Isaiah 49:20

Isaiah 49:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.’
• English Standard Version (ESV)The children of your bereavement will yet say in your ears: 'The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)The children you will have, After you have lost the others, Will say again in your ears, ‘The place is too small for me; Give me a place where I may dwell.’

Context of Isaiah 49:20

18Look all around you! All of them gather to you. As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “you will certainly wear all of them like jewelry; you will put them on as if you were a bride. 19Yes, your land lies in ruins; it is desolate and devastated. But now you will be too small to hold your residents, and those who devoured you will be far away. Yet the children born during your time of bereavement will say within your hearing, ‘This place is too cramped for us, make room for us so we can live here.’ 21Then you will think to yourself, ‘Who bore these children for me? I was bereaved and barren, dismissed and divorced. Who raised these children? Look, I was left all alone; where did these children come from?’” 22This is what the sovereign Lord says: “Look I will raise my hand to the nations; I will raise my signal flag to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

Isaiah 49:20 word by word

ע֚וֹד יֹאמְר֣וּ בְאָזְנַ֔יִךְ בְּנֵ֖י שִׁכֻּלָ֑יִךְ צַר־לִ֥י הַמָּק֖וֹם גְּשָׁה־לִּ֥י וְאֵשֵֽׁבָה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• which thou shalt have, after thou hast lostשִׁכֻּלִיםshikkûlîym · bereavementH7923
• the other, shall sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• again in thine earsאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · earH241
• The placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• too straitצַרtsar tsâr · narrowH6862
• for me: giveנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: approachH5066
• to me that I may dwellיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427

Cross-references for Isaiah 49:20

• Isaiah 60:4Look all around you! They all gather and come to you – your sons come from far away and your daughters are escorted by guardians.
• Hosea 1:10(2:1) However, in the future the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered. Although it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it will be said to them, “You are children of the living God!”
• Matthew 3:9and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
• Galatians 4:26But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
• Isaiah 51:3Certainly the Lord will console Zion; he will console all her ruins. He will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the Garden of the Lord. Happiness and joy will be restored to her, thanksgiving and the sound of music.
• Isaiah 54:1“Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth! Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one are more numerous than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
• Joshua 17:14The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you assigned us only one tribal allotment? After all, we have many people, for until now the Lord has enabled us to increase in number.”
• 2 Kings 6:1Some of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too cramped for us.

Commentaries on Isaiah 49:20

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20The children which thou shalt have - The increase of the population shall be so great. After thou hast lost the other - Hebrew, The sons of thy widowhood.‘ That is, after thou hast lost those that have been killed in the wars, and those that have died in captivity in a distant land, there shall be again a great increase as if they were given to a widowed mother. And perhaps the general truth is taught here, that the persecution of the people of God will…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. 2020. children ... after ... other--rather, "the children of thy widowhood," that is, the children of whom thou hast been bereft during their dispersion in other lands (see on Is 47:8) [Maurer]. again--rather, "yet." give place--rather, "stand close to me," namely, in order that we may be the more able to dwell in in the narrow place [Horsley]. Compare as to Israel's spiritual children, and the extension of the gospel sphere, Ro 15:19, 24; 2Co 10:14-16. But…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 49:20

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

In the dictionaries

• Church
• Forget
• Mouth
• Bereave; Bereaver; Bereft
• Isaiah
• Loss
• Mark, the Gospel According to
• Saviour
• Strait; Straiten; Straitly
• 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