EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Isaiah 49:23
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 49:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Kings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, And lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”
Context of Isaiah 49:23
21Then 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. The 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. 24Can anyone rob a brave soldier? Can anyone rescue prisoners from a cruel ruler?’ 25But the Lord says, ‘Yes! One day the brave soldier's prisoners will be free. One day the cruel ruler will lose the valuable things that he has taken for himself. I myself will fight against your enemies. I will rescue your children.
Read all of Isaiah 49Isaiah 49:23 word by word
וְהָי֨וּ מְלָכִ֜ים אֹֽמְנַ֗יִךְ וְשָׂרֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ מֵינִ֣יקֹתַ֔יִךְ אַפַּ֗יִם אֶ֚רֶץ יִשְׁתַּ֣חֲווּ לָ֔ךְ וַעֲפַ֥ר רַגְלַ֖יִךְ יְלַחֵ֑כוּ וְיָדַ֙עַתְּ֙ כִּֽי־אֲנִ֣י יְהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יֵבֹ֖שׁוּ קוָֹֽי׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- shall be thy nursing fathersאָמַן'âman · be faithfulH539
- and their queensשָׂרָהώârâh · princessH8282
- thy nursing mothersיָנַקyânaq · to suckleH3243
- they shall bow downשָׁחָהshâchâh · to bowH7812
- faceאַף'aph · faceH639
- toward the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
- and lick upלָחַךְlâchak · to lickH3897
- the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
- of thy feetרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- and thou shalt knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- for they shall not be ashamedבּוֹשׁbûsh · be ashamedH954
- that waitקָוָהqâvâh · to awaitH6960
Cross-references for Isaiah 49:23
- Isaiah 49:7The Lord is Israel's Redeemer, their Holy God. Nations refuse to accept his servant. Their people hate him and their rulers have made him their slave. The Lord says to his servant, ‘Kings will see you and they will rise up to respect you. Princes will bend down low in front of you. They will see that the Lord is faithful. He is Israel's Holy God, who has chosen you to serve him.’
- Isaiah 52:15But now, he will cause the people in many nations to be very surprised! Kings will have nothing to say when they see how great he is. They will see something new that nobody had told them about. They will understand new things that they had not heard about before.
- Isaiah 60:3People of other nations will come to your light. Kings will come to see the light of a new day that shines on you.
- Isaiah 62:2Jerusalem, the nations will see your righteousness. All their kings will see how great you are. People will call you by a new name, which the Lord himself will give to you.
- Ezra 1:2‘This is what Cyrus, the king of Persia says: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me power over all the kingdoms of the earth. He has said that I must build a temple for him in Jerusalem, the city that is in Judah.
- Ezra 6:7You must not do anything to stop the work on God's temple. The Jewish ruler and their leaders must continue to build this house of God. They must build it in its proper place.
- Ezra 7:11This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra, the priest and teacher. Ezra had studied the Lord's commands and laws for Israel.
- Nehemiah 2:6The king was sitting with the queen next to him. The king asked me, ‘How long will you be away? When will you return?’ I told the king how long I would be away. Because the king was happy to send me, I told him when I would leave.
- Esther 8:1That day, King Xerxes took everything that had belonged to Haman, the enemy of the Jews. He gave it all to Queen Esther. Esther told the king that Mordecai was her cousin. So Mordecai came to meet the king.
- Esther 9:1The 13th day of the 12th month (Adar) was the day when the enemies of the Jews had hoped to attack them. But now the king's new law said that the Jews could fight to keep themselves safe on that day. So the Jews won against their enemies.
- Esther 10:1King Xerxes caused everyone who lived in his kingdom to pay taxes. It included those who lived far away, on the coast of the sea.
- Psalms 2:10So, you kings, think carefully! You who rule the nations of the world, learn this lesson:
- Psalms 68:31Egypt's leaders will come with gifts. People will come from Cush and they will agree to serve God.
- Psalms 72:10Kings from Spain and from other far places will pay taxes to him. Kings from Sheba and from Seba will bring gifts to him.
- Psalms 138:4All the kings in the world will thank you, Lord, when they hear the promises that you have made.
- Revelation 21:24People from all the world's nations will live in the city's light. The earth's rulers will bring all their valuable things into it.
Commentaries on Isaiah 49:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23With their face toward the earth "With their faces to the earth" - It is well known that expressions of submission, homage, and reverence always have been and are still carried to a great degree of extravagance in the eastern countries. When Joseph's brethren were introduced to him, "they bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth," Genesis 42:6. The kings of Persia never admitted any one to their presence without exacting this act of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23And kings shall be thy nursing fathers - Margin, Nourishers.‘ That is, they would patronize the church of God; they would protect it by their laws, and foster it by their influence and become the personal advocates of the cause of Zion. The idea is properly that of guarding, educating, and proriding for children; and the sense is that kings and princes would evince the same tender care for the interests of the people of God which a parent or a nurse does…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. 23you will know that I am the LORD: The surprising role reversal, with kings and queens serving the humble exiles upon their return, will show God's power to do the unimaginable (see also Isaiah 60:16). The godly will face temporary disgrace during the exile in Babylon but would not ultimately be put to shame, as the idolaters and ungodly were.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. lick ... dust--that is, kiss thy feet in token of humble submission. for they ... not ... ashamed ... wait for me--The restoration of Israel shall be in answer to their prayerful waiting on the Lord (Is 30:18, 19; Psa 102:16, 17; Zec 12:10; 14:3).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 49:23
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
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