American Standard Version
Isaiah 49:21
21Then 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?
Isaiah 49:21 in other versions
- King James Version (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?
- New International Version (NIV)Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these—where have they come from?’ ”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then you will say in your heart: 'Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?'"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have lost my children and am desolate, A captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; But these, where were they?’ ”
Context of Isaiah 49:21
19For, as for thy waste and thy desolate places, and thy land that hath been destroyed, surely now shalt thou be too strait for the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell. 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? 22Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. 23And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah; and they that wait for me shall not be put to shame.
Read all of Isaiah 49Isaiah 49:21 word by word
וְאָמַ֣רְתְּ בִּלְבָבֵ֗ךְ מִ֤י יָֽלַד־לִי֙ אֶת־אֵ֔לֶּה וַאֲנִ֥י שְׁכוּלָ֖ה וְגַלְמוּדָ֑ה גֹּלָ֣ה׀ וְסוּרָ֗ה וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ מִ֣י גִדֵּ֔ל הֵ֤ן אֲנִי֙ נִשְׁאַ֣רְתִּי לְבַדִּ֔י אֵ֖לֶּה אֵיפֹ֥ה הֵֽם׃ פRead the interlinear
Cross-references for Isaiah 49:21
- Jeremiah 31:15Thus saith Jehovah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuseth to be comforted for her children, because they are not.
- Romans 11:11I say then, Did they stumble that they might fall? God forbid: but by their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.
- Galatians 3:29And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.
- Galatians 4:26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother.
- Isaiah 3:26And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate and sit upon the ground.
- Isaiah 51:17Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, that hast drunk at the hand of Jehovah the cup of his wrath; thou hast drunken the bowl of the cup of staggering, and drained it.
- Isaiah 52:2Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit on thy throne, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bonds of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
- Isaiah 54:3For thou shalt spread abroad on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall possess the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
- Isaiah 60:15Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
- Isaiah 62:4Thou 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 Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
- Isaiah 64:10Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
- Lamentations 1:1How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! She is become as a widow, that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces is become tributary!
- Matthew 24:29But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall 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:
- Luke 21:24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
- Romans 11:26and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Commentaries on Isaiah 49:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21These, where had they been "These then, where were they?" - The conjunction is added before אלה elleh, that is, ואלה veelleh . in thirty-two MSS. (nine ancient) of Kennicott's, and fifty-four of De Rossi's, and so the Septuagint, Chaldee, and Vulgate. See the note on Isaiah 49:12; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Then shalt thou say in thine heart - Thou shalt wonder at the multitude, and shalt ask with astonishment from where they all come. This verse is designed to describe the great increase of the true people of God under the image of a mother who had been deprived of her children, who should suddenly see herself surrounded with more than had been lost, and should ask in astonishment from where they all came. Who hath begotten me these - The idea here is, that…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 18-23 Zion is addressed as an afflicted widow, bereaved of her children. Numbers flock to her, and she is assured that they come to be a comfort to her. There are times when the church is desolate and few in number; yet its desolations shall not last for ever, and God will repair them. God can raise up friends for returning Israelites, even among Gentiles. They shall bring their children, and make them thy children. Let all deal tenderly and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-21The population growth would extend beyond Israel to include people from other nations who turn to the Lord (see Isaiah 56:6–8; Revelation 7:9). make room: The increased population would need space far beyond Israel's traditional borders (see also Zechariah 2:4).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. Who, &c.--Zion's joyful wonder at the unexpected restoration of the ten tribes. Secondarily, the accession of spiritual Israelites to the mother church of Jerusalem from the Gentiles is meant. This created surprise at first (Ac 10:45; 14:27; 15:3, 4). lost ... am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro--rather, "bereaved of ... have been barren, an exile and outcast" [Horsley]. She had been "put away" by Jehovah, her husband (Is 50:1); hence her…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 49:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 49
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries