Isaiah 49:21

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

19Enemies have destroyed your land. Its towns have become heaps of stones. But soon your land will be too small for all your people to live in. The enemies who destroyed you will be far away from you. 20The children who were born in a foreign land will return to you. You will hear them say, “This place is too small for us. Find more room for us to live in.” Then you will think, “Who gave me all these children? Who is their father? I was alone, with no husband. They killed my children or they took them away to a foreign land. I could no longer give birth. So where did all these children come from?” ’ 22The Almighty Lord says, ‘Look! I will lift up my hand, to call the nations. I will raise up a flag as a sign to those people. Then they will bring back your sons and your daughters. They will carry them in their arms and on their shoulders. 23The kings of those nations will take care of your children. The kings' daughters will feed them. The rulers will bend down low in front of you, so that their faces touch the ground. They will taste the dirt by your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord. I will not disappoint people who wait for me to help them.

Isaiah 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then shalt thou sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• in thine heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
• Who hath begottenיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• me these, seeing I have lost my childrenשָׁכֹלshâkôl · be bereavedH7921
• and am desolateגַּלְמוּדgalmûd · solitaryH1565
• a captiveגָּלָהgâlâh · to reveal: removeH1540
• and removing to and froסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: removeH5493
• and who hath brought upגָּדַלgâdal · to magnifyH1431
• these? Behold, I was leftשָׁאַרshâ'ar · to remainH7604
• alone; these, whereאֵיפֹה'êyphôh · where?H375

Cross-references for Isaiah 49:21

• Jeremiah 31:15The Lord says, ‘You can hear a sad noise in Ramah. Someone is weeping with a loud voice. It is Rachel, and she is weeping for her children. Nobody can help her to stop weeping, because her children are dead.’
• Romans 11:11So now I ask this: ‘When Israel's people failed to accept Jesus as God's Messiah, did they make themselves separate from God for ever?’ No, certainly that is not true! Because of their mistake, God is now saving Gentiles. God is doing that so that Israel's people would become jealous.
• Galatians 3:29And if you belong to Christ, then you are descendants of Abraham. Because of that, you will receive all the good things that God promised to Abraham.
• Galatians 4:26But Abraham's wife, Sarah, is a picture of the new Jerusalem that is above. Sarah was a free person, not a slave, and she is like our mother.
• Isaiah 3:26The city's gates will see all this and they will weep! The city will be empty. Zion will be like a poor woman who sits on the ground, completely alone.
• Isaiah 51:17Wake up, people in Jerusalem! Get ready! The Lord has been angry with you, and he has punished you. You had to receive all of his anger, like you were drinking strong wine from a cup. Now that you have drunk it all, you cannot stand up straight!
• Isaiah 52:2Shake off the dirt, Jerusalem! Get up and sit on your throne. People of Zion, you are no longer prisoners, so take the chains off your neck.
• Isaiah 54:3The borders of your land will be wider in all directions. Your descendants will take land from other nations. They will live in the cities that had become empty.
• Isaiah 60:15At one time, people kept away from you, and they hated you. Nobody travelled through you. But now I will make you a great city, so that people will be proud of you for ever. Your people and their descendants will be very happy.
• Isaiah 62:4They will no longer call you by the name ‘Alone’. They will not call your land ‘Empty place’. Instead, they will call you ‘The one that makes God happy’. The name of your land will be ‘Married’. Yes, the Lord will be very happy with you. Your land will be his bride.
• Isaiah 64:10Your holy cities are as empty as a desert. Yes, Zion has become a desert. Jerusalem is just a heap of stones.
• Lamentations 1:1The city that was full of people is lonely now. The city is like the wife of a dead husband. Once she was great. She was like a queen among the other places in the country. Now she is a slave.
• Matthew 24:29Then after all these bad things have happened, “The sun will become dark. The moon will not shine any more. Stars will fall out of the sky. And the powerful things in the sky will shake.”
• Luke 21:24At that time, enemies will fight God's people and kill many of them in war. They will take some of them away as prisoners to live in all the other countries. They will not be free to return home. People that are not Jews will destroy Jerusalem. They will rule here until it is time for them to stop.’
• Romans 11:26When that has happened, God will save all Israel's people. This is written in the Bible: ‘The one who rescues will come from Zion. He will turn Jacob's people away from their sins.

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

• Church
• Gentiles
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ

In the dictionaries

• Barren
• Church
• Forget
• Mouth
• Desolate
• Exile
• Isaiah
• Mark, the Gospel According to
• Saviour
• Isaiah, Book of

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