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?’ ”
Parallel Translations
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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?’ ”
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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?
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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?'
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Isaiah 49:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 1:8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a besieged city.
- Isaiah 3:26 Her gates shall lament and mourn. She shall be desolate and sit on the ground.
- Isaiah 5:13 Therefore my people go into captivity for lack of knowledge. Their honorable men are famished, and their multitudes are parched with thirst.
- Isaiah 51:17-20 Awake, awake! Stand up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from Yahweh’s hand the cup of his wrath. You have drunken the bowl of the cup of staggering, and drained it. There is no one to guide her among all the sons to whom she has given birth; and there is no one who takes her by the hand among all the sons who she has brought up. These two things have happened to you— who will grieve with you?— desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword. How can I comfort you? Your sons have fainted. They lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net. They are full of Yahweh’s wrath, the rebuke of your God.
- Isaiah 52:2 Shake yourself from the dust! Arise, sit up, Jerusalem! Release yourself from the bonds of your neck, captive daughter of Zion!
- Isaiah 54:3-8 For you will spread out on the right hand and on the left; and your offspring will possess the nations and settle in desolate cities. “Don’t be afraid, for you will not be ashamed. Don’t be confounded, for you will not be disappointed. For you will forget the shame of your youth. You will remember the reproach of your widowhood no more. For your Maker is your husband; Yahweh of Armies is his name. The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He will be called the God of the whole earth. For Yahweh has called you as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off,” says your God. “For a small moment I have forsaken you, but I will gather you with great mercies. In overflowing wrath I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting loving kindness I will have mercy on you,” says Yahweh your Redeemer.
- Isaiah 60:15 “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one passed through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
- Isaiah 62:4 You will not be called Forsaken any more, nor will your land be called Desolate any more; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for Yahweh delights in you, and your land will be married.
- Isaiah 64:10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness. Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
- Jeremiah 31:15-17 Yahweh says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” Yahweh says: “Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work will be rewarded,” says Yahweh. “They will come again from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your latter end,” says Yahweh. “Your children will come again to their own territory.
- Lamentations 1:1-3 How the city sits solitary, that was full of people! She has become as a widow, who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave! She weeps bitterly in the night. Her tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her. They have become her enemies. Judah has gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude. She dwells among the nations. She finds no rest. All her persecutors overtook her within the straits.
- Matthew 24:29-30 But immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
- Romans 11:11-17 I ask then, did they stumble that they might fall? May it never be! But by their fall salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy. Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness? For I speak to you who are Gentiles. Since then as I am an apostle to Gentiles, I glorify my ministry; if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh, and may save some of them. For if the rejection of them is the reconciling of the world, what would their acceptance be, but life from the dead? If the first fruit is holy, so is the lump. If the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the root and of the richness of the olive tree,
- Romans 11:24 For if you were cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
- Galatians 3:29 If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to promise.
- Galatians 4:26-29 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, “Rejoice, you barren who don’t bear. Break out and shout, you who don’t travail. For the desolate have more children than her who has a husband.” Now we, brothers, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as then, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.
- Luke 21:24 They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
- Romans 11:26-31 and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. This is my covenant with them, when I will take away their sins.” Concerning the Good News, they are enemies for your sake. But concerning the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they may also obtain mercy.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 49:21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart,…
Isa 49:21 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]?
Ver. 21. Then shalt thou say in thine heart.] Est artificiosa fictio, et color rhetoricus.
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A captive, and removing to and fro.] The condition of God’s Church on earth - to be afflicted and tossed from post to pillar, having no settled abode; as neither had the ark, but was transportative, till settled at length in Solomon’s temple.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Then shalt thou say, not without admiration,
Then shalt thou say, not without admiration,
Who hath begotten me these? whence or by whom have I this numberless issue?
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Seeing I have lost my children; seeing it is not long since that I was in a manner left childless. Am desolate; without a husband, being forsaken by God, who formerly owned himself for my Husband, Isa 54:5; Jer 31:32, and elsewhere.
A captive, and removing to and fro; which condition is in many respects a great impediment to the procreation of children. Who hath brought up these? the same thing repeated again to express the miraculousness of this work, and the great surprisal of the Jews at it; which showeth that he speaks of the conversion of the Gentiles.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then shalt thou say in thine heart,.... In, a…
Then shalt thou say in thine heart,.... In, a way of admiration, secretly within herself, astonished at the numerous crowds flocking in;
who hath begotten me these? not their natural parents, nor they themselves;
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for they are not born of blood, nor of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh; nor ministers of the Gospel, though they are instruments, yet not the cause; but God only, Father, Son, and Spirit, to whom regeneration is only ascribed: regeneration is a wonderful work of God; it is unaccountable to the natural man; it is amazing to the saints themselves; and it is matter of astonishment to the church of God; especially when on a sudden, and without means, and in great numbers, men are born again; and particularly when these come from among the Gentiles, which seems to be the case here:
seeing I have lost my children; by captivity and the sword, by the tyranny and cruelty of the man of sin:
and am desolate; or alone, as if without a husband, or any to take care of her: this represents the church in the wilderness, during the reign of antichrist, Rev 12:14, while she seems to be forsaken of the Lord her husband, though she is not:
and a captive; to the Romish antichrist; see Rev 13:10,
and removing to and fro; being forced to flee from place to place, by reason of persecution: there is, no doubt, an allusion in all this to the case of the Jews in the Babylonish captivity:
and who hath brought up these? the same that begot them, even the Lord himself; who nourishes and brings up his children with the milk of the Gospel, and the breasts of Gospel ordinances; so that they are brought up from children to young men, from young men to fathers, till they become perfect men; even the church in the wilderness, with her children, are nourished by him, for a time, and times, and half a time, Rev 12:14 which is wonderful:
behold, I was left alone; seemingly without husband or children, in a desolate and wilderness state:
these, where had they been? in the ruins of Adam's fall; in a state of darkness; in the graves of sin; in a pit wherein is no water; in the hands of Satan, and among wicked men; even in Babylon itself, but now called out; see Rev 18:4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Who - Whence have I this numberless issue? Seeing…
Who - Whence have I this numberless issue? Seeing - Seeing I was in a manner left childless. Desolate - Without an husband, being forsaken by God, who formerly owned himself for my husband.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 21. These, where had they been - "These…
Verse 21. These, 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 on Isa 49:12.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Then shalt thou say in thine heart - Thou…
Then 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 the increase would be from other nations. They would not be the natural increase of Zion or Jerusalem, but they would come in from abroad - as if a family that had been bereaved should be increased by an accession from other families.
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I have lost my children - Jerusalem had been desolated by wars, and had become like a widow that was bereft of all her sons (compare the notes at Isa 47:8-9).
A captive, and removing to and fro - A captive in Babylon, and compelled to wander from my own land, and to live in a strange and distant country.
These, where had they been? - The image in this entire verse is one of great beauty. It represents a mother who had been suddenly deprived of all her children, who had been made a widow, and conveyed as a captive from land to land. She had seen ruin spread all around her dwelling, and regarded herself as alone. Suddenly she finds herself restored to her home, and surrounded with a happy family. She sees it increased beyond its former numbers, and herself blessed with more than her former prosperity. She looks with surprise on this accession, and asks with wonder from where all these have come, and where they have been. The language in this verse is beautifully expressive of the agitation of such a state of mind, and of the effect which would be thus produced. The idea is plain. Jerusalem had been desolate. Her inhabitants had been carried captive, or had been put to death. But she should be restored, and the church of God would be increased by a vast accession from the Gentile world, so much that the narrow limits which had been formerly occupied - the territory of Palestine - would now be too small for the vast numbers that would be united to those who professed to love and worship God.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Who, &c.--Zion's joyful wonder at the unexpected restoration of…
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 (Act 10:45; Act 14:27; Act 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 (Isa 50:1); hence her wonder at the children begotten to her.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21. Thou — Zion.
21. Thou — Zion.
Shalt… say — Namely, to herself, in absolute wonderment.
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Who hath begotten me these — The bereft, wondering captive has become the spiritual mother of a vast throng, and she inquires in ecstasy, Where had they been? This paraphrase is not fanciful, but touches the text at every point. It well describes the astonishment of the hitherto desolate Zion.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 21. Zion is bewildered at finding herself once more…
21. Zion is bewildered at finding herself once more “a joyful mother of children” (Psa_113:9).
Who hath begotten] Rather, Who hath borne (in spite of the masculine gender of the verb). The peculiar figure is probably to be explained by the custom illustrated in Gen_16:1 ff; Gen_30:1 ff., &c. The exile was the time of Zion’s barrenness; the generation of Israelites that had grown up in a foreign land are regarded as not her natural children, although legally they belong to her, having been borne for her by a stranger.
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seeing I have lost &c.] seeing I am childless and unfruitful. The clause immediately following (which must be rendered exiled and put away) introduces a conception alien to the image of the verse. Zion herself was not “exiled” but “left alone,” when her children were taken from her. The words are wanting in the LXX. and may be a gloss.
these, where had they been?] If this were the sense intended, the verb “had been” (or “were”) would probably require to have been expressed. But the question that Zion broods over is not where her children had been, but how she comes to have children at all, who are strangers to her. Render, therefore (with Dillmann), these, how (is it) with them? of what description are they? (cf. Jdg_8:18).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (21) Who hath begotten me these . . .?—Better,…
(21) Who hath begotten me these . . .?—Better, who hath borne . . .? The widowed daughter of Zion cannot believe that these crowding children are her own, and asks, Who then is their mother? She, the widowed one, the prisoner, dragged hither and thither, could not claim them.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Who hath begotten me these? The Jewish Church is…
Who hath begotten me these? The Jewish Church is astounded at the influx of the Gentiles, and asks, "Where did they come from? Who has made them my children? Who has trained them?" That they are not her natural children she is sure, since she knows that she has been for a long time "bereaved and unfruitful" (Cheyne) a captive, and a "wanderer" (Kay). It is certain that the Jewish Church did not at first altogether welcome the incoming of the Gentiles. (Act_11:1-3 Act_15:1-11 Gal_2:11-14, etc.) But the guidance of the Holy Spirit surmounted the difficulty. (Act_15:28)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues speaking to Zion as if it were a woman. (See: Personification)
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Who has borne these children for me?
Zion speaks of the people who are returning to inhabit the city as if those people were her children. Zion's question expresses her surprise that so many children now belong to her. (See: Metaphor and Rhetorical Question)
I was bereaved and barren, exiled and divorced
Zion describes herself as a woman incapable of having more children. She indicates the reasons for her great surprise. (See: Metaphor)
I was bereaved and barren
"I was mourning over my dead children and unable to have more"
exiled and divorced
"I was sent away, without a husband"
Who has raised these children? Look, I was left all alone; where did these come from?
Again, Zion uses questions to expresses her surprise. AT: "Look, I was left all alone; now all of these children that I did not raise have come to me." (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
children
barren
exile
divorce
raise
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.