Isaiah 49:19–22

19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate

and your land laid waste,

now you will be too small for your people,

and those who devoured you will be far away.

20 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.’

21 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?’ ”

22 This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,

I will lift up my banner to the peoples;

they will bring your sons in their arms

and carry your daughters on their hips.

19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction,

Shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants,

And they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

20 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.

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?

22 Thus saith the Lord God,

Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles,

And set up my standard to the people:

And they shall bring thy sons in their arms,

And thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

19 “Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land

will soon be crowded with your people.

Your enemies who enslaved you

will be far away.

20 The generations born in exile will return and say,

‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’

21 Then you will think to yourself,

‘Who has given me all these descendants?

For most of my children were killed,

and the rest were carried away into exile.

I was left here all alone.

Where did all these people come from?

Who bore these children?

Who raised them for me?’ ”

22 This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I will give a signal to the godless nations.

They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms;

they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.

19 “For your waste and desolate places,

And the land of your destruction,

Will even now be too small for the inhabitants;

And those who swallowed you up will be far away.

20 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.’

21 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?’ ”

22 Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations,

And set up My standard for the peoples;

They shall bring your sons in their arms,

And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;

19 “You were destroyed and defeated,

and your land was made useless.

But now you will have more people than the land can hold,

and those people who destroyed you will be far away.

20 Children were born to you while you were sad,

but they will say to you,

‘This place is too small for us.

Give us a bigger place to live.’

21 Then you will say to yourself,

‘Who gave me all these children?

I was sad and lonely,

defeated and separated from my people.

So who reared these children?

I was left all alone.

Where did all these children come from?’ ”

22 This is what the Lord God says:

“See, I will lift my hand to signal the nations;

I will raise my banner for all the people to see.

Then they will bring your sons back to you in their arms,

and they will carry your daughters on their shoulders.

19 For, 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. 20 The 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. 21 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?

22 Thus 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.

19 For in thy waste and thy desolate places, and thy destroyed land, thou shalt even now be too straitened by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20 The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too narrow for me: make room for me, that I may dwell. 21 And thou shalt say in thy heart, Who hath borne me these, seeing I had lost my children and was desolate, an exile, and driven about? and who hath brought up these? behold, I was left alone; these, where were they? 22 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my banner to the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon the shoulder.

19 Though you are destroyed and demolished and your land is in ruins, 

you will be too crowded for ⸤your⸥ people now. 

Those who devoured you will be long gone. 

20 The children taken from you will say to you, 

“This place is too crowded for me. 

Make room for me to live here.” 

21 Then you will ask yourself, 

“Who has fathered these ⸤children⸥ for me? 

I was childless and unable to have children. 

I was exiled and rejected. 

Who raised these ⸤children for me⸥? 

I was left alone. 

Where have they come from?” 

22 This is what the Almighty Lord says: 

I will lift my hand ⸤to signal⸥ the nations. 

I will raise my flag for the people. 

They will bring your sons in their arms 

and carry your daughters on their shoulders. 

19 For your waste and desolate places

and your land marked by ruins—

will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants,

and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

20 Yet as you listen, the children

that you have been deprived of will say,

‘This place is too small for me;

make room for me so that I may settle.’

21 Then you will say within yourself,

‘Who fathered these for me?

I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,

exiled and wandering—

but who brought them up?

See, I was left by myself—

but these, where did they come from?’ ”

22 This is what the Lord God says:

Look, I will lift up My hand to the nations,

and raise My banner to the peoples.

They will bring your sons in their arms,

and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

19 For your wastelands, your desolate places,

and your devastated land—

now you will be too crowded for your inhabitants,

and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

20 The children born in the time of your bereavement

will yet say in your hearing:

“The place is too crowded for me;

make room for me to settle.”

21 Then you will say in your heart,

“Who has borne me these?

I was bereaved and barren,

exiled and put away—

so who has reared these?

I was left all alone—

where, then, have these come from?”

22 Thus says the Lord God:

I will soon lift up my hand to the nations

and raise my signal to the peoples,

and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,

and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.

19 Surely your sites of ruins and desolate places and land of ruins,

surely now you will be too cramped for your inhabitants,

and those who engulfed you will be far away.

20 Yet the children born when you were bereaved will say in your hearing,

“The place is too cramped for me;

make room for me so that I can dwell.”

21 Then you will say in your heart,

“Who has borne me these?”

And, “I was bereaved and barren,

exiled and thrust away;

so who raised these?

Look at me! I was left alone;

where have these come from?”

22 Thus says the Lord Yahweh:

“Look! I will lift my hand up to the nations,

and I will raise my signal to the peoples,

and they shall bring your sons in their bosom,

and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.

19 “Zion, you were destroyed. Your land was left empty.

It was turned into a dry and empty desert.

But now you will be too small to hold all of your people.

And those who destroyed you will be far away.

20 The children who were born during your time of sorrow

will speak to you. They will say,

‘This city is too small for us.

Give us more space to live in.’

21 Then you will say to yourself,

‘Whose children are these?

I lost my children.

And I couldn’t have any more.

My children were taken far away from me.

And no one wanted them.

Who brought these children up?

I was left all alone.

So where have these children come from?’ ”

22 The Lord and King continues,

“I will call out to the nations.

I will give a signal to them.

They will bring back your sons in their arms.

They will carry your daughters on their shoulders.

19 “For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land—

Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants,

And those who swallowed you will be far away.

20 “The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,

‘The place is too cramped for me;

Make room for me that I may live here.’

21 “Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who has begotten these for me,

Since I have been bereaved of my children

And am barren, an exile and a wanderer?

And who has reared these?

Behold, I was left alone;

From where did these come?’ ”

22 Thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations

And set up My standard to the peoples;

And they will bring your sons in their bosom,

And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.