read in context