Isaiah 49:21
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.
Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
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
- Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. So who has reared them? Look, I was left all alone, so where did they come from?’”
- KJV
- Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
- WEB
- Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has conceived these for me, since I have been bereaved of my children and am alone, an exile, and wandering back and forth? Who has brought these up? Behold, I was left alone. Where were these?’”
- ASV
- Then shalt thou say in thy heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am solitary, an exile, and wandering to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?
- DARBY
- And thou shalt say in thy heart, Who hath borne me these, seeing I had lost my children and was desolate, an exile, and driven about? and who hath brought up these? behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?
- BLB
- And you will say in your heart, ‘Who has borne these for me, and I [am] childless and barren, exiled and rejected? And who has raised these? Behold, I was left alone by myself; these—where [are] they [from]?
- ÅB
- Og du skal si i ditt hjerte: Hvem har født meg disse barn? Jeg var jo barnløs og ufruktbar, landflyktig og jaget bort. Og hvem har fostret disse? Jeg var jo enslig tilbake. Hvor var da disse?
- OTB
- Da vil du si i ditt hjerte, ‘Hvem har født meg disse? Jeg var sørgende og barnløs; jeg var i eksil og avvist. Hvem har oppdratt disse? Jeg var helt alene, men disse—hvor har de kommet fra?’”
- B1930
- Og du skal si i ditt hjerte: Hvem har født mig disse barn? Jeg var jo barnløs og ufruktbar, landflyktig og jaget bort. Og hvem har fostret disse? Jeg var jo enslig tilbake. Hvor var da disse?
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Isaiah 64:10
Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
Read in contextGalatians 3:29
And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Read in contextIsaiah 54:3–8
For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Read in contextIsaiah 5:13
Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
Read in contextMatthew 24:29–30
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Read in contextRomans 11:11–17
I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
Read in contextIsaiah 62:4
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
Read in contextJeremiah 31:15–17
Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.
Read in context